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Villano Antillano: Tiny Desk Concert

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an 'El Tiny' takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad.

Villano Antillano kicked off her Tiny Desk Concert with a Britney Spears-approved message: Dump. Him.

"Yo Tengo un Novio," off the Puerto Rican rapper's debut LP, La Sustancia X, called out the toxic, controlling expectations of one of her ex-jevos. Through her sharp Caribbean flow, Antillano broke down the confines of monogamy in her first song before casting light on drug use and escapism as a means of queer survival in "Kaleidoscópica."

Throughout her performance, Antillano showed why she's one of the most exciting voices in Latin trap and reggaeton right now. She flaunted her sexual prowess on "Cuero," and "Cáscara de Coco," then intentionally honored her religious upbringing and place in the church, which she noted isn't always a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ communities. The artist keeps proving that socially conscious lyricism and unfiltered joy can — and should — go hand-in-hand.

SET LIST

  • "Yo Tengo un Novio"
  • "Kaleidoscópica"
  • "Cuero"
  • "Cáscara de Coco"

MUSICIANS

  • Villana Santiago Pacheco: artist
  • Luis Ortiz: vocals
  • Bayron Feliciano: vocals
  • Amarilis Ríos: percussion
  • Barba Blanca: keyboards
  • David Diaz: bass

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Anamaria Sayre 
  • Director/Editor: Maia Stern
  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen
  • Series Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Keren Carrión
  • Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
  • Photographer: Estefania Mitre
  • Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Kara Frame, Hazel Cills 
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
  • Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: October 5, 2023 at 11:00 PM CDT
This page originally credited Emilio Mendez as the keyboardist in this Tiny Desk performance. It was Barba Blanca.
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a production assistant with Weekend Edition.