NPR Music

PJ Sin Suela: Tiny Desk Concert

By Anamaria Artemisa Sayre

Published May 1, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT

There's no falsifying the kind of joy PJ Sin Suela exudes — its infectiousness, magnetic and consistent. From San Juan to the Tiny Desk, it's hard to catch a moment where the Puerto Rican rapper, doctor and author doesn't smile, laugh or perreo hasta abajo. This performance, the perfect space for the world to see a true PJ, is no exception.

On songs like "TOP" and "Amor Artificial," he waxes about love in buoyant and silly ways — "por ti, Darwin estudio la evolución (for you, Darwin studied evolution)," goes one line. But like many Puerto Rican artists in love with their island home, PJ's sonic landscape features mountains of lightness built on a past and present pain. "Mambrú," which closes out this set, tells the story of a young Puerto Rican man who joins the U.S. Army, ships off to fight "under a flag that doesn't fill him up" and doesn't return home the same.

The key, for PJ Sin Suela, is to keep home close. At the Tiny Desk, Puerto Rican flags wave proudly and there are protest stickers everywhere that highlight issues near and dear to his heart. There's no inch of PJ Sin Suela or his art that isn't focused on the needs of his people. But the island's challenges, in his world, go hand in hand with hometown pride, summed up on "Duolingo": "Everybody be like, 'Damn boy, where you from? Illinois?' / No bitch, Puerto Rico de donde salen tus artistas favoritos (where all your favorite artists come from)."

SET LIST