Saul Williams: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

September 16, 2016 by BOB BOILEN • In terms of sheer intensity, Saul Williams’ Tiny Desk concert may be the most potent in our eight-year history. Only Kate Tempest comes to mind as its equal, which makes sense given that both mix music with bracing, truthful poetry. In Williams’ opening song — “Burundi,“ from his album MartyrLoserKing — the main character is a computer hacker who lives in Burundi and fights for democracy: Question your authority, genocide and poverty Treaties don’t negate the fact you’re dealing stolen property Hacker, I’m a hacker, I’m a hacker in your hard drive Hundred thousand dollar Tesla ripping through your hard drive Accompanied by two acoustic guitars as they pound out a beat, Williams became ever more animated, riled and firm. Then, “Think Like They Book Say“ paid homage to Chelsea Manning, the soldier serving a prison sentence for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. To close out the set, Williams cradled my James Brown doll and issued a powerful, somewhat off-the-cuff v