PJ Sin Suela: Tiny Desk Concert

Anamaria Sayre | May 1, 2025
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
“Tengo Una Nota”
“Duolingo”
“Mírame”
“Amor Artificial”
“TOP”
“Mambrú”

MUSICIANS
PJ Sin Suela: vocals
Kalani Trinidad: flute, keys, talk box
Barba Blanca: keys
Jahaziel Garcia: trumpet
Janice Maisonet: tenor saxophone
Benson Pagán: guitar
Messy Deprat: bass
David B.: drums
Gabo Lugo: percussion
Rafita: hypeman
Yeidimar Ramos: background vocals
Universónica: background vocals
Alexssa Hernández: sign language interpreter

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Zayrha Rodriguez
Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault
Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite
Photographer: Alanté Serene
Tiny Desk Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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