Tuxedo: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Bobby Carter, July 17, 2017 The pairing of Tuxedo is a natural feel in person, but highly unlikely on paper. Seattlebased producer Jake One has a who swho client list, from Rick Ross to 21 Savage while DJ, singersongwriter and producer Mayer Hawthorne is a renaissance soul man from Ann Arbor, Michigan. They stealthily debuted three tracks on SoundCloud in 2013 with only a black square stamped Tuxedo as the cover art, leaving fans wondering where this new funk was coming from. A few months later they unveiled their identities along with a debut selftitled LP, resurrecting a sound popularized by greats like The Gap Band, The Fatback Band and Roger Troutman. When Tuxedo arrived at NPR and Mayer Hawthorne spied a small Ho button sitting on Bob Boilen s desk, he immediately beamed. We use a big Ho button on tour, he said. They didn t bring a drummer, opting for a boombox yes, a real boombox playing a real cassette tape, kids and it was nostalgic delight from the start of the cassette s hiss