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Le1f, Live In Concert: SXSW 2013

Backed by only a DJ, New York rapper Le1f and his three-foot blond braids proved an apt counterpart to Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O, who'd finished performing on the nearby Stubb's main stage just minutes earlier. He performed with confidence, command and occasionally avant-garde fearlessness, but also kept an eye trained on a desire to entertain, above all else.

A rapper whose boundless, arty individuality pops out over every jittery beat, Le1f stands out in virtually every possible way: He punctuates his dextrous, funny flow with growls, squeaks and bits of joyful conversation. He whips his glow-in-the-dark hair back and forth, and moves on stage like a dancer — all lithe, coiled energy and imminent shirtlessness, with aggression that never overwhelms his playful demeanor.

Credits

Producers: Mito Habe-Evans, Robin Hilton, Amy Schriefer; Technical Director: Kevin Wait; Event Coordinator: Saidah Blount; Assistant Producer: Denise DeBelius; Videographers: Christopher Farber, Katie Hayes Luke, A.J. Wilhelm; Audio Engineering by Metro Mobile; Production Assistants: Gabriella Garcia-Pardo, Ryan Smith; Special Thanks to: Stubb's and South By Southwest; Executive Producers: Anya Grundmann, Keith Jenkins

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Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)