After a successful Verzuz battle with legendary disco and funk icons Earth, Wind and Fire, The Isley Brothers recently performed their most sampled hits for NPR's newest iteration of their Tiny Desk series, Tiny Desk (Home) Concert.
The 13-minute performance consisted of storytelling and reminiscing prior to introducing four classics: "Between the Sheets", "Footsteps in the Dark", "For the Love of You" and "That Lady." A testament to their cultural impact, Hip-hop artists from the Notorious B.I.G to Tupac, Ice Cube, and Kendrick Lamar have all sampled these tracks, re-introducing the group's signature sound to a new generation. “We went on to meet a young fellow by the name of Kendrick Lamar who sampled the record, and we got a Grammy Award for it,” said Ron. As NPR pointed out, the four songs on the setlist for the Isleys’ Tiny Desk have been covered or sampled by over 300 artists.
With a career that spans seven decades, the soul-funk legends, along with the background vocal support from their wives (formerly of R&B group JS), put on a stellar performance. Lead singer Ron Isely's unique sultry vocals hit every high note, while his brother Ernie dominated his pink floral guitar. On Twitter, fans reacted with joy and gratitude:
2021 has been really good to The Isley Brothers and they are not letting up any time soon. Since their Verzuz performance, their album sales skyrocketed 420 percent. At the respectful ages of 69 and 80-years old, the duo is also still quite fashionable. Fans have nine opportunities to catch them in concert for the remainder of the year.
Watch the performance below: