#gena

GENA: Tiny Desk Concert

GENA!!!!

Bobby Carter | June 4, 2026 Something was missing from our Black Music Month lineup, but I couldn't figure out what. But once Karriem Riggins and Liv.e came into the office as GENA with a buzzing energy, I locked eyes with my colleagues and knew we'd found the fresh and unexpected sound we'd been looking for. Riggins and Liv.e coming together to create GENA's The Pleasure is Yours makes all the sense. They represent Detroit, Mich., and Dallas, Texas, respectively, two cities with some of the deepest, tight-knit music communities in the country. Riggins' pocket is nudged just left of center, which Liv.e dives into effortlessly — those dirty drums and loops deliver the closest thing we'll ever get to a full J Dilla x Erykah Badu project, if you ask me. Liv.e and Riggins have both supported other artists at the Tiny Desk, so it's simple plug-and-play as they breeze through some of my favorites from their new album, including the affirmation song of 2026, "HOWWEFLOW."

One of those records that listens exactly as you’d expect it to. GENA is very much Liv.e enlivened by the Madlib and Dilla-infused percussion of Karriem Riggins, R&B that is prone to eclectic sounds and deviations from the norm (and is all the better for it). 

3/17/26

Gena

The Pleasure is Yours

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Funky, just not my style. It's good to listen to music outside your norm to help cleanse the palate, that is what this album is for me. You will hear many new sounds, but overall it's more bark than bite. Theres not a track you can put on repeat.