For the second consecutive year, Dove Award-winning Christian rapper nobigdyl. has been named the Fan Favorite in NPR’s annual Tiny Desk Contest, beating out thousands of independent artists across the country.
The 33-year-old Tennessee-based artist, whose real name is Dylan Phillips, secured the honor with his performance of “imago interlude,” a track from his 2024 album the people we became.
The song, centered on themes of personal transformation and spiritual identity, resonated with voters amid a record-breaking 7,500 entries submitted to this year’s contest.
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“I chose this song because I believe in the message and the power of music to change us,” nobigdyl. said on Instagram.
The song, centered on themes of personal transformation and spiritual identity, resonated with voters amid a record-breaking 7,500 entries submitted to this year’s contest.
Lyrics include the lines “Christian music or music that christian use/ To get they fix just another hit of the clicks and views/ Officially i don’t play by your silly rules/ We independent cuz that’s how I felt the Spirit move.”
The Fan Favorite title is awarded based on a public vote, while a separate winner, chosen by NPR judges, will go on to perform their own Tiny Desk concert and headline the Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour later this year. The official contest winner has yet to be announced.
nobigdyl.’s 2024 win follows last year’s breakout submission, “Go With The Ghost,” which also earned the Fan Favorite title. The track, performed with his band based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, drew acclaim from fans, 10,000 of whom cast their votes, and from contest judges.
In a 2023 Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf episode, judge Durand Bernarr praised the entry for its “groove” and “catchiness,” while NPR host Bobby Carter highlighted the song’s lyrical depth.
“He’s talking about the choice between giving yourself away to your vices or really making a change,” Carter said at the time. “He’s really going deep.”
Reflecting on the earlier track, nobigdyl. explained, “I wrote ‘Go With The Ghost’ from a place of surrender. Knowing that the life that I wanted to live would cost me the life I was living. This song is about that moment and the moments after.”
The rapper previously shared with NPR that his “beliefs and faith” affect “everything” he does, though he doesn’t care for the label “Christian rapper.”
“I do have a different approach to thinking about how to care for the listener, considering where they are, how this can help them, making sure things are packaged in a way where I’m loving God and loving them. But that’s my entire life, so I just apply what I apply to my life to the music,” he said.
“I love CHH [Christian hip-hop]. I love it, not because it’s like this exclusive group or niche. I love it because I’ve seen the effect, the positive effect, on so many people. So, if I didn’t see that, then I honestly wouldn’t care about it, because it’s all hip-hop to me. … When people ask me what I do, I just say I’m a rapper. If somebody identifies me as a Christian rapper, I’d never correct them, you know what I mean? Listen to the music and whatever you call me, that’s what I am.”
Founded in 2008, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts have grown into a global phenomenon, with hundreds of live performances filmed at the Washington, D.C. desk of series creator Bob Boilen.
Winners of past Tiny Desk Contests include artists such as Fantastic Negrito (2015), Tank and the Bangas (2017) and Alisa Amador (2022), all of whom went on to perform behind the desk and launch national tours.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
