Jon Batiste has arguably become the most well-known New Orleanian of his generation due to his tenure as the musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His Covid-era Tiny Desk concert on NPR has had an astonishing 1.2 million views as of this writing since it was released in May 2020.

While locals remember him from his high school days at NOCCA and his work performing alongside other youngsters including classmate Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews when he was known as “Jonathan,” his career really took off when he moved to New York City to attend college. Besides his tenure with Colbert, Batiste has also continued to put out a range of new music including the first single off his new album, We Are the Golden Ones.

The walking bass line that opens “I Need You” drives the groove through the entire two minutes and 36 seconds of the tune. Like his ’50s-era predecessors in New Orleans R&B, Batiste packs a lot of music into such a short song.

Yet, unlike some of his other more densely packed songs, “I Need You” is brilliant in its musical and lyrical simplicity. Using that hypnotic bass line, rhythmic handclaps and deftly placed piano parts, he has crafted a gem with universal lyrics that also seem personal. He even quasi-raps in a style that references spoken word poetry as much as hip hop.

He sings the chorus with a syncopated beat and reminds listeners, “In this world with a lot of problems, all we need is a little lovin’/ thank you/ thank you/ for a little lovin’.”