"There's an understandable pull in my industry to make things ... super safe, super familiar," Gilpin says. She wants to go the other way. Gilpin currently stars in the noir drama The Lowdown.

In '72, filmmaker William Greaves hosted a cocktail party for the surviving members of the Harlem Renaissance. Our critic says the footage is "like watching a 50th college reunion set on Mt. Olympus."

We take y'all to church on this episode. We presents three artists backed by choirs behind the Desk. Look for Tiny Desk Radio on your local NPR station.