Cardi B’s Tiny Desk Performance Is a Masterclass in Excellence

The rap superstar brought a full live band and delivered one of the most sensational Tiny Desk performances to date

If you haven’t witnessed Cardi B‘s explosive Tiny Desk performance, do yourself a favor, turn the volume way up, and hit play.

The Grammy-winning rapper’s stop at NPR’s Music office drew a massive crowd, according to the publication. And those who got to watch the live show of Cardi with her band, which delivered a sumptuous rock and jazz-tinged take on her tracks, can consider themselves among the lucky few.

In a video premiered on Monday, Cardi took over Tiny Desk and brought an eight-song masterclass in breath control, joy, and showmanship. The Bronx-repping rapper wasted no time and broke out a dramatic rendition of “Hello” from her long-awaited second studio album, Am I the Drama? She followed up with its album single “ErrTime” before pausing for a quick water break and slipping into “Man of Your Word” (which sees her wave a a bittersweet goodbye to her ex-husband Offset). The performance’s poignancy was underlined by background vocals from singers Tiffany Stevens and Ebony Franklin.

Cardi then performed hits from her groundbreaking debut, Invasion of Privacy, and dropped fan favorites “Be Careful” and “Bodak Yellow.” In between, she weaved back to her second LP with “Up” (itself an unrelenting lesson in alliteration) and the solo release “Ah Ha.”

Toward the end of the just-under 19-minute set, Cardi injected her signature quips — observing the absence of Maryland crab cakes in her rider and how her choice of latex pants had her sweating in the summer heat.

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Alongside Cardi, Stevens, and Franklin, her band — consisting of Adam Blackstone on bass and keys, DJ Ray G, keyboardist Eugene Roberts, guitarist Clayton Sears, drummer Cedric Thompson, Kenneth Whalum on sax, and Melvin Jones wielding the trumpet — closed down the remarkable set with “I Like It Like That” — 2018’s reigning song of the summer.