Cardi B Debuts at NPR’s Tiny Desk With a Nine-Piece Band, Eight Songs and a Crab Cake Joke

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Cardi B brought a nine-piece band to NPR’s Tiny Desk and still found time to riff on the catering. Between songs, she joked about being hungry and not having any Maryland crab cakes or celery sticks in her rider, Billboard reports, part of an eight-song set that Rolling Stone clocks at just under 19 minutes. The concert premiered Monday (Oct. 19). Watch it below.

Adam Blackstone plays bass and keys and serves as music director for a band that also features DJ Ray G, a sax player (Kenneth Whalum), a trumpeter (Melvin Jones) and background singers Tiffany Stevens and Ebony Franklin, per NPR’s credits. Pitchfork says the group gave “fresh, rock-inflected updates” to singles like “ErrTime,” “Up” and “Bodak Yellow.”

Read moreCardi B and Fuerza Regida Join GTA VI’s Album: Hear “Don’t Chart” and “Suzuki”

She opened with “Hello” from Am I the Drama?, moved into “ErrTime,” then slowed down for “Man of Your Word” and “Be Careful,” which NPR describes as vulnerable. During a short break, she asked for water: “Let me get some water. You know I be smoking cigarettes,” per Billboard. “Change the vibes, change the vibes,” she joked afterward, and “Up” slid straight into “AH HA.” “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It” closed the set.

NPR Music producer Alanté Serene wrote that the turnout was unusual:

It’s rare that we have to turn people away, but when word got out that Cardi B would be at the NPR Music office, we drew one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen here.

Alanté Serene, NPR Music, NPR Music on YouTube

It has been a busy month for Cardi, who turned 34 on Oct. 11. She has followed Am I the Drama?, her 2025 album, with a pair of one-off tracks, “AH HA” and “Don’t Chart,” her contribution to Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album. Her Little Miss Drama Tour, her first headlining arena run, wrapped in April. Complex notes that the album is widely expected to land among the 2027 Grammy nominees, announced next month, and that she is believed to be aiming for a 2027 release for the next one.

Next on her calendar is Nov. 24, when she will be the first artist to accept the Global Woman of the Year award at Billboard Canada Women in Music 2026, Billboard says.