Dear Gossips,

I am a locked-down biohazard right now, laid out by the flu before the flu shot is even available but I’m only telling you this because something helped with the cough and congestion yesterday. It was the most fun I’ve had since this thing came on last Friday – 18 minutes of pure delight the way only Cardi B can bring it. Her Tiny Desk broke my fever. And it’s unanimous, a slamdunk, 10s across the board.

This is Cardi operating at the highest frequency. The arrangements, the transitions from song to song, her breath control, the ad libs, the ENERGY! It’s been six months since Cardi’s Little Miss Drama tour ended but she is clearly still in tour shape, and as creative as she’s ever been as a musician and a live performer. Plus her super power, which has always been her personality, her electrifying presence, whether it’s on a stage, in a studio, or in the back of a car on Instagram live as she struggles to keep her camera still while recounting what she did that day or reading someone for filth – Cardi is never not magic. But the Cardi who showed up at Tiny Desk was Artist Cardi, in full control of her skills, prepared to meet the Tiny Desk challenge… and f-cking kill it.

You can tell there was a lot of work that went into this, that’s what gets me off the most. Because there should be a lot of work that goes into a multi-song stripped down set in a small space on a show that famously does not allow for auto-tuning or processing corrections in post-production. It’s a firm rule at Tiny Desk. Cardi and the band, and her team, obviously trained for this, made sure they came correct to showcase her abilities – and the good old fashioned work always pays off. When the work is done it looks effortless, and if you’ve seen it you know, Cardi had alllllllll the good flow.

She’s proud of it too. She was proud of it well before she got to “I Like It” and you know she means it on her socials when she’s telling everyone to watch it.

There is now speculation that this was Cardi’s unofficial audition to be the halftime performer at the Super Bowl. Cardi Bowl? I don’t know if I buy that but for sure this was timed for Grammys consideration and released during the nominations voting period. Cardi B has submitted in multiple categories including Album of the Year.

If we are talking about the Super Bowl though, we are now three weeks past when Bad Bunny was announced last year. Puck News reported yesterday that Jay-Z has chosen himself as the halftime performer and will confirm it during his shows at SoFi Stadium this weekend which is also where the Super Bowl is happening in February. This I totally buy. He’s been on a legacy-cementing anniversary run this whole year and this would cap it off. But, ugh, does this mean act iii won’t be happening until after that?

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

Photo credits: YouTube/NPR

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