E-40 rocked NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series and served notice that he has one of the strongest catalogs in the game. The Bay Area godfather helped open Black Music Month with an impressive set on Monday (June 2), showcasing his decades-long discography, from “Da Bumble” to “Sprinkle Me.” And his hits were perfectly suited for the live band.

40 (born Earl Stevens) was an indie workhorse in Vallejo, CA before he broke through nationally with In a Major Way back in the mid-1990s. He saw a commercial resurgence in the early 2000s via the crunk era; he helped put hyphy on the national map and has now been embraced by Gen Z via TikTok. His Tiny Desk was a great reminder that when speaking about longevity in hip-hop, 40 Fonzarelli has to be in that conversation.

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