Backed by 9th Wonder and The Storm Troopers, Jamla Records’ flagship artist, Rapsody took on the task of showcasing her skills on NPR’s popular Tiny Desk Concert series and naturally, she did not disappoint.

The North Carolina native performed a melody of standout records from her 2014 effort, Beauty and the Beast in “Godzilla, “The Man,” and “Hard To Choose” on the long-running nonprofit organization. The most recent performance was shot on Howard University’s campus.

Throughout the three-song performance, Rapsody (born Marlanna Evans) addressed the audience and elaborated on her thoughts on gender barriers with Hip Hop culture and sexuality.

“Being a female; a black female in Hip Hop…especially for me, having a younger nieces and nephews and cousins, I wanted to be a positivity role for women,” she revealed to the crowd before anchoring out her set.

“So I started rhyming and black women are who I particularly am talking to,” she continued. “And I try to do something different because in Hip Hop nowadays, you see one particular image of us. And as you know…sexy. Everything is real sex stuff. So I want to do something different. I grow up on Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Jean Grae. All of them were different; had different styles [and they] showed you all sides of what sexy and beautiful was as a woman.”

Rapsody also expounded on the early uphill battle she faced when fans didn’t exactly take to her more median fashion sense opposed to the atypical female MC.

Aside from this latest NPR gig, Rapsody recently appeared on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly album, which has fielded several Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album.