Qveen Herby delivered a meditative Billboard Live At-Home performance Wednesday (April 22) to raise money for Meals on Wheels America, which delivers food to senior citizens in need.
She began with an aura cleanse, burning synthetic Palo Santo incense sticks to pull negative energy away from her performance area filled with mysterious organ music. But in a flash, she completely transformed her domestic ambiance into a combustible arena with her spitfire verses à la “Busta Rhymes,” the second track off her debut EP with a namesake and flow inspired by the witty, speedy rapper, that she offset with a braggadocious ballad chorus.
The former Karmin member channels that sound in “Check,” the latest single from her upcoming project EP 8, which draws from Missy Elliott‘s 2004 hit “I’m Really Hot” that Timbaland co-wrote and -produced. “EP 8 is about to be so cute. EP 8 is inspired by Missy Elliott and Timbaland,” she explained. “I don’t know if you guys recall the early 2000s, but it was ripe for my favorite sounds — that overly confident, happy, badass hip-hop with R&B choruses. Like she always had amazing features, amazing music videos. That’s what EP 8 is inspired by. But of course it has that devious Morticia [Addams] energy that Qveen Herby always gives you.”
While introducing “Check” (which Nick Noonan, her husband and the other half of Karmin, co-produced), Herby initially denied its relationship to the stimulus check the government has been sending millions of Americans as part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “No, it’s not about the stimulus check — but it can be if you need it,” she said. “If you need the song or the stimulus check, this is it.”
Watch Qveen Herby’s holistic Billboard Live At-Home performance below, and donate to Meals on Wheels America here.
