Freddie Gibbs wasn’t supposed to make it this far. A decade ago, Gibbs was a major-label refugee who’d returned to his roots as a Midwest mixtape rapper. When Gibbs found critical acclaim, when he reached the point where he could perform on a festival stage in the middle of the afternoon, that felt like a triumph. But Gibbs just kept making good decisions and rapping at an extremely high level, and he’s now known as one of the most consistently inspired rappers on today’s landscape. Gibbs’ performance on last night’s Tonight Show should show you the kind of respect that he commands.

When the Roots first signed on as Jimmy Fallon’s house band more than a decade ago, they used to perform with just about every rapper who came on the show as a musical guest. That hardly ever happens anymore, but the Roots were Freddie Gibbs’ backing band last night, and he made perfect sense up there with them. (Black Thought wasn’t onstage with Gibbs last night, but they’ve collaborated a couple of times, and they’re cut from the same cloth.)

With the Roots behind him, Gibbs performed “Blackest In The Room,” the swirling Alchemist-produced track from his great 2022 album $oul $old $eparately, and then he transitioned directly into the Anderson .Paak collab “Feel No Pain” with .Paak himself. On that song, .Paak really raps, and he and Gibbs showed some serious onstage chemistry. By the end of the performance, you could tell that Gibbs knew it was going well, that he was really enjoying himself. It’s very cool to see. Watch it below.

$oul $old $eparately is out now on Warner.