Fil-Am rapper Ruby Ibarra beats 7,500 entries, debuts at Tiny Desk Concert

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June 3, 2025 | 9:43am

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American rapper Ruby Ibarra made her debut on NPR's Tiny Desk recently. 

Ruby was chosen among 7,500 entries from independent artists across the US. 

In her debut, Ruby opened her mini concert with "Bakunawa," a song about Filipino folklore and motherhood. 

Ruby performs in English, Tagalog and Bisaya, switching effortlessly between the three languages from one verse to the next.

She also performed "7000 Miles," a song about her and her family's experiences as immigrants. 

“Being human is not illegal. Immigrants have been here, lived here, worked here. And this immigrant is here. From Tacloban City, Philippines, all the way to Washington, D.C., my name is Ruby Ibarra,” she said. 

She ended her performance with "Someday," a song she passed as an entry in the Tiny Desk contest in 2019. Although she did not win back then with her band The Balikbayans, she said that winning this time around is much better.

For her win this year, Ruby brought in an all-Filipino band featuring Ouida (vocals), June Millington (guitar, vocals), Anna Macan (guitar, background vocals), Camille Ramirez (bass, flute, background vocals), Angelo “LASI” Macaraeg (keys, guitar), JoJo Gajardo Ramirez (drums), and Charito Soriano (background vocals). — Video from NPR YouTube channel

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