After a long wait, Come Home The Kids Miss You made its public debut online and on tour. Infamous rapper, Jackman Harlow, born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky is adored by many. As all twenty-six venues in different cities around the U.S. and Canada were sold out, Harlow has grown more and more famous over the years. I was fortunate enough to see Harlow in Chicago on October 1, 2022.

With a very diverse crowd present, I noticed a heavy population of women in their late teens to early twenties. I, being seventeen, can respectively admit his looks add a huge advancement to his career. The population of males was needless to say, lacking. Most of the guys there seemed to be there just to accompany their significant others, yet some seemed to have genuine interest. In Harlow’s music itself and his popular female fanbase, the question still lingers, “Is Jack Harlow a bop or a flop?” 

As 7:45pm hit the clocks at the Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago,IL, the show had just begun. The opening acts, The Homies, and City Girls had the crowd hype for the night ahead of them. I personally was not familiar with The Homies, but they gave off great vibes and were a perfect group to set the energy high. Now I will admit, I’m not a diehard City Girls fan, but their music does bring out energy. 

The crowd anxiously waited as the clock struck ten when Jack finally began. Opening the show with his hit “Talk of The Town”, the song also serves as first on the album. Shadowed behind a curtain, the creativity was very evident, emphasizing his lyrics into art. As the curtain dropped fans were overjoyed as Harlow showcased his most controversial song, “Dua Lipa”. Many feel as Jack came off too strong in his admiration for Lipa and took it too far, though fans in the crowd couldn’t seem to care less. Continuing through recent songs such as “Young Harleezy”, Harlow made his way back for his day one fans. From his older albums, “That’s What They All Say”, “Confetti”, and “Loose”, fans that have stuck around “since before I got my beard” were amused. Through Harlow’s connective performances, songs such as “Tyler Herro”, “Sundown”, “Warsaw”, and “Thru the Night” brought the height of the energy. The smooth transitions in between songs kept the crowd connected and engaged. 

In Harlow’s different sets, most of the show was staged in front of a custom built garage with a live band playing inside. The set was inspired by Harlow’s song “Route 66”, referring back to his hometown roots in Louisville. 

Through the performances of songs, both old and new, experiencing this show in person was a once in a lifetime memory that I will never forget. As the show came to a close, TikTok famous songs such as “21C Delta” (in regards to Jack’s love and respect for nurses;)) and “Way Out” featuring Big Sean really gave the crowd a great conclusion. Just as everyone thought the concert was sadly at an end, “I wanna say one more thing- I’ve been a G” Harlow said. Ending the show with his number one hit “First Class”, the Chicago show was a success. 

The question comes full circle as to whether or not Jack Harlow’s music is actually good. I will now present the very unnecessary list of rankings as to the best and worst songs on the album as well as my very biased opinion of his music.

#1: Young Harleezy; The piano keys really emphasize the song to another level. Harlow’s lyrics give context as to how his life was trying to grow as an artist from a very young age which is very touching. 

#2: Churchill Downs ft. Drake; The slow rhythm and chill vibes intermixed with upbeat rap make this such a good song. The teaser video Jack posted on TikTok featuring a snip of this song caught my attention; staring Topanga from “Boy Meets World”. Also the fact that Drake is featured makes this 5 times better because Drake is gas. 

#3: Movie Star ft. Pharell Williams; Although this seems like an odd duo, once the song starts there’s almost always immediate head bobs to the beat. Pharell’s feature in the song reminds me of my childhood from his song “Happy” playing any and everywhere. 

#4: Like A Blade Of Grass; Like Churchill Downs, this is definitely a song to snap and jam to.

#5: First Class; You really can’t go wrong with First Class, is it a very catchy song. I mean if given the opportunity, who wouldn’t wanna ride first class with Jack Harlow?!?!

#6: Nail Tech; The sound of trumpets gives “Industry Baby” vibes all over again; which is neither good nor bad, but eh.  

#7: Side Piece; This song gives both an upbeat and acoustic feel. There’s nothing much else to say about it.

#8:State Fair; this song really brings out the side of fame that people don’t see; having to deal with cameras everywhere, everyone in your business at all times. It makes me strive to be a better person when thinking of spreading gossip I don’t know is factual. 

#9: Parent Trap ft. Justin Timberlake; This again is a weird duo for a song, to me even stranger than Jack and Pharell. This song doesn’t excite me, but isn’t a song I would skip if it played on shuffle.

#10: Lil Secret; From this point on, the songs in general aren’t bad songs, they just don’t have the sparkle the others do.

#11: Poison ft. Lil Wayne

#12: Talk Of The Town

#13: Dua Lipa; Dua Lipa is a hype song, but in my opinion, Harlow has released better.

#14: I’ll Do Anything To Make You Smile

#15: I Got A Shot; it’s just lacking, doesn’t really have any ‘pizzaz’

Needless to say, I believe Jack Harlow is indeed a bop. Even though my opinion is very biased considering my infatuation with his looks, his music is both catchy and relevant to GenZ as a whole. The concert itself was ‘t’d’ for sure, ten out of ten would recommend.