If it was even a little shorter, it could almost compete with the time taken by the fans to get out of the Small Sports Hall after its end. Why the hell didn’t the organizers open the back door, as is customary at local events, and so many supporters spent a good half hour squeezed into the crowd on the stairs. The security guards and the firemen watched the very slowly thinning bunch, which stretched the line to the merch and then to the dressing room, amused from the balcony, and none of them noticed that this is not what visitor comfort really looks like. Thumb down. But back to the beginning. At eight o’clock, DJ Dynamic took the stage and opened his approximately fifteen-minute set with “No Scrubs” by TLC. To the word “piece” is important here, because rarely did any of the songs played, including Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” or Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” get more than a minute of footage. The set, composed mainly of r’n’b and hip-hop hits of the 2000s, was spoiled by its author with overdriven bass, but he nevertheless set a pleasant mood for the next event.

© Marie Trávníčková / musicserver.cz

This was provided by the rapper Nippa, who musically continued in the established genre, even though his compositions are more recent. Unfortunately, this is also the only thing for which he can be praised. A swinging walk, pouty lips, a monochromatic outfit and a hand always searching for something in the crotch. That’s his stage properties. What about music, you ask? It was completely released from the etroika, and the artist, who does not yet have a website, let alone a page on Wikipedia, only added a slight accent to it. What’s more, this performance stopped at 8:28 p.m., so it was presented to us for less than a quarter of an hour. That must be some kind of record. Jack Harlow no longer had a console on stage, the music was played by the technology from the side of the stage, so it was just him and the projection screen, which was switched off most of the time. It’s hard to say why they actually haul him around in trucks from town to town. The few figures and one video showing Jack behind the wheel, which served as an opportunity for him to jump backstage, perhaps did not even have to be. And if it’s not obvious by chance, you’d look for musical instruments here in vain.

© Marie Trávníčková / musicserver.cz

Praise goes to the technicians for – by the standards of the hall – a good sound, which, after all, was probably not the most difficult job. However, it made Jack easy to understand, so he deserves further praise, for the fact that, unlike other stars, he knew for sure what city he was playing in, and during his speeches he came across as a down-to-earth nice guy . He boasted that he had walked through the metropolis in the afternoon, had risotto for dinner, and even though he was cold here, he liked the local architecture. And he learned a word in the process “Thank you”, which he repeated during his concert. He also promised that I would definitely return to Prague. Unfortunately, he also showed that he is not a great artist. You can’t safely call him a singer, but he’s also only a part-time rapper. His lyrics are not in vain, sometimes he unfortunately manages to write a good rhyme, but he doesn’t have much to say, so in his verses you can also find a number of ego trips or relationship clichés. His work could be compared to Drake, but he is still losing to him. Or from the opposite end of the spectrum to Lip as well, because he also talks rather than outright dictating. Unlike the pathetic scumbag from Liberec, at least no one laughs at him for it.

© Marie Trávníčková / musicserver.cz

Although – not so fast. “When I started in 2020, people were like, ‘Yo, that Harlow is pretty cool, but he only has one song’. And it pissed me off. But at the same time, I like to show people that they’re in love, so I released this.” said the night’s headliner as she opened her set with “Tyler Hero,” one of her first singles. Jack went back to his beginnings when, after the mini-hit “Route 66”, he cut the songs, already shortened to about two minutes, into even smaller pieces, in order to present the material from the mixtapes in quick succession. but at the same time he had nowhere to rush, the concert was just starting at that time. But he was already heading towards the finals. That’s why he briskly ran through pieces like “Like A Blade Of Grass”, “Side Piece”, “I Wanna See Some Ass” or “Already Best Friends”, he also skipped a few songs played on the previous stops of the tour. And where it’s taken, it’s taken, the Grammy-nominated single “Industry Baby,” for which Lil Nas X gets more credit as the primary performer, has already brought the crowd of fans to euphoric cheers.

© Marie Trávníčková / musicserver.cz

Right after it, he included “What’s Poppin” and especially “First Class”, which is his first solo single, with which he took a look at the top of the Billboard charts. And it must be said that it would never have happened if he hadn’t sampled the chorus of “Glamorous” from Fergie’s solo. By the way, she did it live with him at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, which the 24-year-old native of Kentucky even co-hosted. His spoken word, however, in one of the worst years of these awards, was as dull and forgotten as his Prague premiere. Although it had its moments, it also had a number of oddities, among which we can include the fact that although the hit “Industry Baby” was played here twice during the quarter of an hour, it did not manage to cross the mark of only 58 minutes, after which a surprising ending followed.

© Marie Trávníčková / musicserver.cz

The too early finish wouldn’t be so scandalous if we had behind us a hearty set, where its protagonist would have sweated a lot and given everything he had on stage. However, Jack Harlow, with his short and forgettable performance, rather explained himself until the end. Therefore, for music connoisseurs looking for the next superstar, this concert was not quite so, and for them its main added value remains mainly the fact that it was discovered at all. However, judging by the reaction in the hall, it seemed that who is similar old and unassuming as the protagonist, probably appreciated his show. It was still better than going to a club on a Saturday night for a disco. But only a little.