Jack Harlow is at a crossroads. The Louisville native was more 700 miles away from home as he took the stage in NYC at Brooklyn Paramount on Thursday night (Oct. 18) as part of the Citi Sound Vault concert series.
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Harlow has laid low on the music side this year, as he hasn’t unleashed as much as a single. His “Lovin on Me” bop carried him through the early part of 2024 as the Oz-produced hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.
It’s been about 18 months since Jackman ‘s arrival in April 2023, which pivoted from his pop curiosities and catered to his core rap fanbase. The project ended up peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.
After a year off, Harlow knows his next move needs to be his best move. The 26-year-old tuned out the noise and looked inward as he searched for “his why” when it comes to discovering newfound inspiration for his upcoming project — and he appears to have grasped onto something concrete.
“And I do got some very special s–t on the way,” he teased the crowd at one point, although he stopped short of making any official announcements regarding new music.
Emerging singer Laila! kicked off the night around 8 p.m. ET. The 18-year-old Brooklynite, who is Mos Def’s daughter, warmed up the crowd with her Brandy-esque vocals and self-produced eclectic beats packaged into standouts such as “Not My Problem” and “Like That!” Her Gap Year! project is more than worth a listen for R&B fans searching for bright talent, as Laila!’s a name to keep an eye on going forward.
The curtain dropped on Jack Harlow precisely at 9 p.m. ET as he faced the roar of 2,000-plus filling the venue. His set was more of a living room straight out of Architectural Digest . Rocking a black turtleneck and matching trousers, he initially sat on an L-shaped white couch, surrounded by lavish light fixtures and his DJ mixing from a wooden desk.
The ode to Miami Heat star “Tyler Herro” put Harlow’s set in drive as he ran through tracks such as hometown anthem “Route 66,” “They Don’t Love It” and “Is That Ight?”
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“I was a little nervous tonight — it’s been a while,” Harlow admitted. “It’s been a great start though.”
Even with the time off, Harlow’s still a technician on stage with the mic in his hand. He sought out the day-one fans in the audience while performing “Warsaw,” “Sylvia” and “Way Out” before dedicating “21C/Delta” to the nurses in the building.
Missionary Jack took it to 2022’s Come Home, the Kids Miss You to perform “Movie Star,” “Poison,” “Nail Tech,” “Like a Blade of Grass” and “Dua Lipa,” while the British-Kosovo superstar performed at the noble Royal Albert Hall across the pond on the same night.
Harlow then pressed pause on the show to candidly provide some insight into his psyche as he plots on the next chapter of his career.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about how much art is being uploaded into the world. I sit there thinking about why contribute? Why add more? I spent this last year and a half thinking about it,” he reflected. “Why do you want to make music? What’s your contribution? And I think I’m getting pretty close. I appreciate all the patience you’ve shown me as I put some thought into why I would add more art to this cluster of art. I don’t know if I want to give anymore art to the world unless it’s worthwhile.”
Jack sent the fans home happy as he dipped back into his bag to run through a few of his massive hits including Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby,” his breakthrough “WHATS POPPIN,” the Fergie-sampling “First Class” and closed out with “Lovin On Me.”
Performing for just under an hour, Harlow finished out teasing his next era. “Next time I see you, we gonna have something to talk about,” he cryptically hinted.
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