19-year-old Kentucky based rapper Jack Harlow performed at the M-Shop Tuesday night. Harlow spit rhymes to a hyped-up crowd eager to eat up his energy.

The show opened with fellow Kentucky hip-hop act and “brothers” of Jack Harlow: The Homies. The five-man group took the stage to Kendrick Lamar’s “The Art of Peer Pressure” with the line from the song “I’m with the homies right now” cleverly ringing out.

The Homies were all smiles and laughs at the beginning of their set, which instantly translated to the receptive crowd. The group admitted that they were unsure of how the Iowan crowd would receive them, but were surprised to see how great the turn-out and atmosphere was.

The Homies had an undeniable chemistry that made the group’s name feel genuine. The members each rapped their fellow homie’s verses away from their mics and boosted each other’s one-liners with enthusiastic ad-libs.

Member 2forwONyE attempted to flip a water bottle and land it on it’s bottom mid-song. He exclaimed that he was “zero for sixty-eight” on bottle flipping at shows.

During their final song, member Ace Pro performed a back-flip on stage and then proceeded to rap in the crowd. By the time The Homies’ closer was over the audience was beyond warmed up for the main act. The Homies remained on stage after their set and continued to work the crowd before Jack Harlow arrived.

It wasn’t long before Harlow graced the stage in a half-sprint already shouting the opening lyrics to his opener “Ice Cream.” The Homies remained behind Jack Harlow, bouncing and ad-libbing along with their fellow statesman.

It was clear right away that many in the audience were big fans of Harlow as most were rapping along with nearly every song. Harlow received the energy from the crowd instantly and complimented Iowa State for their mannerisms.

Harlow described the M-Shop’s vibe as “historic” and that it felt like an “intimate setting.” Harlow even shouted at Iowa State’s mascot, Cy, and said then when he pulled into Ames he decided a cyclone is “the hardest mascot in America.”

Harlow performed an unreleased song “Damn Shame” that brought out one of the biggest crowd receptions of the show. From there, Harlow went into “Wasted Youth,” a song that appeared to hit home to the young crowd as they bobbed and swayed with the moody vibe of the track. Harlow cooled things down with “Detox” which features a low-key beat and singing from Harlow.

The final song of the show was the one song anyone would know if they’ve heard of Jack Harlow; “Dark Knight”. Harlow described the song as a “slapper” and hyped the crowd up as much as he could before the beat dropped.

When “Dark Knight” began the crowd did as Harlow asked and went insane for the closing banger. Harlow left the stage and made his way into the crowd to dish out his rhymes alongside fans making it one of the most intimate live experiences one could ask for.

After Harlow wrapped things up, Ace Pro of The Homies suggested he should run the song back another time, the crowed agreed, and Harlow granted everyone’s wish. The second run through however, the crowd became even more involved when one fan was invited onto the stage and handed a microphone to rap alongside Harlow.

“I thought it was great. The dude knows how to hype up a crowd,” said Becca Dorsett, freshman in animal ecology. The show being her first exposure to the artist. 

Harlow opened up to the audience before the final song to say that he felt that this was his best show he’s done so far. Given the involvement and receptiveness of the M-Shop audience that night, I couldn’t disagree with him.