Concert Review: the Jacka at the National Guard Armory in KCK
Something special happened on Friday night at the National Guard Armory in Kansas City, Kansas. Call it a hip-hop Hallmark moment.
There were about 75 to 100 people, mostly teenagers, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Jacka, a Bay Area rapper who for several years has successfully tunneled his way through hip-hop’s underground and who had come into KC for a series of events over the weekend.
In the three hours between the beginning of the event and the Jacka’s appearance around 11 p.m., the audience witnessed a series of uneven minor performances.
A handful of local groups appeared, running the gamut from a Soulja Boy-inspired dance troupe to Punk Rock Girls (PRG), a lively girl group that commanded the stage with inspired choreography and youthful energy.
For some of them, such as the four-member rap group who failed to deliver on their brave promise to turn the small crowd out, it looked like their first time onstage. For others, like a rapping duo who boasted that they “turn 20s into 100s,” the emptiness of the building seemed to have sapped most of their inspiration.
These performances, thankfully, stood in direct contrast to the Jacka’s set. Joining the Clip Up Gang, a local rap group headed by Nelson El, for their last song, the Jacka immediately got things popping.
