December 10, 2022 – Baxter Arena – Omaha, NE

On Saturday night December 10th, Headliner Marketing and Omaha radio station Power 106.9, presented Jingle Jam, and it was awesome!  With over 4 hours of entertainment, fans definitely got their money’s worth.

The night began with the Power 106.9 DJ’s mixing hit after hit to get the crowd ready for the main show.  Shortly after 7pm, Frank Zank & Tmbr Wolf Tone took the stage.  Frank Zank consists of T-Zank and Ben Frankie, and together with Tmbr Wolf Tone, they lit up the stage.  These guys had great energy, and they set the tone for the rest of the night.

Next to the stage was Gemtunes, a trio that hails from Corpus Christi, Texas.  The group consists of David Brandon, Jay Phaze, and King Gem, and they sounded great.  Their songs “Life of a Hustle”, and “Go N Get It”, were standouts for me.

Qonfliq, a rapper from Iowa, took the stage next, and he was great.  Performing most of the songs from his EP, “Abnormal”, he had great energy, and had the crowd on their feet.

After more mixing from the DJ’s, Twista took the stage, and the crowd popped.  In 1992, Twista’s rapping earned him a Guinness World Record for the fastest English-speaking rapper in the world.  He currently has over 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and he sounded great.  He’s been producing and performing music since 1989, and is still releasing new music today.   For me, the highlight of his set was when he performed his smash hit, “Slow Jamz.” 

Do or Die, from Chicago, was up next.  Even though they’ve been performing since 1995, they haven’t slowed down.  They had great energy, were all smiles, and had the crowd on their feet.  The group has over 376 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and has released ten studio albums.  Their latest studio album, “The Storm”, was just released earlier this year.

After making his way through the crowd from the opposite side of the arena, Lloyd took the stage, and the crowd went crazy.  This guy is pure entertainment.  He looked and sounded great, and treated fans to some of his biggest hits.  The show was running a little late, so I think his set was cut short, which was a little disappointing, but he was awesome.  Decked out in a white button-down shirt, dress pants, sweater, red shoes, and sunglasses, Lloyd looked like he was ready for a fashion show!  He has released 5 studio albums, has performed with some of music’s biggest icons including Ludacris, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, and Ashanti, and currently has over 4.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify.  New Orleans, Louisiana, has manufactured some of the greatest performers in music history, and Lloyd is cut from the same cloth.  During his set, he stressed a message of spreading love and positivity, and the importance of telling your loved ones how much you care about them.  I’m so glad I got to see him live!

After what seemed to be an extra long intermission filled with more DJ music and a set change, the headliners for the night appeared on stage, and the arena erupted!  Ja Rule was out first, and he hasn’t aged a bit!  After a few minutes, Ashanti, complete with a skin-tight red leather bodysuit and red high heels, joined him.  She looked absolutely stunning.  It’s hard to believe her self-titled debut album, “Ashanti”, was released 20 years ago.  In addition to having three certified platinum albums, Ashanti has also won a Grammy Award, a Kids’ Choice Award, and a NAACP Image Award.  She has almost 6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and became the first female artist to hold two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart simultaneously with, “Foolish”, and “What’s Luv?”.  Ashanti and Ja Rule have great on-stage chemistry, and you could tell she was having a lot of fun.  Ja Rule seemed to be in a great mood too!  He danced around the stage, waved his hands back and forth, and at one point, jumped up on one of the big speakers!  Rule has sold over 14.4 million albums in the U.S., and over 30 million worldwide.  He’s released 7 studio albums, has been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards, and has won a BET Award, a GQ Men of the Year Award, a MTV Video Music Award, a NAACP Image Award, and a Teen Choice Award. His energy was infectious, and the crowd was on their feet and singing to all of his smash hit songs.  If you have the chance to see Ashanti and Ja Rule live, do it!  They put on an awesome show!    

Ja Rule & Ashanti Set List:

• Mesmerize
• Happy
• So Into You
• Living It Up
• Between Me & You
• Can I Get A…
• Only You
• What’s Luv
• Put It On Me
• Down Ass B*tch
• Down 4 You
• The Way That I Love You
• The Woman You Love
• Rain On Me
• New York
• Clap Back
• Baby
• Falling For You
• Rock With You
• Ain’t It Funny
• I’m Real
• Foolish
• Always On Time

_{For the complete photo gallery of this show, please visit The Review Junkie Facebook page.}