"Backstage Passes" is a song by American rapper

EST Gee George Albert Stone III (born May 11, 1994), known professionally as EST Gee, is an American rapper. He is signed to Yo Gotti's Collective Music Group (CMG), Interscope Records and Warlike. His fifth mixtape, ''Bigger Than Life or Death'', re ...

featuring American rapper

Jack Harlow Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. He started his career in 2015 and released several EPs and mixtapes before he was signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now in ...

, from the former's debut studio album ''

I Never Felt Nun ''I Never Felt Nun'' is the debut studio album by American rapper EST Gee. It was released through Interscope Records, Collective Music Group, and Warlike on September 16, 2022. The album features guest appearances from Future, Jack Harlow, Bryson ...

'' (2022). Produced by Pooh Beatz and Nik Dean, it was sent to

rhythmic contemporary radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

on October 11, 2022 as the fifth single from the album.

Composition

The song sees EST Gee and Jack Harlow rapping about their prowess in their hometown of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. The latter also mentions traveling to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in his verse.

Critical reception

Paul Attard of '' Slant Magazine'' wrote a favorable review of the song:

There's one guest spot on ''I Never Felt Nun'' that effectively offsets the album's relentless bravado: Jack Harlow, whose cheeky swagger on the minimal "Backstage Passes" serves as a nice foil to Gee's self-serious fulminating. The native Louisvillians trade off their accomplishments on the track's chorus—Gee made it famous for "turkey bags," while Harlow gave its residents a few Guinness-sized "big records"—with a laidback charisma, exhibiting a natural rapport that veers into boyish playfulness. It's not a terribly flashy collaboration, especially given how barebones the track's production remains, but it exemplifies ''I Never Felt Nun''s workmanlike ethos. If only that approach had been applied to the album's editing.

Music video

A music video for the song was released on September 16, 2022, alongside ''I Never Felt Nun''. Directed by

Cole Bennett Cole Michael Bennett (born May 14, 1996) is an American business executive, videographer, and music video director. His multimedia company, Lyrical Lemonade, started in 2013 as an internet blog while he was in high school. Early life Cole Be ...

, it opens with EST Gee and Jack Harlow sitting in a waiting room dressed in blue denim. The room shifts into a backdrop for a fitting session, matching the colors of the outfits that the rappers try on: red and white. Wearing the white outfits, Gee and Harlow step through a curtain and perform in front of a raucous crowd. At the end of the video, they return to the waiting room and the time for their appointment arrives.

Charts

References

{{Jack Harlow 2022 singles 2022 songs EST Gee songs Jack Harlow songs Songs written by EST Gee Songs written by Jack Harlow Interscope Records singles