The first time I heard of Jack Harlow was through a press release. He had signed with Don Cannon and DJ Drama’s record label Generation Now, and was now receiving a big commercial push. Along with promoting Harlow’s “fresh style, unconventional sound, and rebellious spirit,” the release also highlighted his early co-signs from big names in the music industry, including Diddy. Though his alliance with Generation Now—the label that backed Lil Uzi Vert—was intriguing, I’ll admit I judged a book by its cover.
Here was this white, 20-something guy with curly brown hair and an innocent look in his eyes. He was coming out of Louisville, Kentucky, and his résumé wasn’t stacked at the time. He had released a series of singles and mixtapes, featuring guest appearances from Bryson Tiller, K Camp, and CyHi the Prynce, but nothing seemed to stick (in a major way, anyway). I know every artist has to start somewhere, and their first singles are not always indicative of their future success, but I wasn’t convinced. Nothing about the music stood out to me, and I assumed he would chase corny trends or gimmicks. Over the course of just two years, though, Jack Harlow has worked overtime to prove everyone wrong—including me.
Harlow’s 2020 single “Whats Poppin” was his breakout moment. It was released as the lead single from his Sweet Action project, and quickly became a fan-favorite on TikTok. The song was certainly catchy, but with playful lyrics about eating fettuccine and satin bed sheets, it leaned into a cutesy aesthetic that seemed geared toward a young audience, and still didn’t have me convinced. The numbers were impressive, though. The Cole Bennett-produced video racked up millions of views on YouTube, and in April 2020, he released the remix, featuring DaBaby, Tory Lanez, and Lil Wayne, propelling it to No. 2 on the Hot 100. The remix still had the same silliness as the original, but the song’s continued popularity and three solid features sparked my interest. Still, he needed more than a viral track to fully change naysayers’ opinions, like mine.
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Harlow’s debut album That’s What They All Say was a turning point for me. Throughout the project, he showed a level of maturity and a skillset that wasn’t apparent from his previous releases. Songs like “Face of My City” with Lil Baby and “Tyler Herro” helped to establish him as a kickback party rapper with slick flows, but you couldn’t put him in a box, either. He also showed he could slow things down and get introspective on a soulful cut like “Keep It Light.” He had more range than it first appeared.
Then his Lil Nas X collaboration “Industry Baby” dropped in July 2021, and it became a smash hit. There is no denying it. I didn’t need to review its stats—a No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 chart, a three-time platinum certification, and a Grammy nomination—to feel that. It’s a triumphant, sex-positive track that blends rap and pop thanks to addictive production from Take A Daytrip and Kanye West. And Harlow’s smooth verse was memorable, stacked with one-liners like “I didn’t peak in high school, I’m still out here gettin’ cuter.”
Like most young artists, Jack Harlow still has room for improvement, but my increased curiosity about him is about more than just the music. He has a mixture of humor, swagger, and humility that makes him an ideal celebrity in today’s landscape. His demeanor is disarming to mainstream audiences, but his authenticity no matter the situation is what has charmed the hip-hop community. To put it simply, he’s very likable.
In June 2021, Harlow went viral after an interaction between him and rapper Saweetie on the red carpet at the BET Awards surfaced. In the video, he kindly interrupts an interview to introduce himself. “Hi Saweetie, I’m Jack,” he says, to which Saweetie replies, “I know.” As they shake hands, Saweetie asks why he’s shaking. “Nobody’s shaking,” he calmly responds, with a smile, before leaving. The video showed Jack’s natural charm, and even though he wasn’t exactly successful in shooting his shot, it helped establish his image as a heartthrob.
A month later, Harlow’s response to the controversy surrounding the music video for “Industry Baby” earned him more respect in my eyes. The video, which depicted Lil Nas X and Black backup dancers twerking naked in a prison, was met with homophobic remarks. Harlow was the lone white guy in the shoot, and was depicted in a separate prison scene with a woman, but he was still criticized for his involvement. Responding to the controversy on Twitter, he wrote, “Nas wrote the whole treatment for this video and I followed his lead every step of the way. If he had asked me to be in that shower scene I woulda been in that shower scene. I just let the mastermind cook. Honored to be a part of it.” It was an admirable response, considering the homophobia that persists in the hip-hop industry. He even revealed that his team advised him against doing the video, but he said he “just realized there is a fundamental difference with how the world is seen by some people.” He explained, “Some people think certain things are wrong. There are some people, at the root level—although they don’t want to hurt any gays; they don’t hate gays—they think it is wrong, whether it’s religion or whatever reason it is. But for me, I have never been this way. Never.”
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As the year went on, something else became clear: Jack Harlow is funny. His humor came out during an episode of Complex’s GOAT Talk with close friend and collaborator Druski. Reading from a cue card, Harlow pretended that it was asking what his GOAT “vaccination” spot was. After some confusion, Druski took the card and revealed it actually read GOAT “vacation” spot. It was a short moment, but it gave a glimpse of his quick wit and down to earth personality, and it went viral on TikTok and YouTube. The whole segment was hilarious, and it hinted at an “it” factor that is helping turn Harlow into a massive star. Moments like that are rare, especially at a time when many artists are turning away from formal interviews. And when new artists do sit down with publications, they often give one-word answers or aren’t interested in participating in playful segments.
Jack Harlow isn’t the first white rapper with a sense of humor who has emerged in recent years, of course. We’ve seen it with artists like Lil Dicky and Macklemore, but Harlow comes across differently. He doesn’t rely on gimmicks, and it seems he’s a serious rapper who happens to have a great sense of humor, rather than a jokey rapper who is difficult to take seriously.
He’s also made a conscious decision to not focus his music on his race. “I think what has worked for me is that my music has never been about the fact that I am white,” he said in conversation with GQ. “I don’t try to lean into the, ‘Hey, I’m the white boy.’ I try not to make it a novelty. I rap from the heart, rather than trying to do a white version of the art form.” Over the years, he’s demonstrated a true appreciation of hip-hop culture, which earns him some points. In addition to showing love to the legends and pioneers of rap, he’s also made an effort to engage in the politics that affect a Black-dominated genre. In 2020, Harlow participated in a Black Lives Matter protest in Louisville and touched on police brutality during his XXL Freshman freestyle. The following year, he discussed his responsibility to speak up in an interview with Billboard. “No matter how embraced I am, there will never be a day that I’m Black,” he said. “With that being said, there’s a certain responsibility that comes with being a white man in a Black genre, and there are certain things that have me regarded differently.” It’s a straightforward response that shows fans he acknowledges his place in the genre.
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In December 2020, Jack Harlow told Complex that he was excited to prove people wrong. “I’m in the business of turning skeptics to believers,” he said. “I think people right now have me boxed in as the white boy who can really rap. I see what everyone says about me… But it doesn’t bother me like it did when I was younger. And for me, it’s about proving people wrong and showing my range.”
Harlow’s prediction is coming true. In February 2022, he earned perhaps the biggest co-sign of his career when Kanye West shouted him out and declared him the “top 5 right now.” Harlow later appeared onstage at Kanye’s Donda 2 event in Miami, yet another step in his impressive ascent. I can’t say he’s quite made it to my top 5 favorite rappers list yet, but through his consistent music releases and all-around personality, he’s definitely won me over. I’m excited to see how he continues to grow in this space.
