When accepting his “Hitmaker of Tomorrow” award at Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch on Saturday, Jack Harlow credited reading books like Harry Potter when he was in school for making him the writer he is today.
As reported by Variety, the “Already Best Friends” rapper started his acceptance speech off by saying that when he was in second grade his school had a competitive reading program that awarded points to students who could prove via various quizzes that they had read challenging books.
“The bigger more challenging the book, the more points you earned,” Harlow said. “I read every book I could find. I read all the Harry Potter books. Boy, those Harry Potter books are worth some points.”
Harlow added that at an end of the year assembly, the school staff announced the top three students who had accrued the most points for reading. Harlow ended up coming in first place.
“So I want you to imagine this little second grader, buzzcut, eyeglasses, crooked teeth walking down the bleachers on stage to accept this trophy,” Harlow said. “Before today, that’s the only time in my life I’ve ever gotten up in front of a crowd and won an award.”
The rapper added that he read a lot because he was more of an introvert growing up, but that’s what ultimately made him the writer he is today.
“I wasn’t silent, I had friends, but I was much more comfortable just observing and enjoying my own thoughts,” he explained. “I think if you took a picture of me on this stage and showed that kid, he’d be pretty blown away. But to be honest, all the ingredients were there. It was a competition and it brought out the competitor in me, which is a big part of the genre I’m in. All that reading is what made me the writer I am now, and I’m pretty sure it’s what’s going to make me the Hitmaker of Tomorrow. So thank you so much, I really appreciate y’all.”
Harlow’s fandom of “The Boy Who Lived” mean’s he must be excited for HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reunion special. The special, titled Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, will bring together Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint for the first time since the film adaptations concluded in 2011. HBO recently dropped a first look teaser trailer of the special, which airs Jan. 1 on HBO Max.
