Pop culture audiences would like to think that Jack Harlow was some overnight success, but the Lousiville rapper has been working at his craft for years. There was a time when the curly hair and glasses were his signature look as he invaded Rap spaces in hopes of one day hitting it big, and with Generation Now by his side, Harlow is beginning to carve out the legacy that many artists only dream of achieving. Fans enjoyed his Come Home The Kids Miss You album that hosted heavy-hitting features, and in his spread with Teen Vogue, Harlow addressed the ongoing criticisms about his amassing success with Black music.
“Black women are such a massive part of my career,” he says. “I was telling The New York Times how it’s not a massive phenomenon to me because it’s just a continuation of how my life was before I was famous.”
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“They’ll never have to worry about not being credited by me…. I mean, I look out at my shows and I see them,” Harlow added. “It’s one thing when you see the memes and you hear people talking about it, but it’s another when you travel the country and you see them all over the place. I love Black women. I’ve loved Black women my whole life.”
Elsewhere, he also talked about being under scrutiny when he makes mistakes or gets caught up in controversy, much like he did when he didn’t recognize Brandy’s voice and was unaware that she was Ray J’s sister.
“The era we live in has forced you, as a public figure, to be hyperaware of the decisions you’re making,” he said. “Not everything can be, ‘What a charming guy who knows exactly what to say.’ It’s not human. Sometimes you put your foot in your mouth… Everything you say is really liable to affect your career in a crazy way,” he says. “That’s just the nature of where we’re at. But it’s also dependent on your integrity, which is something I feel I have a lot of.”
Check out a few highlights below.
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