How a nice Kentucky boy became the brightest emerging star of rap

To get an idea of ​​what fans feel by Jack Harlow, you have to take into account the preparations for Annie Rodgers for the rapper concert of November 5 in Eugene (Oregon). Around two in the morning of that day, Rodgers led to a 24 -hour Walmart to acquire panties. After buying the pair that further dressed, she went home to stamp «Mrs. Harlow »In her underwear and paste a note through which he invited her to meet her the next day to take a shake. At ten in the morning she was already camping at the door of the McDonald Theater, with the entrance and panties in her hand, willing to wait twelve hours to have more chances of being in the front row when Harlow went on stage. She (she was able to deliver the panties to her idol, who smelled them jokingly, but did not appear for the shake). Why so much effort? «It is only her behavior in general; She has that great behavior, ”says Rodgers. "She is the guy that most 20 -year -old boys want to be, and most 20 -year -old girls want to be with him."

Although it is his first tour as the head of the poster, Harlow has become accustomed to fans like Rodgers throwing panties, fasteners and marriage proposals at each stop.It's like the boy next door, if that boy had 44 million monthly listeners in Spotify.Critics have described him as adorable, lovely, vulnerable, even emotionally authentic, and with a lot of talent.Harlow doesn't care about panties or attention.In fact, he gloats in it, believing that this will be the last time he touches something as intimate as a place with capacity for 2,500 people during the tour.

And it is that this 23 -year -old born in Louisville (Kentucky) hopes to become someone big.Really big.It is not arrogance, but hungry.He knows that he is not the first emerging star that predicts greatness and then fades.But Harlow has been working for this, practicing hours every day, for more than a decade.He has paid off with sharp letters that mix benign references to Sportscentr, Fettuccine and plane seats with the usual tropes of getting girls and becoming rich.«I am afraid of not reaching my potential.It drives me all the time to see where it could be, but knowing that it is not necessarily written in the stars for me, ”says Harlow."I am afraid of not making the most of this life."

Of empty bars to exhaust tickets

So far so good.In the last two years, she has gone from playing in empty bars to exhaust the tickets of premises such as The Fillmore of Philadelphia and the Crystal Ballroom of Portland on her Crème de la Crème tour.At the same time, his single Whats Poppin and his remix have achieved more than one billion views in Spotify.You have to add almost one billion more by Industry Baby, Harlow's collaboration with Lil Nas X. All this has contributed to the face of the Forbes Under 30 of 2022 musical list.

Harlow knows too well the skepticism that a middle class record artist can receive in the rap world.But he has already earned three Grammy nominations, not to mention the respect of icons like Drake or Jay-Z.Dj Drama, who is attributed to the merit of having started Lil Wayne and Lil Uzi Vert, argues that Harlow is the authentic protagonist, with an almost algebraic domain of the rap game."Look at the greats - the Drake, Kendricks and Colles - and sees them on Mount Rushmore," says Drama."What attracted me from him was that hunger to be one of the Goat."

But he will do it in the manner of Jack Harlow.He is not a rap artist who tries to convince you to buy 500 dollars sneakers or a limited edition shirt.In his place, he has earned more than one million dollars selling sweatshirts of 40 dollars with a serigraphy cardinal and 30 dollars with his curly brown hair.The most striking thing he carries is a necklace with a Kentucky map.

Success in God mode

And although he already has enough money and influence to retire home like Colonel Sanders of Rap - presenting that "he became a millionaire at age 22" in his song Rendezvous - Harlow is obsessed with achieving success in God mode.Last year was: «Who is this new white boy who knows how to rappel?He is a drug, ”says Harlow from his alcohol -free dressing room and drugs in Detroit's opera (Harlow stopped drinking in 2021, telling his Instagram followers that he felt he didn't need it).«This year I will show the world who I am.I want to be the greatest rapper.I just want everyone to know that I love rap and that I am about to destroy ».

Growing up in Louisville with two horses and a brother, Harlow prospered in English class, living to write stories.The rapper believes that he learned to be vulnerable - and to launch that emotion after his stories - of his father, who often told his son "I love you."(It was his mother who put Eminem in the uterus and the one who encouraged her son to devote himself to rap with an imprisonment inspired by Malcom Gladwell Outliers).And then, thanks to his passion for singing and by Slim Shady, Harlow discovered the local rap scene."Scripture, narration, rhythm ... I was very attracted," he says.He made you move, made you dance, feel safe from yourself;It made you feel like man ».

Destination: Atlanta

After the institute, Harlow moved to Atlanta (Georgia) to work in his trade.He says he "shook his hand" to any novel artist or employee of a record company.He closed all open microphones and rapped for empty chairs, making a living by buns in Chick-Fil-A on the Georgia State campus during the day.At the end of 2017, while he was in an appointment at the cinema, his phone did not stop buzzing when his song Dark Knight went viral.

That caught the attention of DJ Drama, who says that “being a white man in the black space, Jack did not try to be anything other than.He seemed very comfortable from the beginning.Drama signed Harlow and produced his first studio album Thats What They All Say, which reached number five on the United States album lists.His main single, Whats Poppin, has been used in almost 400,000 Videos of Tiktok.As Harlow points out, “it's not just that he wants to be the best;I want to kill everyone else ».

A for the second studio album

Harlow is now recording his second studio album and predicts that this is what will get to the level of idols such as Jay-Z and Kanye West (whom he especially wants to "kill" proverbially).Although he does not reveal much about the sound of his next album, he says: «I love the last album, but it will not compare with the first«.

A little fanfarería, maybe, but Harlow is worried with his work."From the age of 12, every time I launched a new project, I felt terrified because I felt this was the best thing I could do," he says."I've always felt:" I can't overcome this shit. "And once again, I have overcome this shit ».

Collaborations with brands

Although Harlow focuses mainly on his music, he is excited to associate with brands and carry out collaborations that feel like Kentucky's quintessence.Last year, he associated with Tommy Hilfiger, as star of the autumn / winter 21 season, after knowing that the designer grew up in the same street as his grandfather.He also collaborated with his favorite footwear company, New Balance, and sponsored Alitas on Instagram for his favorite restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings.Other sponsors are Call of Duty, Venmo and Cheetos.With all this, he has earned more than 5 million dollars in 2021, according to estimates of the American version of Forbes."We have made many passes this year because we want to make sure that I align with the brand and not extend too much," says Harlow."It's great to make an agreement with a brand that used to use as a child and now gets into me."

Harlow knows that his is not the usual path to rap stardom.But he is proud to be a local hero.This month he will give five consecutive concerts in five Louisville stores, donating a dollar for each entry sold to local beneficial organizations.As Harlow says: "I can do a million successful songs, but you can't compare to return home and say:" I want to get up with me. "