Jack Harlow: Hip Hop’s Most Non Essential Rapper

Jack Harlow is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Successful yet not celebrated, Cherished by non hip-hop audiences but cast aside by rap’s hardcore fanbase, he finds himself in a spot that may be uncomfortable but is in no way unfamiliar.

#jackharlow #eminem #hiphopmadness

Narrated by: Spencer Pearman
Written by: Robert Blair
Edited by: Roman Bill
Music by: Josh Petruccio
Thumbnails by: Maison J

© HIPHOPMADNESS 2024. All rights reserved

[MrSquaky]

Why are White women (the demographic that CLEARLY spends the most money on artists) not considered part of the hip hop audeince?

[ScottThePisces]

I wouldn't take anything Pitchfork says seriously. They also put Ice Spice's new album above Rihanna's biggest albums, and that Y2K is trash.

[hakeemsesay]

I remember when you try to gas him as the next Drake. I don’t forget.

[quaerimuslux]

If you're a musician, follow David Bowie's advice. He once said that his worst album was an album he made thinking about what other people wanted from him. He didn't have fun, he didn't feel inspired, and the album flopped. And everyone can take this lesson to heart. You do YOU. Just let them talk because you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[i_am_gohan]

“Jackman” is fire tho, and that album proved a major point. Mainstream is not up on lyrical Hip-Hop rn, that jackman album flopped not because it wasn’t dope, it’s because it didn’t fit tik tok, it didn’t fit mainstream radio, it didn’t have a club, party, and festival sound.

[KGbaby]

He looks like Drake's son, Adonis. 😂

[ho_vre]

the industry cycling trying to find a new white star every few years is so true

[dbsuper]

Eminem was very aware of his whiteness and the effect it had he has countless bars talking about how he is using the black culture and getting paid from it

[NoirNameless]

Biggest issue with Jack is that he spent a lot of his time trying to be the next Drake instead of being the next him. Jack has a lot of potential though, and has all the makings of someone who can be a star. But he’s falling into the same trap Logic did back in 2016-2018. Huge fanbase, but you wear your influences so heavy on your sleeve, people put you in a box and don’t think of you as, well, you.

[MrQueezyAliTV]

In my opinion, 95% of rappers main goal is to get rich, not make mind altering music. That’s why almost all rap sounds the same these days. Skin color really shouldn’t have anything to do with it.

[_Justin_Case]

Who's still taking Pitchfork ratings seriously? They're the worst of the worst when it comes to rating albums.

[tetsujin]

Jack just sounds like white Drake to me. He has to carve his own lane and sound. His charisma is strong, though.

[thaneros]

I’m not a fan of the guy but let me get this straight, Jack’s major criticism is that he doesn’t have a unique sound yet we’re in the era of mainstream hip-hop with rappers all sounding the same? All this sounds like to me is that his debut album lacked any catchy tracks.

[exilhannabal]

Jack Harlow is like salt
Put him on some food, it might taste good

Too much tastes like shit

[MartzBeatz]

Funny thing is...nobody outside US cares who is white and black, when it comes to rap music... it's US culture thing

[kota]

I still don’t hear the similarities between him and Drake like the internet claims. Nothing he’s made sounds anything like Drake, he’s just rapping on 90s r&b beats.

[Bran-Da-Don]

If you followed Jack Harlow before he blew up then you would know he's a real hip hop person.

Unfortunately when you cross over into pop culture it comes at a price of respect.

[ryantristani]

I feel like the industry is pushing him into a box he doesn’t REALLY want to be in. Jackman shows us that he wants to be a lyrical/conscious rapper who’s taken seriously and he wants to be a great but his label would rather commercialize him. He needs to find a middle ground between substance and sales.

[elijahthompson]

Mac didn't need to try, he just started to take it more seriously and true fans of hip hop/rap really started to take notice (all without a Drake or Jay feature as said on Faces)

[ZappsPotatoChips]

I mean, the industry pushes any rapper with a marketable image/personality. I feel like Meg and Cardi B are always on TV. Ice Spice’s music is arguably more forgettable than Jack Harlow’s without her image and she’s everywhere too. The industry isn’t constantly looking to push white rappers. For male artists they more interested in hood rappers. Record labels actually pay cameramen extra to record videos in “bad” neighborhoods bc hood shit sells