Jack Harlow

In November 2015, Harlow released his first commercial record, the EP The Handsome Harlow. It was released on Gill Holland's sonaBLAST! record label.[8][13] Throughout high school, he often played sold-out shows at Louisville venues like Mercury Ballroom, Headliners, and the Haymarket Whiskey Bar.[8][9] In March 2016, he opened for Vince Staples in Louisville.[14]

In June 2016, less than a month after graduating from Atherton High School, he released the mixtape 18, which was the first album on his label and music collective, Private Garden.[15][16] The collective also features Harlow's frequent collaborators, the Homies, composed of Louisville rappers and producers Ace Pro, 2forWoyne, Shloob, Quiiso, and Ronnie Lucciano.[8] Over the course of the next year, Harlow performed at South by Southwest,[17] Bonnaroo Music Festival,[18] and the Forecastle Festival.[19]

In the summer of 2017, Harlow released the single "Routine".[8] In October of that year, he released another single, "Dark Knight", with an accompanying music video. He credits Cyhi the Prynce with helping him work through his writer's block and finish the song.[20][21] "Dark Knight" became the lead single on Harlow's mixtape Gazebo, which was released in November 2017.[9] Harlow went on a 14-city Gazebo Tour in support of the album. The Homies opened for Harlow, and the tour ended in January 2018.[22][23] In May 2018, Harlow opened for indie rock band Portugal. The Man on select tour dates.[24][25] The next month, he was featured alongside Lil James and Sixteen on the Skeme song "Get Sumn".[26]

Harlow in 2020

After moving to Atlanta, Harlow worked at the Chick-fil-A in the Georgia State University cafeteria to supplement his income. A month after working at the cafeteria he was introduced to DJ Drama at Mean Street Studio.[27]

In August 2018, it was announced that Harlow had signed to DJ Drama and Don Cannon's Generation Now record label, in conjunction with Atlantic Records. He also released a video for his single "Sundown" on the day of the announcement.[28][29] On August 17, Harlow released his major label debut mixtape, Loose.[30] The album featured guest verses from CyHi the Prynce, K Camp, 2forWoyne, and Taylor.[31] In November 2018, Harlow embarked on a North American tour in support of Loose which ended in December.[32][33][34] That month, he also released a video for the song "PickYourPhoneUp", featuring K Camp.[35] Loose was nominated for Best Mixtape at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards.[36] On August 21, 2019, Harlow released the single "Thru the Night" featuring fellow Louisville native Bryson Tiller. He then released the 12-track mixtape Confetti, which features Tiller, 2forWoyne and EST Gee. On September 19, 2019, Harlow released the single "Heavy Hitter," a tribute to Louisville attorney and internet personality Darryl Isaacs.[37][38]

On January 21, 2020, Harlow released the single "Whats Poppin", as the lead single from his second extended play (EP), Sweet Action.[39] The song was widely shared on the TikTok social media platform,[40] and the Cole Bennett-produced video has surpassed 135 million views as of May 2021.[41][42][43] On Harlow's 22nd birthday, March 13, 2020, he released the EP.[44] On April 29, 2020, Harlow released a collaboration with G-Eazy, "Moana". On June 24, 2020, Harlow released the remix of "Whats Poppin", which features DaBaby, Tory Lanez, and Lil Wayne. The remix propelled the song to reach number two on the Hot 100.[45] On August 11, Harlow was included in XXL's 2020 Freshman Class.[46] On October 22, 2020, Harlow released the single "Tyler Herro", the lead single from his debut studio album, That's What They All Say.[47] The song received a music video that stars Harlow and the NBA player of the same name. The song was praised for the "easy, weightless charisma" of Harlow's lyrics and delivery.[48] On December 2, 2020, Harlow announced the album. The second single, "Way Out", which features Big Sean, was released on December 9, 2020. The album was released on December 11, 2020. It also includes "Whats Poppin" and its remix.[49][50] On March 27, 2021, Harlow appeared as the musical guest on the 46th season of Saturday Night Live. He performed a medley of "Tyler Herro" and "Whats Poppin" for his first set and performed "Same Guy" with Adam Levine for his second set. He also appeared and performed a verse in the pre-recorded NFT-themed parody of Eminem's 2002 single, "Without Me".[51] On March 30, 2021, "Already Best Friends", which features Chris Brown, was sent to urban contemporary radio as the third and final single from That's What They All Say.[52]

On May 28, 2021, Harlow released a collaboration with Eminem and Cordae for the remix of Eminem's 2020 single, "Killer". On July 23, 2021, he released a collaboration with Lil Nas X, "Industry Baby".[53] The song reached number one on the Hot 100, giving Harlow his first number-one single on the chart. On August 3, 2021, he released a collaboration with Pooh Shiesty, "SUVs (Black on Black)".[54]

Harlow during the 2022 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

On February 18, 2022, Harlow released the single "Nail Tech", the lead single from his upcoming second studio album and his first release in six-and-a-half months.[55] The song performed well on the Hot 100 with a number 18 debut and peak and also received praise from Kanye West,[56] who previously was involved in the production of "Industry Baby". On February 24, Harlow was featured in West's song "Louie Bags" on his album, Donda 2.

On March 16, 2022, Harlow announced that his second studio album is titled Come Home the Kids Miss You. The album was released on May 6.[57] It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, earning 113,000 album-equivalent units (including 8,000 in pure album sales) in its first week. It became Harlow's second US top-five debut on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 137.05 million on-demand official streams for the album's songs. The album also peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart, Harlow's highest debut and first top ten entry.[58] The second single, "First Class", became his second number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the year's first hip-hop song to reach that position.[59]

On September 3, 2022, Harlow was the College GameDay guest picker and performer for Ohio State's 2022 season opener, a 21–10 win over Notre Dame.[60]

On April 26, 2023, Harlow took to his social media accounts to announce a new album, Jackman, along with its release date and reveal its cover art.[61] The album was released on April 28.[62] It debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200,earning 35,500 album-equivalent units (including 1,500 pure sales) in its first week.[63] It became Harlow's third US top-ten album debut on the chart. It also clocked 43.40 million on-demand streams in the first week. Jackman also debuted at number 9 on the Canadian Album Chart, his third top ten debut there.[64]

Harlow's craft has been characterized by critics as blending playful confidence with emotional sincerity in both his music and lyrics,[67][68] which often explore themes such as sexuality, partying, and drug use.[69] Harlow's music has been categorized broadly as hip hop. Publications have further tagged his music as blending trap beats[70] with instruments such as pianos and uilleann pipes.[71][72]

In 2020, Kate Hutchinson of The Guardian opined that Harlow's most interesting songs are his more introspective ones, dealing with topics such as being uncomfortable with his acclaim, and his white privilege.[71] Thomas Hobbs, another writer for The Guardian, wrote that Harlow embraces "being a dorky outsider", while additionally having "enough charisma" to pull off "using language that is usually cringeworthy coming from suburban white people".[73] He has described his own music as emphasizing rhythm, and his lyricism as being "personal but fun",[74] and geared toward "connect[ing] with people".[75] In 2022, following Harlow's surge in popularity, Terry Nguyen of Vox also described his music as breezy, comparing it to Drake.[3] Nguyen praised Harlow's lyricism for its wise wordplay and for its introspective content.[3]

Harlow cites a range of influences across multiple genres, including Eminem,[76] Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Outkast, Paul Wall, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Hall & Oates, Fergie, and Jesse McCartney, among others.[77][78][79] Harlow has also identified cinema as an influence, aiming for his songs to be "like short films". His favorite filmmakers are Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Alfred Hitchcock.[80]