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What's up y'all this is Jack Harlow
and this is the first time.
I had an album I listened to with my
mom a lot, Sweet Escape
by Gwen Stefani.
That
was a huge one for me.
I like the title track, Sweet
Escape, Wind It Up, me and my mom
really like 4 In The Morning.
There's a lot of great songs on that
album.
I was shy about playing my music for
my parents because early on I had a
bad mouth, I was talking
bad from a very early point, so
I was bashful about it for
a while. I remember one time I went
to a local studio
in Louisville when I was still in
high school and my mom
came and picked me up.
But she came inside and they played
the song and I was talking about.
Something like wanting
to have sex with my teacher or
something like that, and my mom was
distraught, cringe moment.
I think it was dark night, the song
I went viral for in twenty
seventeen, really, a song that got
me signed.
I just remember my, my
phone was glitching
like my Twitter was glitching and it
was, it was too much but it
was really dope.
It was a dream come true because
all you want is to be recognized.
I remember they were training us in
first grade, they were like if
somebody says something rude to you,
or hurts your feelings.
Just tell them they hurt your
feelings like tell them and I took
it seriously.
I rode the bus the next day and
somebody said something mean to me,
some older kid.
And I was like, that hurt my
feelings.
And they're like, we don't give a
fuck. Shut the fuck up, pussy.
I never said that shit again.
I remember this distinctly,
I did my middle school talent show
in this auditorium with no bass.
I was nervous all day.
I was the last act.
So you kind of get to sit
around all day and, like, mentally
prepare. And so I was just psyching
myself out. It was
straight. Like, everybody just was
sitting there looking at me because
the music wasn't loud enough to
inspire anyone to stand up.
So I was just performing.
But I got back to class after and
like my teachers was making a
comment about me grabbing my crotch
and things like that.
But, you know, you have to grow into
your swagger. So in middle school,
like, I always had some,
but I still was
figuring it out.
I just can say that being on brick
is definitely Louisville
lingo. People say that in Louisville
I grew up hearing that if you erect
your were on brick so brick, that
might be a variation of that.
I think that just came out of my
mouth. But it's just one of the many
variations of the root, the Latin
root brick.
I was in high school and I bought
some blue and gray 574s
from Dick's Sporting Goods suede,
I just started wearing them to
school every day and people
were like kind of looking sideways
at me about it. But it became my
thing to this day.
It was a lot like that middle school
talent show, a long day of
waiting and mentally getting ready
because it's just such a tightrope
walk because it's live.
The stakes just feel a little
higher. But it felt good, especially
especially the Whats Poppin
performance because, you know, you
do two songs, but the Whats Poppin
one felt really good.
It felt
real.
That was prepubescent for me, like
I've been writing for a long time.
Writing was my first love before
it started to translate into
rap. So I was writing personal
narratives and stuff as a kid.
When I was in school, I just was
attracted to writing.
But sixth grade, that's when I would
say I really started writing songs.
I was really
a popular kid growing up, so
once I started doing the music thing
like love it or hate it, people knew
about it in the city.
So even my freshman year
of high school, I'll be walking
around town and like, I'd run into
somebody that wanted to take a
picture, like someone I went to
another school or something.
So all the private school girls
wanted to take pictures with me.
All of them. They would be in their
little uniforms after school want to
take a picture with me.
So I've been getting
that type of attention for a long
time, especially
on a local level.
When I was younger, I let my little
brother, lock me in a box, but I
immediately got him to get me out
and it might seem minuscule,
but to me it felt like a big risk
because I could just see him getting
distracted and going upstairs
or something. And I just still be in
the box today.
I just look back on that like why
did you let him lock you in that
box? It was like a thrill thing.
I went to see Nappy Roots
at your ecstasy.
It was my first concert, I was in
sixth grade. It was their album
release. They were just releasing
their album, The Pursuit of
Nappiness.
I got all them to sign
the album.
It was perfect, and then years later
we did a show together and I told
them the story I just told you.
They're like, whoa. And they couldn't
believe it.
It was a really dope full circle
Kentucky moment.
Drama, DJ Drama who I'm signed to
called me on FaceTime while he was
in L.A., we're just chopping it up
real casual and then suddenly out of
nowhere, he passes the phone to
Tyler, the Creator.
And it was a hell of a moment.
I was he caught
me. I was tongue tied.
I was like, because I love Tyler.
I grew up watching him like just
what is culturally.
So it was it was wild.
I think I was in high school, I had
started to build some connections
with some of the local deejays,
shout out 12 shout out big homie,
shut out deejay empty beats.
Deejay cue a lot of the local
deejays I started to get cool with.
And, you know, there's a certain
responsibility, I think they feel,
to try to put the local
scene on. Even if it's one spin,
it's just a moment of reaching
to the city because, you know, they
get so many songs they're supposed
to play on a national level.
So I put out some song in high
school. They told me, like at
11 o'clock tonight, you
can go and we're going to play it.
So I told everybody, go, listen,
they played the one. I went to my
car and I listen to
it. And at the moment, it was
special.
The first time a song made me cry.
Probably Hlle Berry by Hurricane
Chris.