Interviewing Jack Harlow appears like being assigned to a bunch undertaking with the most well-liked child in class. We meet at a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, the place I anticipate to be seated in a dimly lit room, surrounded by thumping music and an entourage. However when Harlow arrives, we make a beeline previous tables and up a flight of stairs to what I can solely describe as an worker break room. I’m startled by fluorescent lights and muddle, however then I spot a desk set for 2, candlelight and all. I attain out for a handshake earlier than I sit down, however he offers me a hug. Tonight, I’m the one shaking.
Discovering time for this interview within the 24-year-old rapper’s schedule was almost inconceivable. “I’ve actually pushed myself to the brink, so now I do know what that appears like,” Harlow tells Teen Vogue. “It’s all in my arms, what I say sure to. I don’t have anybody accountable besides me on the finish of the day.”
Dedication-wise, has he reached his restrict? “I’m shut,” he says in a lilting whisper. I warn him to avoid poisonous woman boss conduct, to which he declares: “I’m a lady boss.”
Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Jack Harlow turned enamored with hip-hop as a child after his mother launched him to legendary acts like A Tribe Known as Quest. In center college, he recorded and bought $2 mixtapes to classmates. As an adolescent, after gaining native consideration, he took conferences with Scooter Braun and different business giants and dreamed of a document deal. Little got here of it, however in 2018, DJ Drama introduced the self-proclaimed middle-class hero onto his Technology Now label by means of Atlantic Data.
4 years later, Harlow’s movie star has skyrocketed in a method that’s attribute of the digital age: Whereas tens of millions comply with his each transfer, tens of millions extra nonetheless don’t know who he’s. That paradox is clear when a restaurant cook dinner walks previous our desk arrange. Not lacking a beat, Harlow greets him with an earnest, “Hey, man, s’up?” This particular person has no concept why two youngsters are consuming a multicourse meal in his break room.