Even though Jack Harlow will never have bars, the one thing he will always have is the audacity. On his third LP, Jackman (which was released Friday), he does his best to conjure up semblances of authenticity and realness. However, it sounds like Harlow is trying to justify his place in the rap world. And sadly, the person heโs trying to convince the most is himself.
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On the track โThey Donโt Love It,โ he says: โThe hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters/And hold the comments โcause I promise you Iโm honestly better/Than whoever came to your head right then/They ainโt cut from the same thread like him/They donโt study, doinโ work to get ahead like him.โ
The truth is, Eminem could effortlessly outrap Harlow on his worst day. Unfortunately, his desperate attempt to appear self-aware didnโt end there. On โCommon Ground,โ Harlow recites:
โThe suburbs are filled with ebonics and trap sonics/Frat boys sayinโ, โNo cap, put racks on itโ/The dialect got a lilโ splash of some black on it/Cap and gowns bought by the money in dadโs pockets/White girls squattinโ tryna get that ass poppinโ/Caught back-talkinโ to their mom and dads often/Recitinโ rap lyrics โbout murder and cash profit/Get to feel like a thug but donโt have to act on it.โ
Harlow thinks he deserves credit for calling out cultural appropriation and how white folks often engage with hip hop disingenuously. In other words, they try it on for size because they can always go back to the safety of whiteness whenever they feel like it. The irony is, Harlow is actually describing his own reality. Hopefully, people will stop buying into his act.
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