Jack Harlow On 'Jackman', MGK Diss, Drake, 'White Men Can't Jump' & More! | Full Episode| Rap Radar

This is Rap Radar Podcast, my name is B-Dot. Elliot Wilson. We're in Kentucky with the man himself. Let's see if I get it right, Jack. Tell me if I get it right. Louisville. You nailed it. Yeah! Louisville. Local. You gotta do it like that, because we say Louisville. Thanks for flying out. I appreciate it. First time in Louisville, boy. Yeah. Jack, why you ain't do no press for this album, man? Why you gave us the honor of sitting with us, man? We appreciate that, man. Jack, man. This album is about rap, and I know y'all want to talk hip hop. 100%. So much of the press I do is spread, they want to talk about the movie, which is wonderful, but I don't want to talk about the movie with y'all. I want to talk about rap. And so, I was thinking of hip hop when I made this album, so I wanted to do an interview with some hip hop folks. But other than that, I wanted to let the music speak. Yeah. Most people weren't expecting you to return this fast following the last project, man. No roll out, no radio single, no promo. Why was that your approach this time around? There's just so much music right now, as y'all know. And I was just thinking, I don't want to try to create something. I just want to give them where I'm at right now, because it may not be where I'm at in six months. So I said, let's go right now. I can't lie, I guess I just wanted to pledge allegiance to the genre a little bit. I don't know, I just wanted to take all the frills off and just say, here, rap. Do you think some of the albums that come home with Kids Miss You, the commercial success is misconstrued? Yeah, I love that album. And I think I always will. I see a lot of redeeming qualities in that album. I had so much fun making it. And you don't always get points for how much fun you have. But I had a lot of fun making it. But I definitely, afterwards, spent some time feeling a bit misunderstood. Which is okay, that's not the worst way to live your life. It's okay to be misunderstood. But I felt misunderstood, as so many artists have and continue to. And I'll probably feel misunderstood again soon. But I just wanted to fucking say my piece. I just wanted to do it my way this time. And you said your piece under 30 minutes. It's an easy listen, too. It's only 10 tracks, as opposed to your other projects that have 14, 15. Did you want to make it that tight and concise? Concise is a great word. That's exactly what I wanted. I didn't want to waste a line. I didn't want some bridge to just make the song longer. I saw no reason to add anything that wasn't crucial. Every line mattered to me. I didn't set out, let's make a short ass album. It ended up short. And I'm like, why? We don't need to. And there's three songs with three verses. Which is unheard of right now. The songs are still, I'm giving as much as I can. But I don't like making songs longer to make them longer. So if they end up short, they end up short. You know what I like about the album? It's an easy listen in one sense, but in some ways it isn't. You hit the ground with Common Ground and it's a short record and you run it back and it's like, wait a minute, he said a lot of shit in this record. I've got to go back and really dissect the bars. He made a lot of strong statements in this one record. This one record says a lot. Was that your purpose also? It's packed with a lot of messaging in it. Yeah, there's just so many vibes right now. There's so many. Just vibes and mood music. I think on Come Home I was so focused on ear candy. It was literally a phrase I was using in the studio constantly. I remember telling the producers, I was like, yo, every beat you make, I need you to imagine there's a girl sitting shotgun with you in the car. She needs to like it. And I let go of that this time. It was like, let's make this about just statements. I let go of my tone being as soothing as it could be. And I was like, yo, just rap. Because it's just so much music. So I felt, say something. I wanted to say something. There's a middle ground you can strike. There's a balance you can strike where you can have ear candy and say something. I'm not saying you can't, but for me, it was just like, fuck the ear candy. Fuck the vibes. Let me just say a few things on my mind. Get right to it. I think people are craving that a little bit. Get right to it. What are you trying to say? What are you trying to say with Common Ground? Because to me it feels like it's an indictment of white privilege. Yeah, I suppose so. I'll be hesitant to create a synopsis for any of these tracks. I'd rather continue to leave them up for interpretation. But more than anything, it's like I said at the beginning of the record, I'm just painting a picture of what I see. It's what I'm observing in society and culture right now. I didn't necessarily promise a payoff or a here's what comes because of that. Sometimes I think, just paint a picture. I'm literally just painting something I'm seeing. How you take it is how you take it. How you feel about it. I wasn't even scolding it. I wasn't even saying, this is horrible. That's kind of what I didn't want to do on this album. Say, this is what I think is bad and this is what I think is good. I'm not interested in right or wrong right now. It's not super interesting to me. It's more, here's a picture. You decide. I'm not here to tell people how to feel. I'm just painting something. You definitely got your shit off too. One of the lyrics that stood out to me was condescending suburban kids growing up wanting to be rap journalists writing urban myths about who do you think the best urban kid is. It felt very specific. Do you feel like those are the people that are critiquing your music unfairly? I don't think anyone's being unfair. Everyone probably, ideally, is just writing from their heart, if we're lucky. I definitely think there's some really self-righteous condescension just in journalism in general, but of course, look at the side. I'm the artist, so I'm looking over at them like what the fuck are you doing? It's just what it is. I was definitely venting right there, but it goes beyond me. I just feel, I don't know. It's just irritating when you are putting yourself out there, and then people are making a living off of critiquing you putting yourself out there. Put yourself out there, motherfucker. That's how we all feel. It's natural. Everybody's working. Another takeaway I got from Common Ground is you talk about the differences between suburban communities and urban communities. When did you realize the playing field wasn't level? How do you mean? Just like growing up. Being here in Kentucky, or just life in general, when you realize there are some disproportions. Yeah, I mean, I went to public schools I went to school with a lot of black kids from the other side of town. Didn't take long, probably elementary school you start to realize, oh they're living a little differently from me because I grew up in a great neighborhood. In a very unique neighborhood. I grew up in a peaceful place but I was going to school with a lot of kids that were from the other side of town so I think you just start to yeah, I don't think it takes much to realize that some people are from worse situations than you but I don't know, if I hadn't gone to public school, I don't know if I could be a compelling rapper. That's why going to They Don't Love It, that's pretty much the big statement. That's the only song you shot a video for Do you think that's really what it's about? It's like when you look at this game, five years in, you see how competitive it gets you really think it comes down to, to believe you're the best which is what you want to be. You have to have that drive, you have to have that dedication Yeah, I think you have to have passion I think you have to be a fan. You have to be a fan of the genre and love it. I love the craft, I love chasing getting better. Coming off of Come Home of course, there's some frustrations with not feeling understood but it's also exciting to think, okay let me see how I can get better I don't think it's the worst thing in the world for people to say you have room to improve. Fuck it, okay let's get after it. How involved were DJ Drama and Don Cannon on this project? Spiritually heavily. I mean, I was really excited to play them the music but I did a lot of it on my own, kind of remotely. Cannon's always a mentor for me, we talk hip hop. But of course there was just a lot of excitement in recording the songs and thinking, damn I can't wait for them to hear this shit because I know they're going to like it and sure enough, it resonated I don't know, I feel a kinship to them but I did I picked the beats, I spent those times. There's a lot of solitude on this project. So they didn't know that you were creating this project? They knew I was in the studio but we didn't we weren't planning, alright let's get a 10 track concise You was ready to go, go. Yeah and we all agreed together, let's go I don't know, it's exciting man, like fuck I played it by the book so much last year, I did it right, I did the press run I created moments and this time around, let's just enjoy Brozzy's full of it. Let's just give him the music, I don't give a fuck what comes with it let's just give him the music You said two weeks have passed and I just want to say the love and respect I felt from not only my peers but from y'all the fans, the folks that have supported me from the beginning, it feels fucking amazing I never felt so connected to the people listening to my music, thank you What inspired you to say that? I just have been getting messages and running into people on the street and I think one thing I wanted to get back to, not that it was gone but like as much as I enjoy like young teenage screams there is something so exciting about somebody coming up to you and saying yo your shit is fucking dope you know what I'm saying and I'm not saying one's better than the other but I think for this album I was really excited about the idea that some dude would come up to me that loves rap and says yo I just listened to your album and it was phenomenal, I felt it like that's really what we do it for that's why I got started, it's just so a motherfucker would tell me I'm dope that's the best feeling in the world and fucking I ran into Kendrick at the Met and it was like a few days after the album dropped he was like yo this is the best move you could have made, the shit was incredible and just gave me enough props so I could have just fucking walked home I didn't even want to meet anyone else it's like one of the best feelings on earth and I saw Tyler he said something similar all the people I respect have been giving me that hat tip it's so gratifying it's not the only thing we do it for but it's a huge thing I just wanted to be an MC on this album when we first heard it, me and Ellie were going back and forth it feels like an album of the year it's a hit contender, hit Jason and Drama, I think you got one with this one thank you in a lot of ways it almost felt like a debut or felt like what they say a mixtape because it's just like the artistic freedom can you speak to that, did you feel like you may approach it like a mixtape per se than that of an album I just want to remind motherfuckers how I got here I didn't get here because girls liked me or because I'm funny or charismatic why did I get in the door because I can fucking rap that's really what it was the other day I wanted to get back to that recording this album I felt like a young hungry rapper and so I saw no reason to steer from that I think on Come Home I was trying to make a song for everyone I was just trying to bite off the entire world grab everyone, cast the biggest possible net I could cast and this time I was like, I have one mission I just want to rap the chorus comes but at the end of the day I just want to tell stories reconnect with why I got into hip hop the difference between entertainment and pop culture and hip hop, this was for hip hop why do you think your dedication is with that why do you think it ended up being was there a moment where you were like, this is really what I want to do for the rest of my life, this is what it is I don't know, it's funny a lot of those, I told you I ordered a bunch of XXL's and I think I was just reading old interviews y'all put Eminem on the cover every month it's old, it's old Jack I guarantee it I had to sell magazines Jack I was reading a lot of Eminem interviews and I remember I was reading this one section I actually posted this section and there was this whole column Eminem bad for hip hop and y'all had some of the biggest rappers in the game, Anson Jay Z gave his answer I sat with Steve Stout and he's like, watch this, nobody else can do this and he called Nas this is when Nas and Jay had beef he called Nas and he gave a quote from Nas and then he called Jay and then Jay answered nobody else could get these guys on the phone right, so I read that and each one of these, everyone was like, fuck no Eminem's not bad for hip hop he's dope as shit and that's what connected with me he's dope as shit at the end of the day, if you can rap what else are we talking about we're not perfect he made a few mistakes in his career I forgot about some of them, I had to read those magazines to see them, but it don't fucking matter because he can rap his ass off so I said, I just had a moment I was like, just rap, there's so many things you can try to be everything but at the end of the day I missed when I just wanted to rap but you did say you're the hardest white boy since Eminem that's right certain people got in their feelings MGK got in his feelings are you going to clap back at him lyrically is it a surprise to you that people respond I saw you put up a short proof of Mac Miller so you have all these rest in peace Mac Miller fans who was like, nah Mac Miller I know you didn't mean to offend any of those people when you make a statement like that on some MC level of I'm the best how everybody reacts to it in this modern era how do you take that in how do you take it in I guess you just fucking take it it's interesting I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and I feel great about what I said and I feel great about the reaction it's just what it is not even it was a stream of consciousness sort of verse not that I don't stand on my statement I'm an MC, I'm talking my shit this ain't a new concept to feel yourself I feel no reservations about what was said at all 100% but going back to the Met Gala real quick you gotta solve the mystery for all of us we see all y'all dressing nicely at the Met Gala everything is fly is there anything going on inside what is inside, do you get food, do you get to eat do you get to talk to people what goes on inside the Met Gala can you solve that mystery for all of us has anyone ever spoken on it no gotta keep some things close to the chest I like going so smart man Jack Hollow keep it to the chest album cover chest all out where was that shot at topless that was an alleyway behind my middle school that I walked down every day while I was with all my homeboys we'd walk to ear ecstasy a local record store and I bought Thank Me Later beautiful dark twisted fantasy up there so those were just like my primitive MC years I used to shoot music videos in that exact alley on the little fucking flip camera just a lot of history in that alley, I don't know, to me it just represented going back to, I did the whole album out here I did the whole album in Louisville so I wanted the cover to reflect where my heart is it seems like to me, listen to the album, you have these moments of celebrity fatigue, right? move back to Louisville, you don't want to do press to your publicist Jason here we are thank you Jason but is that a fair assessment of where your mind is right now? just want to get back to the small town I love being home and at the end of the day I think you go towards where you feel love, and I feel so much love here and I don't know I spent almost every day on the road last year, so I think I just had an appetite for being home, I feel so connected to the city as I've said a million times I don't want to beat a dead horse on some self-pity, being a celebrity stuff because I'm blessed so here's what it is I've been rambling, here's what it really is if I could distill it down I've been exposed to the illusions of what is supposed to make me happy I think a lot of people get exposed to this is what you're supposed to do, you buy a house in the hills we go to the club and I think I've just got all the illusions out of the way and I'm deciding for myself what makes me happy and that's what Is That Alright is about that whole song is about, I don't need to be told what to do with my time, money, and platform I'm just going to go towards what actually excites me, and I find that my preference is to be here so I'm going to be here and tell my preferences to be elsewhere I'm going to spend my time how I want to spend my time and I'm going to do press when I'm ready to do press because I'm not a total introvert, I'm not a hermit I'm not on some Frank Ocean shit but there's times you want to be seen and there's times you don't Do you really have 10 girlfriends? Hell no That's one of my least favorite lines too I just didn't change it because it felt so good sonically it was just like yeah that flow was like I knew people would feel it but by the time the album came out I was out of a space where I wanted to talk about a ton of women I don't know, that line's cool but that ain't the line that I'm like damn I talked about shit right there, there's so many other lines that mean the world to me Let's talk about some of those lines, what stands out to you that you're proud of? The line right before that, no airports and no flights is how I want to live my life, is that alright? It almost feels rhetorical because no it's not alright you're going to have to get on a few flights but for me it's like how few flights can I get on right now That's why it means so much to me that y'all would come here because I one of the things I've discovered is I love routine, I don't want to escape routine and being on the road routine does not exist for the most part for me so we could go through every song and there's lines that I'm like can't wait for my grandkids to hear that because that's exactly how it felt There's also a lot of concepts on the project too like one that stood out was gang gang gang it's really dark, what's the inspiration behind that track? The inspiration is exactly what the song is about and experiencing different variations of that personally of just friendships that go left because of decisions The real question in the song is how deep does your loyalty go? It's something we as men, we always talk about loyalty, everyone's always talking about how down for each other they are and I guess I just wanted to, I heard the beat gang gang gang, shout out Rashad, incredible beat I guess I just wanted to flip the concept of being down for my gang on it's head, see how far that stretches. What were those real life situations? Inspired by. Changing the names and stuff? Changing a lot Those are stories those stories aren't necessarily from my direct life but they were inspired by things I've seen and gone through but variations. But then don't blame on me, you had me scratching my head because it's three different perspectives. You're talking from your older brother, your younger brother into your unborn child but you only have one brother in real life though right? It's a little brother, the older brother and then it's the dad. Yeah. The third verse is the father. That's what I thought That's why the third verse starts off you grew up in my household like he owns the house How did that feel to do that record that seems like so personal to family like you said, this is the album of Bar Fools Up but it's like there are actually really deep personal songs on there too Yeah to me those don't cancel each other out. To me barring people up is can be conceptual and storytelling and personal like when I think bars I think I've stopped, when I think bars I've stopped thinking braggadocio. Not that braggadocio isn't bars but I've stopped thinking strictly it's about hitting your chest. To me bars is the raw truth just compelling statements. Yeah. How did that feel? Did you play that for your family? I did. I didn't want them blindsided and yeah they took it really well my family took it really well and understood the picture I was trying to paint. I mean that song that's the one I've seen connect with the people. Even the statement blame on me it's accountability right? It's just like people in this era you know what's really going on and how do we address it because especially your family sometimes you don't say the tough stuff the fact the power of you always keep saying I'm terrified to speak on this. There's so much power in that. Yeah. So much goes unsaid right? I think everyone it started off with just the first verse so just a sibling song and then I was like okay let me see if we can tell it from another perspective and then slowly it evolved into we may as well bring fatherhood into this so I just tried to make it I tried to stretch it as far as I could because everyone has something with their family. Yeah. Everyone has a spot that if you just hit tears will fall out because I'm the oldest in my family so I feel like I can relate to you it's like the father puts the pressure on you it's because you represent a lot of his dreams or his view of things and it's like being the oldest you carry that weight I have two younger brothers you inherit that and there's always that toughness between your father if you're the oldest child. Yeah sometimes you unload it. Huh? Sometimes you unload it. Yeah. Yeah. It's a heavy one. I'm literally Elliot Jr. I'm going to put that on my bottom line. I think you've lived up to it man. Thank you my G. Thank you. When we talk about family man we can't not talk about your mom man like she's been a big factor. All up in the video? Yeah man she introduced you to rap what does she think about the Jack Harlow success? She's fucking loving it man I can't lie. She's a big participant and consumer and she keeps up. But she's just an overall incredible woman everyone that meets my mom is just captivated. My mom is incredible and she's helped me start a foundation out here and so her heart's just in a phenomenal place she's just a hard working ambitious woman of her own. Like Elliot alluded to like in the Churchill Downs video she's in there I love that scene at the end she's like what the fuck? How meaningful was it to have her in the video and to shoot that video in Louisville at Churchill's Downs during the Kentucky Derby. Louisville be that Louisville. How meaningful was that? It was one of the best days of my life man. It was one of the best days of my life. So fulfilling to bring my hero to my hometown. Talking about the boy Drizzy Drake. That's right. That was totally impromptu that scene with my mom and I'm pretty protective over my family but that was just a moment of yeah it feels right it feels great let's at least shoot it and then we watched it and it's pretty much everyone's favorite scene so incredible. One of the lines about being friends with your hero is Drake's somebody I think I saw something you said. Drake since I was in 6th grade Best I Ever Had came out. He's been that force in the culture but I didn't want to give it up. What is it like to acknowledge that but then also to get to know him and be a true friend and make songs with him? I told you about the Kendrick moment and I'm way closer to Drake at this point. I've only met Kendrick a couple times and shit like that shit like both of those situations and so many others that I've had the privilege of experiencing those are the moments where you're like oh yeah I'm fucking blessed. I'm living the life I fantasized about a decade ago you know what I'm saying like any of my time with Drake is like precious to me because I used to dream of just chopping it up with him much less doing a song and feeling kind of validated by him but just being able to chop it with him and have free conversation and he had heroes of his own you know what I'm saying that's the cycle that's what we all dream of exactly and that's what we all that's what we all dream of I'd like to think is that chance to get to know the people that drove you to the spot because before all this they're just damn near figments of your imagination almost and they're just mythical figures so to really meet them is good lord I don't know I'm like a nostalgia junkie though so I always think full circle I always think to 11 year old me and think wow we did it. On Churchill Downs you alluded to it as well like how you did you feel like there was pressure to match the success of Lil Uzi Vert was also on the Generation Now label? A little bit but really it was just like I showed up and Vert was the talk of the label much less the industry and it was just like he was making leg drama and canon he was bringing in the cash XL2 Life was a big record I'm walking to the studio every night and his plaques are lined in the hallways just looking up at him like geez I gotta get up there It's funny because I know like you joined you got with drama and it's like working at Chick-fil-A one minute next thing you run around with drama and you're in Atlanta and we would see you you always just roll you play the back that's part of the culture you play in the back you're observing you're waiting for your time can you talk about those days and what are some memories that really stand out to you playing the back with drama just getting into these rooms and like observing what's going on? I mean it was a good rhythm because I was still growing into myself my confidence and how I wanted to look. I had who I was figured out a long time before I had how I want to look figured out. I think I almost neglected my appearance because I was so in touch with who I was inside and authentically so I think it was like I hit puberty late because it was like okay maybe I should clean up a little bit so I think during those years I was figuring myself out figuring out who I was in those rooms because it's one thing to know who you are in your bedroom alone but ideally it's the same thing but no matter what you walk into a room and there's just dynamics and you figure okay what's my presence and I had to grow into kind of holding my nuts and like really being like I belong here and so I'm not mad at the time at all but there was a lot of doubts a lot of insecurity on the way up a lot of is this ever going to happen but piece by piece. I think that's the ill part about your success is that we've seen it in real time like there wasn't no shortcuts. Saw the early interviews the big curly fro and whatnot something I'm super proud of. I was going to ask you that are you proud of that? I think only probably you and Meek Mill really you can see a lot of videos of y'all younger and like really see the growth of evolution of the person like it's very rare to see that like those awkward years and just development it's all there for you. Some of it makes me cringe naturally like the way anyone would cringe at old photos of themselves but like big picture I'm so proud that it's documented you know what I'm saying like a symptom of the era we grew up in it was so easy to upload music I was uploading music in the blog era but I was just 12 years old Take that Rosa Pauls he wasn't ready and that evolution like you talk about that and ambitious like how you open up festivals at 1pm like or you said in a previous interview like how you are afraid of doing empty shows because you've done so many. I saw a picture a couple years ago that you posted on twitter you were performing in Birmingham Alabama in front of 13 people what is that? What are those experiences like? Just totally emasculating It's a tough one but it's why I'd like to think I'm pretty comfortable on stage now because I felt those feelings of you're not shit I repeatedly felt you're not shit you might rap like you're shit and you might think you're on your way but you still ain't there and that's humbling but it prepares you and now when there's 20,000 people in front of me like it ain't nothing. You said that line about that woman you're really very facetious. You're like is it because I'm white it's because whatever it's because I make eye contact talk about that as a performer like why is it important to be able to make eye contact with the audience at times? It just feels good to target a person and walk in with them I think it's a sense of intimacy it's just yeah I see you and I've been seeing you all night spit every fucking lyric on the set and it means a lot to me so let's share this moment together because we both love this part I don't know it's sick It was dope seeing you share that moment with Brandy last year at the BET Awards She came out during first class. Was it your idea to have a rhyme with you? Definitely wanted her out there. I think rhyming was her idea but we weren't mad at it I thought she was going to sing but she was on her rap shit. I don't know if she was in an MC space last year I was like fuck it let's do it So what was that connection like when y'all first met? Weird You turned a negative into a positive basically Yeah exactly We met up and she was like I love you we're all good Squashed the beef with Brandy? Yeah the beef was squashed pretty fucking immediately Made me wonder if there was ever beef It's all love with her. We're entertainers Luckily we got some organic moments out of that where we were actually able to share a smile and get to know each other briefly but at the end of the day we're like it's showmanship let's fucking do something they wouldn't expect I definitely wasn't expecting to see you on the big screen White men can't jump Yo at the time of this right now the movie's at least tomorrow How do you feel? A couple hours away from your You're in a real movie Jack Halla What the fuck's going on? You're acting? What's going on? You're in a movie? How does that feel? I don't know. It feels normal Was it something that you aspired? Was that part of it too? I might have seen your music drive I always in the back of my mind was like I'd like to do some acting because I like to play pretend, I like to lie and then I was so focused on this rap shit that I was like if the opportunity presents itself then sure enough it did We're getting a lot of energy from that side of entertainment and it's something I want to continue to chase so it's definitely exciting Really grateful Really loved working with everyone on the set Sequa, my acting coach Lee is incredible Calmatic who comes from hip hop so we were able to speak a language. I had a great time shooting it and it came right after Come Home came out so I think it was a necessary escape for me to get into another medium in a world of people that didn't even like may not have even listened to the album You know what I'm saying? We're totally focused on this mission. I really could give a fuck about my success in hip hop. We're here shooting a movie and you're just another team player So be a team player Very interesting from going from being in charge almost all the time to you're not in charge at all Did you have any trepidation about remaking such a classic movie? No Woody and Wesley man. Pressure man. Sequels Yeah it's almost like there is no pressure surrounding it in reality Obviously I see the talk Oh fuck another reboot. Nobody gives a shit I'm saying even the people complaining don't give a shit It's just like We're just getting through the day Nobody gives a shit about anything Maybe they do for a short time That's not giving a shit How? Nobody gives a shit That's the one thing I'm growing to learn is like everybody has something to do or they're looking for something to do Sometimes that results in comments but nobody cares about anything Very few things we really truly care about when we cut through the bullshit And you aren't talking about it What people are talking about doesn't reflect what they actually care about What they're like up at night Nobody's up at night Fuck bro. They're remaking White Men Nobody is like tossing and turning like How could they fuck with a classic like this What are you doing to Woody House's legacy? I love that movie. It's like yeah it's a fucking classic We love the movie. Alright let's keep moving Damn. Nobody cares You're not the only rapper in the movie You got Vince Staples in there as well Fucking hell of a guy How was it having another rapper on set with you? Comforting but I'm a Vince fan Vince is still young but Summertime 06 came out when I was midway through high school and anyone that really listens to my music knows I love that type of production Like that West Coast influence Tempo. A lot of that Pharrell Timbaland influence shit Summertime 06 is one of my favorite albums ever Vince is still in it but I'm looking at him like yo you mean the world to me and I know every rapper says that to each other when they run into each other but I was like listen you mean a lot to me and me and Vince clicked immediately Great guy That Ramona Park broke my heart He's excellent Give me that though I need five favorite personal great hip hop albums Ever? Yeah They don't have to be people's list but you personally connected to them Lay Registration Equemini Nothing Was The Same Those are classics Lay Registration, Equemini, Nothing Was The Same Getting a rap nerd on You see the wheels turning I love Blueprint You know what album I love? With Fish Ride Bicycles Cool Kids That's different than Bog Era Yeah And Bakesale Cool Kids gave me all that bounce and tempo that I like all that smooth shit To me I like beats that feel like they're not going like this I like beats that are going in a circle Like that rider That's a good five Lay Registration, that's your yay album Equemini is your outcast album Blueprint is your jay album I would say so I would definitely say so Yeah y'all got my gears turning Your basketball ties do run deep You even named a song after the Miami Heat star Tyler Herro Did your jump shot really improve after doing the After what? After doing the record with him Hell no My jump shot improved a lot after this movie I had a trainer I worked with He reconstructed my shit So you nice right now? You want to play J. Cole one on one? I'll play J. Cole You guys were both in the Celebrity All Star games Not at the same time I think he dunked in one Yeah he did catch a dunk I think it was an alley hoop That was bizarre That was about 10 years ago Are you a competitive guy? Very Extremely If I play you in a video game and you lose you throw the controller to the side I won't throw it. I'm good at masking my anger because I don't want people to know how I feel but I desperately want to win everything I play soccer every week Talk about that soccer because you tease it in the video a little bit We just won our rec league championship a couple nights ago Congrats Fuck all this album and movie talk That's really what it is Soccer champion Jack Harlow Put some respect on it We play every week with a bunch of guys that played in college How does a kid in Louisville get into soccer like this? I'm still white brother I don't believe it But do white folks in Louisville play soccer? I can't do Louisville without saying Louisville like this Louisville Is it a popular sport out here? I think soccer is the most popular sport on earth It is internationally People play soccer out here You're nice with it. You're a good soccer player I'm straight. I just want to win I'm not concerned with the stats I put up I'm not concerned with looking good This goes for basketball, any sport I play Almost any activity I just want to win I don't care if my teammates shine I want to walk away and say we won and you lost That feels great to me I'm not a skills player I'll put my shoulder into somebody I'll run really hard I'm an effort guy Get those rebounds Chris Kainman What does a W look like in the movie world for you? I guess an Oscar But for the success of White Men Can't Jump Do you care if it goes number one at the box office? Do you care if it comes to the street? What does that look like to you? All that would be nice But it's all just byproducts All of it would be nice Number one album Number one movie Jennifer Lopez I try not to get too wrapped up in all that stuff But it all feels fucking good I love it Were you bummed when you didn't win the Grammy? No I wasn't bummed It'll come The time will come You was in the building though Yeah I felt honored to be nominated He was like no I'm sorry He ain't sorry There's nothing to be sorry about The company enough Nah I hardly felt a way My heart was beating out my chest in case they Fucked around and said I won Did you feel when you put out Jackman Like it doesn't matter about sales Or Grammy nominations This is just where I'm at right now Like you said I gotta get my shit off My dedication to this I just think you gotta be careful about Not getting too wrapped up in Because we get Placed into a bubble Within the industry Suddenly you find yourself interacting with nothing but Peers, executives And number crunchers And you like If you're not careful you forget There's human beings that are listening to your music That's what really drives it All I really cared about was The connection with the fans And them feeling like there was no filter Between how I felt and what I was giving to them So This album was totally for My fans and for Hip hop lovers You mentioned Kendrick and Tyler giving you praise Was there anybody like Outwardly that surprised you that reached out to you about the album And really gave you the props on it Nobody's surprising Yeah nobody's surprising It's hard to recall But people from all walks of life I think it connected with the human spirit I think vulnerability People connect, I think honesty People appreciate Right now people want honesty They don't have patience for anything but the truth Hip hop's in a weird space I'm sure y'all Can speak on it, it's in a very interesting space So I was just trying to make something that Was as rooted in hip hop As possible because It's evolving Like I said about the music I'm not going to attach a good or bad to it It's just, it's interesting Me and B.Dot talked about before you came in It's such a challenge in this era To not only gain interest but sustain interest As a hip hop artist Is that kind of somewhat what you're speaking about? I guess, I just mean I don't know how much people value Music at this moment I just don't know I'm not saying I know, I'm saying I don't know I don't know where hip hop is headed It's in a really interesting space I think we're seeing Right now we're seeing a shift We're in the middle of a big shift But it's funny because we always talk about We see this dynamic of You come from the era where there's the big three There's the Drake, Kendrick, Cole, right? And then some artists shy away from I'm going to be the next leader In that space and some don't I feel like you always say you want to be that person You want to be a leader in that Is that still where your mind's at? Yeah, absolutely. I definitely yearn for That type of Influence but It's something that People knight you for You know what I'm saying? You have to be compelling And you have to reach for it That's what I guess I mean by People are like, who's the next big three? But the game may be Evolving to a place where it doesn't fit The same format as that time And what people want Is changing, what the youth wants Is changing, and it's almost like Drake, Kendrick, and Cole Their voices are damn near Nostalgic at this point We know this is good because this is from the days where Things were a little better You know what I'm saying? You hear Drake's voice come on in the club And it almost reminds you of 2012 Which was a great time Reminds you of 2016 Which is a great time And so, it's almost like The history of the big three Continues to reign on because Of what they've already done, what they've already accomplished Is like, well we know we're getting some good Shit from them and it's why you see people go back And instead of banging new shit They're listening to Forest Hills Drive or they're listening to Late Registration It's almost like We're living in a time where people don't feel like This era Is special enough To stamp anything as timeless or classic As if the timeless and classic shit It already happened, we can't get any new timeless and classic shit I feel like they never inclined The album as classic since Good Kid, Mad City Like every conversation has never been about This is a classic album Good Kid, Mad City's last album was like It's almost like we're living in the future And everyone's This may be a naive take in 20 years Maybe we'll be looking at it right now and be like Look at all this classic shit that's being made right now But it's almost like we're living in the future because Everyone is just so Into the nostalgia Of it all, they're so into the golden era And it's almost like We've passed it so much that people are like We're not going to stamp anything from right now Because right now is not even a special time Not enough time, not enough time Yeah, it's just, it's not even I don't know, it's really, it's actually a struggle for me to articulate A little bit Nah, I think you're doing a good job I guess what I'm saying is I think Scorpion is going to be a classic Just so you know I think these albums As time passes It's just how it is It's just how it fucking is I just feel like right now Almost on some post-pandemic shit I was talking to John Mayer about this About how culture is so fragmented Artists put out music and the artist's job is to respond Or comment on Culture and society But he and I were talking about There's no shared human experience anymore Because everyone's living in their own pockets Everyone's choosing what to digest You've got your shows, you've got your artists So you get to live in your pocket And you don't really need to be told who's a star Who's most important And so I'm saying, when Kendrick, Drake, and Cole That is, that was still a time Where people were saying Nah, everyone needs to know these are the most important people Now everyone gets to choose what's important to them Everyone is living a fragmented version of culture Their own hero And so it's hard to Make something that connects with the entire zeitgeist Because there's no shared human experience So do you feel like an alien That this is the landscape But you still have this old school MC shit Of I'm gonna be the best MC in the world I'm navigating man, I don't know I'm just reacting and taking it in I'm okay with being wrong I don't know, I'm okay with being wrong About half the shit I just said Maybe in five years I'll see it differently But it's just an interesting time But it's dope that Even on Ambitious you say I gotta show these boys Who the best and how it is You still want that, you still want to be the best MC You ain't leaving us for acting Because we've lost the Ice Cubes and Latifahs Yeah, I knew I'm not going nowhere I love this shit too much This rap shit is not a cash grab to me Or a vehicle to get famous I love the craft, I grew up in it So I'm here to stay Are you staying on that road? Are we getting a tour for Jackman? I don't know We're playing in Bahia right now Tours take planning so it obviously ain't happening in the next month or two But Keeping our finger on the pulse Definitely have some things planned But not feeling no pressure to go back out Really excited to go back in the studio Already? Wow, so this is not Like this is a full album, this is not an EP This is the album You're going to live with this for like maybe a year or two Who knows? Not a year or two I feel like How does the success or the impact of Jackman Shape how you may approach your next album? I may need a little time To decide I needed time off to come home to decide where I was going to go I remember going back Like I said I did the movie after I came home I spent all that time away from the studio I didn't record at the same time as the movie And by the time I got back I felt like I lost a step So you have to stay in it, you have to stay sharp Because to get in there For me at least it takes a second to get back in the swing So at some point Really I just want to listen to beats for a while And see what's compelling Do you work fast? Pen, pad, no? Some shit comes fast Some shit takes time Freestyle less and less It's out of my road I just wanted to write and take my time with Make sure every line was worth hearing Pen and pad, iPad iPhone? Okay Notes, airplane mode I got you Let's talk about the last song If we get out of here, The Questions What was the mind state going into recording that record? I was high I ain't even being funny I was high, I don't get high But I was high Really? On some smoking? Yeah I got high Whenever I am in that space I'm very self-conscious And self-loathing Almost critical And I think I was just like Thinking about all the flaws I see in myself I just was thinking about I don't know about y'all but when I get high I think I'm crap and everyone knows Not just on some raps Just as a human I get very self-loathing I don't know So I think some of that came out on that record Where I was just like I was seeing The negative in myself a lot when I was writing that I like that record a lot It just reminds me of Smooth The Hustler The record and Jada Kish joins Asking questions Yeah I thought about playing that for Jada Oh yeah Just like why Word Well don't have to ask why you did this interview Jack We appreciate you doing it brother You feel good about it? Yeah I feel great, thanks for coming out here And before we get out of here Talk to us, what we got here man New product? Focus? I'll be curious to see what y'all think of it It's the remedy for writer's block, it's called Focus Elliot and I are Former writers We don't need no writer's block man Let's get into it Clean, no sugar Focus man It's good right? Made in Louisville It's a Louisville company There we go Louisville Love it Thank you brother Wrap it up podcast