{"id":4304,"date":"2020-02-11T17:48:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T23:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/?p=4304"},"modified":"2020-02-11T17:49:22","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T23:49:22","slug":"whats-poppin-with-jack-harlow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/2020\/02\/11\/whats-poppin-with-jack-harlow\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Poppin\u2019 with Jack Harlow? It\u2019s Time to Get to Know the Kentucky Rapper"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jack Harlow in the music video for his latest song, “WHATS POPPIN,” Dir. Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you listen to rap and haven\u2019t heard the name Jack Harlow yet, get ready. With the success of the rapper\u2019s most recent single, \u201cWHATS POPPIN,\u201d we\u2019re bound to be hearing more from him than just his name. 2020 is the perfect time to get acquainted with the Louisville, Kentucky native\u2014he\u2019s not yet done riding the high of his most recent album, Confetti, <\/em>the project that\u2019s best showcased his range, flow, confidence, and charm. In March he embarks on The Roaring 20\u2019s Tour with Guapdad 400, touring throughout the United States through May. After streaming Harlow\u2019s new single\u2014and watching the accompanying, energetic music video directed by Lyrical Lemonade\u2019s Cole Bennet\u2014the best way to get to know the \u201cHometown Hero\u201d is to jump right in: whether you start with his recent work or his older tracks, you\u2019re guaranteed a good time.<\/p>\n

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Harlow at Louisville, KY’s Forecastle Festival in 2017. Image courtesy of Urban Wyatt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harlow rapped throughout adolescence, selling CDs of he and his friends\u2019 tracks at their middle school before posting his work on YouTube and Soundcloud in his early high school years. In 2015 he released The Handsome Harlow EP<\/em>, followed by an album in 2016 entitled 18. <\/em>It became the album of the summer for countless Louisvillian teenagers, especially my sister and I, who hailed from the same neighborhood as Harlow. That summer the air was humid and the music was hot. The bubbly track \u201cIce Cream\u201d was blasted in my house, in my car, and with my friends constantly. Harlow\u2019s music felt, to me, like a simultaneous celebration of living in and experiencing Louisville while optimistically looking and working forward to getting out. Harlow\u2019s work, his older and newer stuff alike, perfectly captures the angst, energy, and ambition of living in a world somewhere between suburbia and the city. Though the sentiment I gather from his music\u2014specifically the songs \u201cEastern Parkway\u201d and \u201cRIVER ROAD\u201d\u2014is one tied both physically and emotionally to my experiences in my hometown, overall his work is appealing and fresh. There\u2019s something there for everyone.<\/p>\n

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Jack Harlow. Image courtesy of Urban Wyatt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harlow\u2019s music ranges from bouncy bops perfect for pre-games to slower, poignant reflections on struggles and successes\u2014in his work you\u2019re bound to find something to fit every mood. Harlow has a pretty impressive catalogue\u2014every year since The Handsome Harlow EP <\/em>and 18<\/em> Harlow has consistently released new music, singles and full projects alike. Around 2016 he co-created an independent record label and music collective called Private Garden. He constantly surrounds himself with other creatives\u2014notably his longtime friends\u2014including photographer Urban Wyatt whose work on film is featured in nearly every Jack Harlow project. He\u2019s also influenced and mentored by well-known Louisvillian rapper Bryson Tiller, who joined Harlow for some bars on the 2019 single \u201cTHRU THE NIGHT.\u201d The appreciation for culture, music, and art within Harlow\u2019s collective is clear. It\u2019s both strong in his music and energizing in his performances.<\/p>\n