Jack Harlow New Album Reviews: At home, the kids are expecting you. You’re a flop since you don’t have any original themes or features. “What’s hot?” people often inquire. “What’s poppin’?” isn’t always the response. by Harlow Jack, The Kentucky rapper’s sophomore album, ‘Come Home The Kids Miss You,’ is 45 minutes long and contains 15 tracks, with cameos by some of the hip-biggest hop names, including Drake and Lil Wayne.
Harlow’s lyrical investigation doesn’t go far from the same stale themes of fame, girls, and grandeur, no matter how many tracks are on the album. His and Lil Nas X’s dedication to all the haters who labeled them one-hit wonders, “INDUSTRY BABY,” was a huge hit, so this cowardly creative choice is obviously suspect. “Come Home The Kidz Miss You,” on the other hand, had a lot of promise to enhance Harlow’s persona and provide serious introspections that could have effectively added depth to the apparent one-trick pony. The artist’s decision to go down the road less traveled was a costly mistake.
Tracks like these do little more than add to the overflowing cornucopia of albums bragging about a renowned lifestyle, as Harlow states in “Talk Of The Town” that people must now reach him through his publicist in “First Class.” The singer in songs like “State Fair,” which laments for a simpler life free of photographer harassment, has a harder difficulty making you feel sorry for him. Harlow’s songs bounce between extremes, as seen by the stark contrast between these two tunes, rather than explaining the complexities of fame in a clear manner.
Single “Come Home, The Kids Miss You” is out now
The album, which follows his XXL Magazine 2020 Freshman Class nomination with three Grammy nominations in the next two years, chronicles Harlow’s meteoric climb to fame, including anecdotes of his misadventures with various girls. It’s tough to provide a new twist to the familiar subject of being forced into the spotlight, no matter how much Harlow’s fluid flow and brilliant vocabulary try. Harlow’s poetry appears to be amusing, fast, and clever at first glance. “So much bread in my bank account, that stuff is yeasty,” a lyric from “Young Harleezy,” can make you laugh.
“Lookin’ at me over the phone, honey, blow a kiss / Like Soulja Boy ordered you,” Harlow sings, alluding to Soulja Boy’s song “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” which the listener may overlook at first. “I’d Do Anything To Make You Smile,” Harlow says in the primary song, before swiftly adding “bitch” to the end of the pledge, demonstrating that not every sentence can be a winner. Harlow’s use of a wide range of sonic textures throughout the album is outstanding, and the shimmering harp and smooth strings more than make up for the ruined sentiment. “Like a Blade of Grass” combines soulful harp into the pulsating tempo, and the album’s range of instrumentals is a delight for the listener’s ears.
Drake’s startlingly intimate “Churchill Downs” stanza, in which the rapper discloses his critical stance toward the music industry, is delivered with a robotic, blasé manner that even he cannot pull off. Harlow also had a hurdle with “Come Home The Kids Miss You.” He is a maestro of infectious beats, witty wit, and smooth-talking charm, to his credit. If any of these elements were lacking, the triangle would break apart due to a shaky foundation constructed on the repetition of rapping about glamour and glamour. Listeners looking to get a greater glimpse of Harlow’s breakout artist character will be disappointed. In the meantime, fans will have to rely on this album to pass the time until the band’s third album is released.
Jack Harlow knows exactly where he is
The 24-year-old rapper is appealing to followers from all walks of life with “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” which was released only days after his first solo No. 1 smash. Jack Harlow finished an interview at the BET Awards in June by remarking that Saweetie was nearby. He was featured in her remix of “Tap In,” although they hadn’t met yet. So he strolled up to her, tipped his torso in her direction, gently extended his hand, and said, “Hi.”
For the next 20 seconds, it was an extraordinary tug-of-war between his appeal and her raised brow. “That wasn’t the contact I was hoping for,” Harlow said during an interview at Generation Now Studios late last month. “I hope that doesn’t end up on the internet,” I thought first. It did, in fact. The moment was filmed on the Shade Room’s camera, and the video quickly spread throughout the internet. Over 6.6 million people have viewed “jack Harlow being a natural flirt for 5 minutes straight,” a fan-made YouTube compilation that prominently displays the clip. “My collections used to be ‘Jack Harlow being stupid,'” he said, referring to his own performances as awkward or uninteresting. There has been a significant change in the plot.
Even if Harlow, now 24, wasn’t flirting (“Sometimes I’ll just be talking to someone and people think I’m flirting,” he quipped.) The lighthearted interaction (“I think I have a warmth about me”) would become one of the pivotal moments in his spectacular ascension. “After that,” he observed, “everything changed.” “That song was like a major smash,” people often say. There have been a few of those as well: the bubbly “What’s Poppin,” which became a popular TikTak meme in 2020; a cheeky guest appearance on Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year; and the Fergie-sampling “First Class,” which recently became Harlow’s first solo No. 1 on the charts.
Harlow signed with Generation Now a joint venture with Atlantic
for his second major-label album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You.” This album is full of thumpers about the perplexing spin between current popularity as an object of desire and old-fashioned throne-taking ambition. Harlow’s ability to deliver punchlines in his freestyle while maintaining a confident demeanor is one of the most prominent characteristics of his approach. Harlow, on the other hand, is a wealthy white rapper who aspires to be recognized as a popular hip-hop sensation.
From staccato lines professing hometown pride to seductive fictional dialogue between Harlow and the woman he’s been wanting for years, his flow is full of vanity and swagger. Harlow’s vocal variety and studio confidence are on full display as he moves from slower, more melodic compositions and faster, more rhythmic ones with ease. Harlow’s delivery, though, comes at the expense of his own songs’ words, which aren’t as strong. The impressive lineup of performers who have contributed tracks where they have obviously given up their lowest effort is one of the album’s most unpleasant parts.
Harlow’s hometown, on the other hand, does not want him to leave: “What people actually need and want to see is something along the lines of, ‘Come with me.'” What matters is the number of opportunities you can create. You can only fit so many people into that space. With that in mind, Harlow realized a long time ago that timidly performing music would not help him reach his objectives. “My competitive nature is what makes me hip-hop,” he explained.
