Jack Harlow’s third studio album, Jackman., is a substantial improvement from his last project, Come Home The Kids Miss You (2022). Jack Harlow is a 26 year old rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. On Wednesday, April 26th, Harlow announced a surprise album that came out two days later; it consists of 10 tracks that total to 24 minutes.
Harlow received a lot of negative feedback after Come Home The Kids Miss You. Although the songs are upbeat and fun to sing along to, they do not include important messages and mostly consist of sexual references. Harlow participated in very few press events after this album release, and took the feedback he received to create an album with important themes, messages, and morals.
The title of the album, Jackman., is Harlow’s way of wanting to be taken seriously as a rapper. The title is his full government name with a period, which emphasizes his existence and everything he has gone through. The album cover, on the other hand, depicts Harlow in an alleyway in Louisville- implying that he is going back to his roots. Not only does he reference childhood numerous times in the album, but the style of rap is similar to the mixtapes he released when he was younger.
Jackman. is composed of vulnerable lyrics and not a lot of radio hits. ‘‘They Don’t Love It,’’ is the only single that supports the album. Other songs that I believe are worthy of highlighting are ‘‘Common Ground,’’ ‘‘It Can’t Be,’’ and ‘‘Blame On Me.’’
A common motif in this album is whiteness within rap culture. In the song ‘‘Common Ground’’, for example, Harlow mentions how white listeners often embrace the hiphop lifestyle while being veiled in privilege. The song mentions that listeners “Get to feel like a thug but don’t have to act on it.” Additionally, Harlow is often accused of how his white privilege drove him to success. In his song, “It Can’t Be”, Harlow creatively shuts down these allegations by referencing his worthy qualities in satire.
“Blame On Me” is another really interesting listen; the song explains the effects of toxic masculinity put on young boys and generational trauma through a different perspective in each verse.
Overall, the album is vulnerable and includes intimate storytelling. It is an engaging listen and I highly recommend this to any rap fans.
