The Harlow Effect Tops the Charts

Jack Butts, Sports Editor

Selling out five venues in less than an hour and selling out his whole tour in a week, Kentucky native Jack Harlow is the hottest rapper out right now. Releasing his first album in 2015, his career took off and hasn’t slowed down since. Having the number one song in the world right now with Lil Nas X and having features from other major artist including Lil Wayne, Bryson Tiller and Chris Brown, he has been able to launch his career unlike any other.

Jack Harlow began his career as a high school student rapping about anything from cartoons to restaurants. Harlow’s first hit was “Thru the Night” with Kentucky native Bryson Tiller. Released in 2019, on his album “Confetti,” the hit song now has more than 10 million views on YouTube and a similar number of streams on Spotify. His most recent album, “That’s What They All Say has more than 66.1 million plays and includes his hit song “What’s Poppin” and has features from DaBaby, Torey Lanez and Lil Baby, allowing the album to reach number five on the Billboard Top 200. Along with this album, the album “Sweet Action” included major hits like “Out Front” and “2STYLISH” and reached top 20 in the charts. Harlow has three platinum songs, two gold songs and one Grammy nomination.

Harlow also is a strong believer in knowing your roots and giving back to the community that he came from.  Harlow is an open supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, having attended a rally to protest the killing of Breonna Taylor which occurred in his hometown of Louisville. In the month of October, he came forward to help raise money for five Louisville based organizations including AMPED, the Center for Women and Families, the Grace M. James Academy of Excellence, Louisville Urban League and Metro United Way. He also is having a five-show tour in Louisville in December 2021 to help give back to the community and proceeds will be given to the same five organizations.

Overall, with the whole state of Kentucky supporting him and millions of others across the world Harlow has made a name for himself and for the people around him. The Louisville-based artist has truly shown the world what he can do and the influence he has on teens from around the globe. With his one-of-a-kind personality and swag unlike any other he has solidified his spot in the music industry and the culture today.