Inside Jack Harlow and Eminem’s Friendship
For two decades, Eminem has sat at the top of the hip-hop heap, with No. 1 singles and bestselling albums to his name. In the years since his debut, Slim Shady has inspired countless young emcees, including breakout rapper Jack Harlow.
Jack Harlow is one of Gen Z’s hottest new rappers
Jack Harlow grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and worked hard throughout the 2010s releasing his own music. Since the turn of the decade, Harlow has emerged as one of Gen Z’s hottest young rappers alongside Lil Nas X. Harlow released his debut album That’s What They All Say, in 2020; the album’s lead single, “What’s Poppin’,” hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 2021, Harlow notched his first No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 with the Lil Nas X collab “Industry Baby.” He also worked with established artists in the hip-hop world, including Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign, and even Eminem.
Harlow’s second album, Come Home the Kids Miss You, is slated for release in May 2022. The album’s lead single “Nail Tech” debuted at No. 18 on the Hot 100 chart in March 2022.
Eminem showed Jack Harlow his support
Harlow’s fledgling career pales in comparison to rap legend Eminem, to whom he’s often been compared due to their being two prominent white men in hip-hop. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he spoke about why he looked up to Eminem so much.
“That’s what made Em so hard — he was in the dog pile,” Harlow said. “I want to be the face of my s***, like the face of my generation, for these next 10 years. We need more people in my generation that are trying to be the best, and you can’t do that with just ear candy, vibe records. You got to come out swinging sometimes.”
He went on to talk about his forthcoming music on Come Home the Kids Miss You. “My new s*** is much more serious. Right now, my message is letting m*********ers know I love hip-hop, and I’m one of the best in my generation. You can’t do that with nonchalant, like, ‘Eeey, I got the b****es,’ in clever ways over and over again. I got to dig deeper this time.”
Eminem and Jack Harlow collaborated on a song together
In 2021, Harlow got to work with Eminem himself on a remix of his own song “Killer.” Getting Eminem on one of his songs was an important, full-circle moment for Harlow.
Harlow told Billboard that even though they never met face-to-face, he got Eminem’s blessing from afar.
“We didn’t get to meet, but we had a phone call that meant the world to me,” Harlow said. “I haven’t shared it with the world yet, but I can’t wait until the world hears it. He gave me a lot of props that any artist would love to get. Sometimes, the best gem is just somebody you admire, letting you know who you think you are. He let me know, ‘You’re that. You’re dope.’ I’ve waited a decade to hear that. So it was special.”
