Jack Harlow Is Grateful He Wasn’t a Child Star: ‘I Dodged a Bullet’

At 24, Jack Harlow is one of the younger stars to perform at the Grammys. If everything had gone according to his plan, though, he would have risen to stardom even earlier. The musician explained that when he was an aspiring artist, he passed out mixtapes at school. Though it didn’t bring him to teenage stardom, he’s happy about this. He explained that he’s glad that he didn’t become famous until he was a bit older. 

Grammy performer Jack Harlow grew up with various music styles in his household

Harlow grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, around a variety of musical genres. He explained that his mom was a fan of hip hop while his father preferred classic rock and country. Though he was not too interested in music at first, focusing instead on movies like Star Wars and Harry Potter, a viewing of 8 Mile made him a fan. 

“That’s how it normally goes,” his brother Clay once told Rolling Stone, “Obi-Wan Kenobi to B. Rabbit.”

He wanted to be a rapper by the time he turned 11.

“He and my mom would freestyle in the car,” his brother said. “They would put on instrumentals, and we’d be driving somewhere, and they would both rap.”

He was not a child star, even though he tried to be

By the time Harlow was in high school, labels and agents were circling him. When nothing came of this, he took matters into his own hands.

“[I] just went to work on a local level,” he explained. “Burning CDs. Passing out mixtapes at school.”

Ultimately, though, he didn’t become famous until his 20s. He’s grateful for this delay.

“I dodged a bullet,” he said. “I got to go to public school. I got to go to parties. I got to lose my virginity in a normal way. A lot of dominoes had to fall the right way for me to be good at being a rapper. Because I’m still a white guy and I didn’t grow up poor. I had to get perspective to say things that could be universally relatable. I got to finish high school. I got to be regular. I got to be humbled. I got to dress poorly. I got to figure myself out.”

Grammy nominee Jack Harlow wants to be the face of his generation 

Now that he is famous, Harlow wants to be the best rapper alive.

“I want to be the face of my s***, like the face of my generation, for these next 10 years,” he said. “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 hopes that his new music will help him do this soon.

“My new s*** is much more serious,” he said. “Right now, my message is letting muh’f***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.”