Jack Harlow

Jackman Thomas Harlow (b. March 13, 1998), popularly known by his stage name Jack Harlow, is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky.

Jack Harlow’s blend of laid-back charm and confidence has allowed him to make a mark in a genre few expected him to thrive in. His music journey began in 2015, leading to the release of several EPs and mixtapes. In 2018, he signed with Generation Now, a label under Atlantic Records, and co-founded the music collective Private Garden. Vox described his music as breezy and easy to listen to.

Born on March 13, 1998, in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Harlow comes from an upper-middle-class Christian family with mixed French and Irish roots. His parents, Brian and Maggie Harlow, are entrepreneurs, and he has a younger brother, Clayborn. Harlow’s love for music was sparked early by his mother’s passion for rap, leading him to start rapping at a young age.

Harlow’s first taste of success came with the 2020 single "Whats Poppin," which gained popularity on TikTok and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, earning him a Grammy nomination. His collaboration with Lil Nas X on "Industry Baby" in 2021 became his first chart-topping hit. He followed this success with his second album, "Come Home the Kids Miss You" in 2022, featuring the viral hit "First Class."

Harlow has been recognized as Billboard’s Top New Artist, Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year, and was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. In 2023, he was cast in the remake of "White Men Can't Jump," marking his acting debut.

Harlow released his first commercial album in November 2015, an EP titled “The Handsome Harlow” which was released on sonaBLAST!, Gill Holland's record label, as reported by Louisville.

Harlow is no stranger to performing in front of people. While he was in high school he often played sold-out shows at prominent Louisville venues like Mercury Ballroom, Headliners, and the Haymarket Whiskey Bar according to Louisville. XXL reported that Harlow opened for Vince Staples in Louisville in March 2015.

The following year, Harlow graduated from high school and released his next mixtape, 18, which was the first album for Private Garde, Harlow’s own label and music collective as reported by Louisville Eccentric Observer. Over the course of the year, Harlow performed at a number of popular festivals like South by Southwest, the Forecastle Festival, and Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Harlow’s next release was “Routine”, in October 2017 which was subsequently followed by the release of “Dark Knight” and its music video. The song was the lead single on Harlow's next mixtape titled Gazebo, which was released in November as reported by XXL. The Louisville Eccentric Observer reported Harlow went on a 14-city tour to support Gazebo, with his friends “The Homies” opening for Harlow.

The following year saw Harlow open for the widely popular indie rock band ‘Portugal. The Man’ on certain tour dates as reported by the Beaver County Times.

MTV reported Harlow moved to Atlanta somewhere around 2018 and supplemented his income by working at a Chick-fil-A located in the Georgia State University cafeteria.

Following an encounter with DJ Drama at the Mean Street Studio, Harlow was signed to Generation Now, DJ Drama and Don Cannon's record label which works in tandem with Atlantic Records. Billboard reported Harlow celebrated this announcement by releasing a music video for his single, “Sundown”.

Later that year, August to be specific, Harlow officially released his first major-label mixtape titled Loose, which was supported by a North American tour that lasted a month as reported by DJ Booth. The mixtape was nominated for the Best Mixtape at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards.

Harlow found mainstream success following the release of his single “Whats Poppin”, which was the lead single from his second EP, Sweet Action. The song quickly went viral on TikTok post its release and the music video for the song was widely viewed surpassing 135 million views as reported by the New York Times and Billboard. Harlow later officially released the EP on March 13, 2020, which also happened to be his 22nd birthday.

Harlow’s next song was a collaboration with G-Eazy on his track, “Moana” which was later followed by the release of a remix of “Whats Poppin” which featured DaBaby, Lil Wayne, and Tory Lanez, with the remix peaking at number two on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Harlow was included in XXL's 2020 Freshman Class even before his first studio album was released. October 2020 saw Harlow release “Tyler Herro”, the lead single from his upcoming debut studio album, That's What They All Say. The track’s music video stars Miami Heat player Tyler Herro and received critical acclaim with the New York Times praising Harlow’s lyrics and delivery, as having “easy, weightless charisma”.

The album was eventually released in December 2020, which was preceded by the release of “Way Out”, the second single from the album. The album also included "Whats Poppin" and its remix. For promotional purposes, Harlow was invited as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he performed a medley of “Tyler Herro”,“Whats Poppin”, and “Same Guy” with Adam Levine. The episode also saw Harlow perform an NFT-themed parody of ‘Without Me’, Eminem’s hit 2002 single as reported by Complex.

The following year saw Harlow collaborate with a couple of artists that helped him cement himself in the industry. The first collaboration was with Eminem and Cordae for a remix of Eminem's 2020 single, “Killer”, while the second collaboration, “Industry Baby” with Lil Nas X, saw Harlow earn his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Following an almost six-and-a-half-month-long hiatus, Harlow released his next single, “Nail Tech”, the lead single from his upcoming second studio album, titled Come Home the Kids Miss You. The song peaked at number 18 on its debut and received praise from Kanye West, who later invited Harlow to collaborate on Kanye’s song “Louie Bags”, from his album, Donda 2.

Harlow formally announced the title of his second studio album, Come Home the Kids Miss You, on March 16, 2022, and it was scheduled for release in May 2022. Billboard reports that “First Class”, the second single from the album, became a viral sensation on TikTok which catapulted the song to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Harlow his second number-one song.

The album features a song called “Dua Lipa”, which is named after popular British pop singer Dua Lipa, and in order to get her permission to include it on the album, Harlow had to play the song to the singer over Facetime as reported by Cosmopolitan.

Music career aside, Harlow announced in March 2022 that he will be making his acting debut in the remake of Calmatic’s White Men Can’t Jump, which is a remake of the 1992 movie.

In 2023, Jack Harlow dropped his third studio album, "Jackman," on April 28. The album made an impressive debut, landing at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200, with 35,500 album-equivalent units sold in its first week. Later that year, on November 10, he released the single "Lovin' on Me," which quickly soared to the top of the UK Singles Chart, marking his first number 1 there and his third number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Harlow's rising star has not gone unnoticed, earning him multiple award nominations over the years. In 2022 and 2023, he was recognized by the American Music Awards, BET Awards, and Grammy Awards. His collaboration with Lil Nas X on "Industry Baby" earned the Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Song in 2022.

Despite his growing fame, Harlow remains deeply connected to his Louisville roots. On February 28, 2024, he announced the Gazebo Festival, a two-day music event in Louisville, solidifying his commitment to his hometown while continuing to make waves in the music industry.

As of 2024, Jack Harlow has an estimated net worth of around $15 million, according to a report by Cosmopolitan. Harlow has primarily earned his impressive net worth from his music career, YouTube channel, brand endorsements, acting career, and business ventures.

Cosmopolitan reported that Harlow took home $5 million in 2021, most of it coming from brand endorsements. The Louisville rapper called his partnership with KFC “poetic justice”. Apart from being the face of the Colonel’s fried chicken shop, he also endorses New Balance, Buffalo Wild Wings, Call of Duty, Venmo, Tommy Hilfiger, and Cheetos.

Other than being active on TikTok, Harlow has 6.5 million followers on Instagram. He is also active on Twitter with 1.2 million followers as of June 2022. He currently has 2.08 million subscribers on YouTube and over 5.2 million followers on TikTok, all as of June 2022..

Harlow’s Spotify channel boasts an impressive 53,259,989 monthly listeners

Not a lot of personal information is known about Jack Harlow. People reported in an article that Harlow is currently single, however, when he does date someone, he has the woman fill out an NDA or a non-disclosure agreement before they meet.

The Independent reported Harlow attended the Kentucky Derby in May 2022 and requested members of his security team, who happened to be black men, to carry him in order to avoid getting his shoes dirty. Pictures from the event were eventually published on social media, with prominent pages like LadBible sharing it which led to Harlow receiving a lot of backlash over the internet.

Harlow is extremely committed to giving and is known for philanthropy as well as social activism. Forbes reported Harlow has raised more than $1 million for nonprofits and HBCUs in his hometown of Louisville.

Harlow has been nominated for several award nominations from institutions such as the Grammys as well as the Billboard Music Awards. He has already graced GQ, Spin, and Complex as their cover model. He is an honorary inclusion to Forbes 30 Under 30 musicians and he was also named Variety’s “Hitmaker of the Year”.