Tyrese King

Jack Harlow's No Feature Album 'Jackman.'

Intimate and sincere, Jack Harlow’s Jackman. is both a product of mass music consumerism culture and a rejection of it.

Following on from his sophomore album Come Home The Kids Missed You, which was only released in May last year. Jackman. is an introspective project that is personal rather than one aimed at commercial success.

Beginning with ‘Common Ground’ Jack positions himself as an outsider as he offers his personal observations about the gentrification and cultural appropriation of rap culture.

Rapping over a soulful sample beat, Jack comments “taking back to their mums and dad’s often/ reciting rap lyrics murder, cash, profit/ feeling like a thug but they don’t act on it.”

Smoothly transitioning into the brightly energetic ‘They Don’t love it’ the Louisville rapper finds moments in between the pockets of bravado to be more genuine. He muses on the possibility of meeting his future wife before quickly returning to boasting

On ‘Ambitious’ his demeanour is cool and relaxed as he states his ambition to be seen first and foremost as a talented musician. String instruments gracefully play long-held notes, held steady by percussion, and layered by female R&B vocals providing the perfect space for Jack to share stories about his early days and how it shapes his present.

Jack expresses his need for freedom on the piano-based ‘Is that Ight?', paired with sampled R&B harmonies. He feels restricted by the demands of the lifestyle and entrapped.

Demonstrating his growing maturity ‘Gang Gang Gang’ is a take on the passiveness and therefore compliance of people, specifically men in regard to serious topics of conversation such as sexual abuse, and the need for accountability for both you and your friend.

Whilst the melancholic indie-influenced ‘Denver’ explores our reliance on technology, social media and how it has led to a decrease in empathy. Jack raps “I’ve seen enough of me on this little screen/ I’ve become so vain and insecure about everything/ I feel so much pressure to live up to everything they’ve done told me I’ll be.”

On the rose-hued ‘No Enhancers’ the rapper is silky smooth and charismatic as he lifts the mood by reassuring his love interest about loving her for her. Before Jack’s defiant ‘It Can’t Be’ defends his success from allegations of being an industry plant.

The experimental ‘Blame Me’ addresses transgenerational trauma and arguably it would’ve been the best way to end the project. Transparent and vulnerable, Jack looks at the relationship between himself, his brother and his father and how each affects the other in an echo chamber.

Triality, each brother has a verse to express themselves before the final verse is lent to the father to explain his parental behaviour

Concluding on ‘Questions’, the last track of the ten-track album acts as a self-critique of Jack’s own behaviour, where he’s fallen short and where he still wants to go.

With no features on the project, Jack has created a project of depth and meaning by going back to what he knows and looking towards the future, it would be interesting to see if continues to follow this path.

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