Jack Harlow reads reviews of his own albums.
The 28-year-old rap star released Monica, his latest album, earlier this year, and Jack admits to being conscious of what people are saying about his work.
Speaking to People, Jack shared: “I’m going to read something.
“We all want to be loved, so you’re going to go see what people are saying. But I try to just be with the people I made it with and the people I love and care about.”
Jack recently finished his Monica tour, and the experience served to reaffirm his faith in his own music.
He said: “This album was a pivot for me in some ways, so I think I needed to go do it live and hear the fans sing it back to me and be reassured that people like it. So for that reason, it’s been incredibly validating.”
Jack previously credited his friends and family for his fiercely independent approach to making music.
The rapper wants his music to always feel authentic to himself.
He told The Fader: “I have really smart parents, good friends — people around me that keep me grounded and encourage me — so I’m able to trust myself and trust my vision.
“I’m just blessed I came from a good place, a good city, and that I can just focus. I want this.
“The biggest thing in the music for me is that before I can make it dope, I want it to feel like me. I want it to be myself. I want people to hear me and be like, ‘That’s him.’ That’s the independence I’m trying to have.”
Jack also feels that growing up in Louisville has been a major help to his music.
He said: “Hip-hop has always been pretty popular in Louisville; we’ve had a lot of artists, like Nappy Roots and Static Major, so there’s always been a culture.
“Of course, we’ve never been as big as some of the larger markets, but it’s a Southern city, so it’s influenced by a lot of Southern things. And being in the middle of the country, it takes influence from a lot of other places, too, so it has its own thing going on — it’s unique for sure.”