Jack Harlow

• Jackman [Atlantic, 2023] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Jackman [Atlantic, 2023]
Since this white middle-class Louisville 25-year-old with humanistic impulses and hip-hop dreams seems comfortable comparing himself to Eminem, I have some advice for him. A) Forget comparing yourself to Eminem because while you have skills as both rapper and a rhymer, on a technical level Eminem is one of the most accomplished rappers ever. B) Don't compare yourself to Eminem because three decades in it's clear that he's a bigger dick than you'll ever be, not to mention than you want to be. That said, reviewers' tendency to condescend to him would be funny if it wasn't pathetic, 'cause he's smarter than they are. Me, I welcome rhymes about his father's budget-balancing problems, about not reminiscing with his older brother, about teen pals grown up into young-adult sex offenders, about having dinner with the newly elected Democratic governor of Kentucky, and about wishing you were sure God exists. A-