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Popcast

Jack Harlow on Pivoting to R&B With ‘Monica,’ Dating in NYC and Finding Himself

3/13/20261 hr 11 min

Following smash hits like “Whats Poppin,” “First Class” and “Lovin on Me,” the Louisville musician is making a true pivot to intimate, hand-played R&B on his fourth album. In this exclusive interview, Harlow talks race, ego and the rules he instituted while recording “Monica.” 

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Clips

Choosing Black music, on purpose
The strict rules of Monica
From dread to direction
Learning to be understood slowly
Letting go of the Drake path
Ego, power, and ‘it’s all good’
Still a rapper first
Becoming another instrument
Maybe I don’t like acting
Owning immaturity, seeking growth

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Lauren Dragan0:00

    Hey, it's Lauren Dragon from Wirecutter, the product recommendation service from The New York Times, and I test headphones. We basically make our own fake sweat and spray it over and over on these headphones to see what happens to them over time. We're gonna put on some noise-canceling headphones and see how well they actually block out the sounds. I have 3,136 entries in my database. Kids, workout. What version of Bluetooth? At Wirecutter, we do the work so you don't have to. For independent product reviews and recommendations for the real world, come visit us at nytimes.com/wirecutter.

  2. Joe Coscarelli· Host0:30

    I was joking about this earlier, but, like, your curls are flat now. Like, what's in the, what's in the cur- [laughs] Thanks for pointing that out ... what's, what's your cur- what's your curl cream?

  3. Speaker 20:37

    You're losing your swag.

  4. Joe Coscarelli· Host0:39

    [laughs] I did not say that.

  5. Speaker 20:40

    You didn't have to.

  6. Jon Caramanica· Host0:41

    [laughs] Welcome to The New York Times podcast, your Wanna Do More Than Just a Feature, a weekly cultural review with Jon Caramanica, and I'm the critic.

  7. Joe Coscarelli· Host0:49

    I'm Joe Coscarelli, and I'm the reporter.

  8. Speaker 20:52

    I'm Jack Harlow, and I'm on popcast.

  9. Joe Coscarelli· Host0:54

    There you go. You nailed it. You're good at this.

  10. Speaker 20:56

    Thanks.

  11. Joe Coscarelli· Host0:57

    Uh, Jack Harlow is a rapper and more from Louisville, Kentucky. In 2020, after moving to Atlanta, he broke out with What's Poppin'?

  12. Speaker 4· Soundbite1:06

    What's poppin'?

  13. Joe Coscarelli· Host1:06

    Huge hit on TikTok during the pandemic, classic remix with Lil Wayne. You know his subsequent hits, number one smashes, First Class, sampling Fergie's Glamorous.

  14. Speaker 4· Soundbite1:16

    And I can put you in. First class.

  15. Joe Coscarelli· Host1:18

    Lovin On Me from 2023.

  16. Speaker 4· Soundbite1:20

    Young J-A-C-K, AKA Rico, like Suave, Young Enrique.

  17. Joe Coscarelli· Host1:24

    Jack Harlow, we're really happy to have you here.

  18. Speaker 21:26

    Happy to be here. I've been anticipating this.

  19. Joe Coscarelli· Host1:28

    Monika, your

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