Just shy of a year after Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow released his 2022 sophomore studio album, Come Home the Kids Miss You, he narrowed his focus and drew from more personal material for his third proper commercial effort, Jackman. Harlow was fresh off of an enormous surge in popularity due to his appearance on Lil Nas Xs 2021 track "Industry Baby" when Come Home the Kids Miss You was released, and he was primed for mainstream breakthrough with the albums extravagant production and superstar guests like Pharrell Williams, Drake, and Justin Timberlake. Jackman. is spare and understated by contrast, with just ten tracks clocking in at under 25 minutes, no features, and a somewhat bleak and solitary emotional tone throughout. Harlow stays in the role of a cautious observer in most of his lyrics, sometimes commenting on society at large (the white appropriation of Black culture on "Common Ground," loyalties deteriorating when ugly true colors are shown on "Gang Gang Gang") but mostly reflecting on his own struggles with family, fame, and his place in the rap game. "It Cant Be" finds Harlow running down a list of his talents and the hard work hes put in to get to his level of success, and "They Dont Love It" comes from the confrontational perspective of a rapper who was grinding out mixtapes for years before the world caught on. Its ironic that Harlow sounds worn down by the weight of his own stardom on his first album to debut at the top of the Billboard charts, and how Jackman. moves further away from pop than his previous record, feeling more like being in the room while Harlow is filterlessly talking to himself for almost half an hour. ~ TiVo Staff
Rovi
First Classの全米1位獲得で勢いに乗ったケンタッキー出身ラッパーの3作目。自身の名を冠し、客演ナシで制作した内省的な面も感じさせる内容で、白人がラップすることの現実について吐露しながら自身をエミネムに喩えるボーストもあり。ベイブトゥルースやDJダーヒらが制作に参加し、オーセンティックなサンプリング・サウンドのテイストも感じさせる。
bounce (C)Masso 187um
タワーレコード(vol.477(2023年8月25日発行号)掲載)