The Kentucky rapper faces so many comparisons to Eminem that it becomes tiresome. Jack would not mind it, he lists Em is one of his influences. But sometimes he has to set journalists straight.
Promoting his upcoming album, Jack Harlow sat down with Ebro in the Morning to talk about his career, collaborations and lifestyle. At some point, Pere Rosenberg, co-hosting the show, came up with a convoluted question that combined praising Jack for his commercial success, comparing him to Eminem and “all other white rappers”, and somehow implying that Em has never enjoyed the level of success Jack Harlow has right now. Along the way, Pete has also fused sales, success and “club bangers” all into one category. It is a go-to thesis for many somehow that “Eminem does not have club bangers” – the thesis that is usually based exclusively on a personal experience and therefore is pointless a serious conversation. Anyway, the young rapper, who showed his respect for Marshall many times, decided to correct a host in a very polite and non-confrontational manner:
I say I’m aware of it. You know, you might not be able to put Eminem in the club box, but he was making mainstream hip hop that was being consumed by the masses.
This is a subtle way to remind that Eminem sold 1.76 million copies of “The Marshall Mathers LP” in one week in May 2000. “Recovery” sold 741,000 copies during its first week in 2010. Em’s latest album, “Music to Be Murdered By”, debuted atop the Billboard 200, selling 279,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. Do you know how many Pusha T sold to went No.1 last week? 55,000 total units, 45,000 of which came from streaming. But somehow, Eminem is denied a notion of commercial success.
However, Jack Harlow, a brilliant young rapper, does not have to diminish somebody else’s achievements to enjoy his accomplishment. Which he will see tomorrow, when his second studio album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You”, drops.
