On April 25th, “What’s Poppin’” rapper Jack Harlow announced his self-titled album, Jackman, releasing on April 28th at midnight. Harlow released his previous album on May 6th, 2022, after that releasing no new music in nearly a year. So, is it any good? Jack’s last album was quite disappointing, with “First Class,” the radio had its most played track for a while. Nearly every hour, First Class would play on the radio. It got pretty annoying considering the track was sampling a song by Fergie, and although Come Home The Kids Miss You received three grammy nominations, and had three solid single tracks, “Dua Lipa,” “Nail Tech,” and “Churchill Downs,” Jack’s fans were still disappointed. They felt as if he wasn’t good enough for the rap community. So the anticipation for this album was quite high. Fans expected a very solid rap album that would put Harlow back in the graceful arms of the community. And now we get to Jackman: is it any good?
Yes. It’s solid for radio play. You’re most likely going to get the aux cord if you’re playing this in the car.
But it’s not perfect. It’s not a 10/10. Here’s five reasons why:
1.) Too many samples.
Each track (only ten) include at least one sample. It feels as if following “First Class,” Harlow has relied on nostalgia in order to make a hit song. They fit good, and not too repetitive like First Class, but still, Jack didn’t need to have a sample on every track. If this album does not sell he may go broke depending on how much money he spent on sample clearances.
2.) Too short.
The entire ten track album’s runtime is 21 minutes and 54 seconds, a more than 50% decrease from his last album, so this should be considered more as an EP than an album. The longest track is 4
minutes and 2 seconds, but most of it is the sample of the track, “Blame On Me.”
3.) Bad name and album cover.
This one should NOT be used to make a decision on whether you should listen to the album or not, but, they suck. I know it’s self-titled, but the name sounds so stupid. “Jackman.” Sounds like a
superhero or something. The album cover is Jack Harlow jacked as fuck in a random alleyway with a garage in the background with four trash bins. Now, this makes sense as it’s about his life as a young man, but still, I would NOT have this hung up on vinyl.
4.) The entire album is Jack Harlow trying to prove people wrong.
There are no features. Just Harlow rapping for twenty minutes. I believe he’s trying to prove everyone wrong by debunking the talk that he can’t rap. But it gets boring really fast. Drake would’ve been a really good feature on “Gang Gang Gang,” or Joey Bada$$ on literally any track.
5.) Feels too rushed.
No promotion. Only lyric videos, and they look like they were made in Windows Movie Maker. Not enough tracks.
What are the best songs?
Common Ground is really catchy.
Gang Gang Gang is really deep.
Blame On Me is really personal.
What do they all have in common? Good beats with good lyrics and vocals.
There are no bad songs. Some of them are just a little boring.
So, should you listen to the album?
Of course yes. It's extremely solid. I will be returning to it. I'm giving it an 8.5/10. Also, the final track, "Questions," loops perfectly. Try it.
Thanks for reading my terrible review. Still working on my Mac Miller article.
Yes. It’s solid for radio play. You’re most likely going to get the aux cord if you’re playing this in the car.
But it’s not perfect. It’s not a 10/10. Here’s five reasons why:
1.) Too many samples.
Each track (only ten) include at least one sample. It feels as if following “First Class,” Harlow has relied on nostalgia in order to make a hit song. They fit good, and not too repetitive like First Class, but still, Jack didn’t need to have a sample on every track. If this album does not sell he may go broke depending on how much money he spent on sample clearances.
2.) Too short.
The entire ten track album’s runtime is 21 minutes and 54 seconds, a more than 50% decrease from his last album, so this should be considered more as an EP than an album. The longest track is 4
minutes and 2 seconds, but most of it is the sample of the track, “Blame On Me.”
3.) Bad name and album cover.
This one should NOT be used to make a decision on whether you should listen to the album or not, but, they suck. I know it’s self-titled, but the name sounds so stupid. “Jackman.” Sounds like a
superhero or something. The album cover is Jack Harlow jacked as fuck in a random alleyway with a garage in the background with four trash bins. Now, this makes sense as it’s about his life as a young man, but still, I would NOT have this hung up on vinyl.
4.) The entire album is Jack Harlow trying to prove people wrong.
There are no features. Just Harlow rapping for twenty minutes. I believe he’s trying to prove everyone wrong by debunking the talk that he can’t rap. But it gets boring really fast. Drake would’ve been a really good feature on “Gang Gang Gang,” or Joey Bada$$ on literally any track.
5.) Feels too rushed.
No promotion. Only lyric videos, and they look like they were made in Windows Movie Maker. Not enough tracks.
What are the best songs?
Common Ground is really catchy.
Gang Gang Gang is really deep.
Blame On Me is really personal.
What do they all have in common? Good beats with good lyrics and vocals.
There are no bad songs. Some of them are just a little boring.
So, should you listen to the album?
Of course yes. It's extremely solid. I will be returning to it. I'm giving it an 8.5/10. Also, the final track, "Questions," loops perfectly. Try it.
Thanks for reading my terrible review. Still working on my Mac Miller article.
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