Jack Harlow on His First Crush, First Time Meeting Drake & More

But the illest part is,

♪ I made it pop now they trying to be tight, ♪

♪ I think I'm finished with trying to be aight, ♪

♪ you know that Kobe was trying to be Mike. ♪

That's like the line.

Hi Teen Vogue,

My name's Jack Harlow.

And today, I'm sharing some of my firsts with you.

[rap beats]

When I wake up, I have to sort myself out of the emotions

that I have from the nightmare I had

because I have a nightmare every night.

Can't explain why.

I notice I have a crook in my neck every morning.

So I sleep hard.

I realized I wanted to be a rapper when I was like 11.

I don't know what spurred it,

but I was really young.

First time I rapped for a crowd,

I think it was seventh grade.

Sixth grade I was too scared to do it.

Seventh grade I did it at the talent show

in my middle school.

And I got back and my teachers were like,

why are you grabbing your crotch like that?

But I was just doing what I knew.

Yeah, first time I heard myself on the radio

was a milestone

DJ 12 who played it on 93.1 as a favor to me.

I was still in high school.

I was on Snapchat and Facebook,

like yoh, everybody, get on the radio tonight,

they're gonna play my song one time.

But I felt like I was out here.

I used to do remixes.

It was like, I did like a Six Foot Seven Foot remix

and a Moment for Life remix.

And I used to just rap on the bus.

Remixes were really popular when I was in middle school,

like even the biggest artists in the world

were doing remixes,

rapping on other people's beats.

It's kind of fallen off

but when I first started, all I did was remixes.

I think I just started to realize I was building a name

when I would start,

I would go for a walk in the park

or I would get to a red light with my window down,

and the person next to me would pull up and be like

in shock.

So, it's really going outside.

I didn't know if people knew who I was in the UK.

That's one thing the internet can only indicate

so much to you.

Once you start walking through the streets,

you really find out.

First time I met Drake,

I was at the gathering spot in Atlanta

and he was having a little party

and KY Engineering introduced me to Drake,

and he had no idea who I was.

But I was just like, yo, it's great to meet you.

And he was just like ...

And then a year later, I was back at the gathering spot

because he had another party.

I was there again, not off my own relationship with him,

someone else had me there again.

And this time he saw me in his party and approached me.

It's like 2019 and was like, yo, I'm tapped in with you.

You got some hard shit.

I remember I called my mom on the way home, like yo.

So it was like gradual, gradual meetings.

He knows how to have a good time.

He knows how to make everything right.

He knows how to sort the vibe out.

What an impossible question.

I came out of the womb embarrassed

because I was naked.

[laughing]

Nah, that ain't what I was gonna say.

But I was like, why are y'all looking at me

when I came outta my mom.

I think there was like a, I was at a party,

my family were at a party.

Young girl that was like my age,

cute as hell.

She was trying to beat a pinata open,

and all the parents were around like, yeah you can do it.

And I like came over to help her,

to try and help her open the pinata

because I had a crush on her.

And my dad was like, let her do it, leave her alone.

And I was just so embarrassed in front of everybody,

like damn, I was trying to, we were both four by the way.

That's a tough one.

When do you start going on dates.

Holding hands walking through St. Matthew's Mall.

You know what dates were in middle school

is you just walk through the mall holding hands.

Don't buy anything.

Both of your hands are just sweating on each other.

You don't talk, you just walk through the mall,

go to the food court.

You got like $10 on you.

That was my first dates.

My first crush was Vanessa Huggins.

I was in fifth grade and I was like, my God.

Yeah, she's just right up my alley.

I would be a little nervous if I met Vanessa Huggins

just because the anticipation for me

has been damn near two decades now.

I don't know, Vanessa, if you're watching this,

I think you're married, but maybe not. Who knows?

You know, I always ask people, what's your type,

and people are like, I don't have a type.

And I'm like,

there's something natural that you gravitate to,

and like, she's just a great example

of what I've liked my whole life, I don't know.

First album I bought, Monkey Business

by the Black-Eyed Peas.

Tough, right?

Yeah, that was a huge influence of mine,

Black-eyed Peas.

You know what's so crazy,

somebody asked me last night before this interview

they were like, what's the best Black-eyed Peas song?

Just coincidentally.

I think My Humps is on Monkey Business,

so I had to say that.

I mean, that's just like an amazing song.

That's the type of song you just wish you made.

I used to record when I first got signed,

Playboy Carti was in the next room,

and this was really early for me.

He used to tell me come in his sessions.

This is when I was still 19 and trying to figure it out.

And he used to let me come in his sessions

and I just would be in there just nervous.

I just didn't have a lot to say.

He was definitely a big homie to me at the time,

and he would be like, yo Uzi was that for me,

and now, I'm that to you.

But it was just a few times.

Tyler, the Creator did it to me.

One time, DJ Drama handed him the phone on FaceTime,

and he put it really close so I couldn't tell who it was.

And he was like, I want to suck your [beep].

And I was like, ugh.

And then he took back, and he just won up to me.

I couldn't match his energy for real now.

I just couldn't believe it was him,

and I was just like, I was starstruck.

The first famous person to follow me was Dwight Howard.

When I was young, this is how much

I grew up on the internet.

My literal account right now, My Twitter account,

used to be a sports blog account.

When I was 11, I wanted to be a sports writer.

And Dwight Howard followed me when I was like 12.

I think he was following everyone back.

I don't know what dude was on following me.

I have no idea why.

But yeah, a lot of people don't know that,

that it used to be a sports blog.

First concert I went to was a Nappy Roots concert

in Louisville, Kentucky, after school.

I was in sixth grade,

and they had an album release

for the Pursuit of Nappyness at Ear Ecstasy,

a historic record store where I'm from.

In middle school, I caught the tail end of the CD era.

I was going to Ear Ecstasy

and we would buy Jones soda and we would buy the latest CD.

I literally bought Pink Friday

and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy on disc

at Ear Ecstasy,

it was like the last record store.

So we would always walk up there after school,

and then one time they had Nappy Roots performing.

And that's Kentucky legends,

some of the first examples of hip hop on a national scale

coming outta Kentucky.

So I got my CD signed by all of them,

and now I know them all,

and I told them that story.

I think it was some navy blue 574s,

if I had to answer your question

about my first New Balance sneakers.

Yeah, I got them at [beep] Sporting Goods.

It's the sporting good store in little,

Dick, sorry.

[laughing]

Respect to Dick so I need a deal.

[laughing]

Yeah, you know, I'm at soundcheck,

and the mayor shows up to my soundcheck,

and he hands me a plaque,

and he tells me December 18th is officially Jack Harlow Day.

Yeah, man,

you know, the mayor just came through with the plaque.

I said, you for real about this?

And he's like, yeah, it's your day.

I said, all right, if you're sure about this.

I was like, so you're telling me every year,

December 18th in Louisville is my day?

He said, no, just this year.

I was like respect, respect.

Lil Nas X first meeting.

We found each other funny.

I think the first time we met might have been

at Zach B's birthday,

but we had the song done already.

We did a lot of digital stuff first,

a lot of digital interaction.

And then we met at a birthday party

and then we shot the video,

and now we're like.

I loved every second of it.

It was very dusty outside,

it was a desert situation.

Yeah, man,

it was one of the best days of my career.

It was a fun music video.

Great video, great dude.

Great vibes.

Erotic for sure.

When I first got the acting role,

I either called Nemo or I called my dad,

because that was kind of my dad's era.

I knew it would be special to him.

And he has Woody Harrelson energy, my dad.

I'm gonna put it like this,

when I got the White Men Can't Jump call,

I was beside myself.

Dream come true.

You know, I've been wanting to act,

and suddenly, the opportunity's right in front of me.

It's a transition I've been looking to make,

it's a transition my mentors

have been encouraging me to make.

And so, I happily stepped through that door.

Just gotta thank God.

Maybe this song called Like Mike

was the first song

I made for Come Home the Kids Miss You.

Been holding that song for a little bit,

I think Like Mike

♪ what can I say that I haven't said plenty. ♪

♪ Hold up a second, ♪

♪ I took way too many. ♪

♪ She got genetics, Italian and Triny, ♪

♪ they taking pics cause I'm out in the city. ♪

♪ I'm at the mall, ♪

♪ we go out in the fendi, she browsing it with me. ♪

But the illest part is,

♪ they're singing it with me, ♪

♪ they're singing it with me. ♪

♪ I had to wait and it finally hit me. ♪

♪ I think I'm finished with trying to be friendly. ♪

♪ I think I'm finished with trying to be liked. ♪

♪ I made it pop now they trying to be tight. ♪

♪ I think I'm finished with trying to be aight, ♪

♪ you know that Kobe was trying to be Mike. ♪

That's like the line.

You wanna talk about the future, huh?

I think of Mad Max.

That's what the future is giving right now.

Desolation.

But let me stop because we can get this shit right.

Because I was just in Vegas

and they showed me a tunnel that Elon built.

And I heard they got more coming.

So I'm gonna remain optimistic.

But you know, climate change is on my mind.

It's very real.

I think everybody should be thoughtful about it.

But yeah, the future is heavy.

It might be confidential.

I might have just leaked something.

[laughing]

I don't know if bro wants people knowing

about his tunnels or not.

But I was at a hotel in Vegas,

and they showed me a tunnel

and they said there's more coming.

They said they're gonna have one from Vegas to LA.

What if I'm leaking this?

Let's just, nah, people know about these damn tunnels.

Teen Vogue,

thank you for having me.

I can't wait to see you next time.

[upbeat music]