In his Cover story with Variety for their Hitmakers 2021 digital issue, Jack Harlow tells a story of how he met Kendrick Lamar for the first time at Ed Sheeeran’s favorite pizza spot in Brooklyn.
“Ed Sheeran has this pizza spot in Brooklyn, it’s a little spot that he wanted to take me to. He said it was the best pizza in the world,” he recalled. “So we went up there and we walk in and Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem are sitting there eating.”
“I met Keem, I know Keem, so I was happy to see him. But I was thrilled to finally meet one of my idols, Kendrick Lamar,” he continued. “It was a warm embrace, he showed me a lot of love. I knew he was aware of me because he liked something of mine online before, but it meant a lot to me to finally be able to say I did that. I texted my mom right away.”
Elsewhere in the interview the 23-year old Louisville native talked about what fans can expect from his next album, the follow-up to his 2020 debut album Thats What They All Say, which will reportedly drop early next year.
“My songs are very intimate, and a lot of my fans say they feel like they’re having a conversation with me,” he says. “I love that and don’t ever want to lose it, but there’s a certain feeling, when I’m performing, that some songs are hitting the back wall of the room instead of the first five rows, and I’m excited to have more of that. Before, I wanted to show off my subtlety, but now I feel like my tone is more commanding — there’s more presence, more personality. This one has a lot more of my DNA all over it: I’m acting as a producer for the first time. I know my venues are about to get bigger, and I want my music to connect out there. I wanna turn up!”
Read Jack’s full interview with Variety here.
