Jack Harlow acknowledges coming from the “school of Drake” in a new interview, though he’s now focused on fully developing his own voice as an artist.
Speaking with Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli for the New York Times’ Popcast podcast, the Monica artist, who linked with Drake for “Churchill Downs” back in 2022, was asked about his early connection with the OVO Sound co-founder. As Harlow sees it, he did indeed come from the “school of Drake.” These days, however, he’s on a path toward carving out his own lane.
“I think, as I've gotten older, I've become more concerned with finding my voice and finding the way I want to move as an artist,” Harlow said, as seen below. “I think I'm much more averse to mimicry or anything that feels derivative than I was in the past. I think I was so determined to achieve a certain thing and land in a certain place that maybe the spot I wanted to land in my head wasn't as nuanced as it is now.”
Individuality, Harlow added, is more appealing to him now, which he argues is evident on his two most recent projects, Monica and Jackman. Harlow’s current goal, he further explained, is to “carve out my own island” while not being so concerned with “how immediately big” it may be.
Leading into the release of Monica, out today, Harlow spoke about similar desires during his interactions with the press. Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe last year, he largely played coy when pressed for details on his then-in-progress new album, but did express a larger aim to “transcend” what he had become known for at that point in his career.
“I wanna do something I’ve never done, and I’m just slowly starting to accept that maybe it’s gonna take me longer than any of my past projects,” he said at the time.
Listen to Monica here. Drake’s Iceman, meanwhile, is expected soon.