Jack Harlow Remembers His First Meeting With Kendrick Lamar

Jack Harlow, recalls his big year where he topped the Billboard Hot 100 and earned his second Grammy nomination. His collaboration with Lil Nas X captured a lot of attention this year. Jack Harlow graced the cover of Variety‘s Hitmakers 2021 digital issue where he discussed his partnership.

In his cover story interview, Harlow spoke about meeting some of his heroes. He recalled the first time he crossed paths with Kendrick Lamar. He met Lamar at a Brooklyn pizza spot with Ed Sheeran and Baby Keem.

“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 remembered. “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. 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.”

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Jack Harlow earned Kendrick Lamar’s co-sign earlier this year. The Compton King “liked” a childhood video of him rapping, which was his first activity on the social media platform in over a year. Harlow excitedly shared his reaction on his Instagram Stories, writing, “What the hell,” before joking, “So this is what it takes for the great ones to recognize my work?”

Jack Harlow has met several other icons, Kendrick Lamar. “I met Drake a few times now. I met Cole a couple of times. Spoken on the phone with Eminem,” he told Variety. “All people that kinda shaped how I looked at rap, and those are some of the guys that changed everything for me.” He continued.

“Before, I wanted to show off my subtlety, but now I feel like my tone is more commanding — there’s more presence, more personality,” he said. “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!”

During his interview, the 23-year-old rapper also discussed his 2020 debut album, That’s What They All Say. Harlow has been working quietly for months and will drop something early next year. Harlow’s full interview has been linked below.