Jack Harlow Tackles White Privilege and Racial Tourism in Hip-Hop
Written by SOURCE on April 29, 2023
Jack Harlow has offered another critique of whiteness in hip-hop.
The Kentucky-born rapper revisited the topic in “Common Ground,” the opening track of his newly released third studio album, Jackman. Harlow addresses the ways in which some white rap fans have become cultural tourists who embrace and appropriate the hip-hop lifestyle while cloaked in privilege.
“The suburbs are filled with ebonics and trap sonics Frat boys sayin’, ‘No cap, put racks on it,’ he raps on the track, co-produced by BabeTruth, Mike Wavvs, Jaysoul, and Niko. “The dialect got a lil’ splash of some Black on it/Cap and gowns bought by the money in dad’s pockets/White girls squattin’ tryna get that ass poppin’ … Recitin’ rap lyrics about murder and cash profit/Get to feel like a thug but don’t have to act on it.”
The Grammy-nominated artist goes on to take aim at the mainstream media, specifically the “suburban kids” who go on to become rap journalists. He slams their condescending narratives about what is and isn’t authentic hip-hop, despite participating in the culture at a safe distance: “Thrift shoppin’ for articles and garments that feel like they came from a foreign environment/Second-hand Bape, Supreme, and Gallery Department/Anything to feel less harmless.”
This isn’t the first time Harlow has addressed white people’s place within hip-hop. In a 2022 Billboard interview with Lil Uzi Vert, Harlow acknowledged his privilege and responsibilities as a white man in a Black genre.
“I’m not a novelty act. There is a certain reality that I am white, and I think there will always be something attached to that,” he explained. “No matter how embraced I am, there will never be a day that I’m Black. With that being said, there’s a certain responsibility that comes with being a white man in a Black genre, and there’s certain things that have me regarded differently. But there is something exciting about skipping over any barriers that might be there and creating unity.”
