Jack Harlow's new album, Monica, is being torn apart by critics following its release on Friday. The project, which sees Harlow transition to a neo-soul sound, received a 3.1 out of 10 from Pitchfork and 3 out of 10 from Anthony Fantano.
Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre writes that Harlow's "sexless new album demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of neo-soul. His coffee shop crooning is a transparent exercise in personal rebranding." Readers mostly agreed, giving it a 4.7 with the site's new reader score feature.
As for Anthony Fantano, he described the album as a "nothingburger." He argued that it'd be irrelevant if not for Harlow's rollout antics. "It's not an eventful album by any stretch of the imagination, and it really has panned out to be one of, like, the biggest nothingburger projects of 2026," he said in his review. "Like, if it weren't for the fact that Jack's rollout around this album has spurred just this litany of relentless jokes at his expense because he's been publicly commenting on his 'blackness,' as it were... this album would be making no waves whatsoever. It really is one of the most pointless projects of 2026."
Jack Harlow's "Got Blacker" Controversy
Before the album even came out, Harlow started facing backlash for the direction of his new music after an interview with The New York Times’ “Popcast" show. “I got Blacker,” Harlow remarked during their discussion. “I love Black music, I love the sound of Black music. And, of course, I’m hyper-aware of the politics of today — the safer landing spot that a lot of my white contemporaries have found.” Clips of the remarks quickly went viral on social media.
Other people to complain about Jack Harlow's new direction include Charlamagne Tha God. On the latest episode of The Breakfast Club, he described it as "terrible" and joked that Harlow got "whiter." He joked: "Saying the music made you Blacker is exactly why I said this album made him whiter. You gotta be really white to say that."
