Jack Harlow Recalls When He Thought Drake Became The Best Rapper Alive

BY Zachary Horvath
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iHeartRadio Channel 95.5's Jingle Ball 2024 Presented By Capital One - Show
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 10: Jack Harlow performs onstage during iHeartRadio Channel 95.5's Jingle Ball 2024 Presented By Capital One at Little Caesars Arena on December 10, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
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Many hip-hop fans would call Drake as the best rapper going today but when he earned that title differs for many.

There's no doubt that Drake is one of, if not Jack Harlow's biggest inspiration. His music mirrors what The Boy has done throughout his career, which is effortlessly blend singing and rap together. He's even gone as far as to interpolate/partially sample him for one of his biggest hits being "Lovin On Me."

As a result, it's not all that surprising to hear him label the OVO boss as the "best rapper alive." Harlow, who was featured in Rolling Stone's newest episode of "My Life in 10 Songs," spoke on "10 Bands," per Kurrco.

It's one of the many hits off of If You're Reading This It's Too Late, which happens to be the project when Harlow gave Drizzy this honor. "I remember vividly this album coming out and being like, 'Oh, Drake's the best rapper alive...' Yeah, it was powerful."

The Kentucky native then explains how amazing it was to then get to work with someone he looks at in this light. Speaking on his "Churchill Downs" collaboration Harlow explains, "Watching him work. Not punching in. Delivering that whole way through. It's just cool to see a rapper really be a rapper and not be some packaged thing that a team is putting together."

The Monica artist goes on to credit Drake for teaching him how to create hits with minimalism. As he puts it, "[Drake] does a great job of recognizing what's actually necessary. A lot of his greatest songs are so spacious, him and a couple of instruments."

Harlow continues, "I think people forget, just either out of habit or a need to compensate, that you don't need that much sometimes. It's really in the essentials..."

Lastly, the hitmaker believes Drake has just gotten better with time all around from flows to writing.

Before moving onto the next song, Harlow was asked if he's anticipating ICEMAN. He responded, "I'm anticipating it with you." This has us wondering if he may have a feature on the project, which seems to be dropping on May 15.

We are still pretty unsure on the guests as Drizzy has yet to reveal that piece of information. The only possible costars would be Central Cee, Yeat, and Julia Wolf. The former appeared on "Which One" whereas the latter two landed on "Dog House."

But they too could be removed from the final tracklist as we are unsure if Drake is using anything from last year for this 2026 release.

About The Author
Zachary Horvath is one of the Music Freelance News Writers at HotNewHipHop and has held that title since August 2023. Prior to this position, he held another freelance gig covering local high school football, girls and boys varsity basketball, in addition to recapping Cleveland Cavaliers games remotely. He's taken the previous experience and used it to become a jack of all trades at HotNewHipHop. Zach has thoroughly enjoyed tackling some of the trending topics in sports, with a larger focus on hip-hop and pop culture. Some of those include Bronny James's draft stock, a multitude of angles swirling around the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, as well as Diddy's arrest and lawsuits. Separate from the headlines that everyone wants to hear about, he was fortunate enough to help spread Zaytoven's current thoughts at the time around mid-December in 2023. Even though being able to give his expertise on these stories is fulfilling, being able to share his passion for releases trumps that ever so slightly. Having the chance to express his excitement indirectly about what he thinks our readers should be checking out/revisiting grows his passion for writing that much more.

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