Their existence is predicated on circumventing expectations. Part of the passé humor of white rappers is based in stereotype. He’s cribbing the same playbook used by his forefathers (Eminem, Lil Dicky). The 22-year-old Harlow’s brand isn’t new, just merely repurposed for 2020. If there’s anything Harlow lacks, it isn’t a sizable white fan base that’s as enticing to a major label as it is to New Balance (the athletic brand heavily featured in the “Tyler Herro” video). And while I don’t hate Harlow and generally wish him the best, it’d be disingenuous not to admit that what he represents-a talented if inoffensive rapper whose success is indebted to a system that was built to market to fans who look just like Harlow-is generally irksome. In comparison, my beard, ability to achieve waves, and parentage put me squarely in the category of people who don’t resemble Harlow and, by his estimation, should love him. For those that are unaware, Harlow is a baby-faced, curly-haired, major-label wunderkind. So when Jack Harlow’s new song immediately begins with a fallacy, “The ones that hate me the most look just like me,” it’s hard not to roll one’s eyes. There’s a basic understanding in hip-hop that’s been forged out of necessity: White rappers should never rap about the plight of being white rappers. But like most Harlow songs, the narrative becomes grating once it’s placed under scrutiny. He’s a chameleon who can approximate DaBaby’s flow one minute and then borrow Drake’s the next. Harlow is charming and knows his way around a catchy single. The flute-driven beat by Boi-1da and Scott Storch is supreme.
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“Tyler Herro” is a perfectly fine and at times great rap song.
#Nas hate me now thecoli skin
Why would Harlow-hip-hop’s breakout white star in 2020-have Roddy Ricch croon about the 6-foot-5 shooting guard first or Pusha-T compare his cocaine to Herro’s skin tone? (Even if it meant the Louisville rapper would have to betray his hometown and write about a former Kentucky Wildcats star.)
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The rookie became one of the breakout stars of the NBA bubble by averaging 16 points per game in the playoffs, going off for 37 points in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, and making Celtics fans wonder how their team somehow missed out on the next great white hope. In fairness, the allure of Herro was likely too great to resist. He’d throw caution to the wind faster than he uploaded his strip club photo with Lou Williams to Instagram. Nevertheless, from the moment that “Tyler Herro” was teased to the world, it was clear that Harlow was beside himself. Herro’s jersey was naturally from the Miami Heat, but as of publication time it’s unclear what team had drafted Harlow. On Wednesday, Jack Harlow announced the release of “Tyler Herro” by sharing a photo of him swapping jerseys with the guard.
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So it was only a matter of time until the NBA’s reigning pale prince received a signature song to mark his coronation. Securing the devotion of a wide-eyed rapper is what separates superstars from role players. And Kevin Durant can lay claim to inspiring one of the best diss songs of all time, Lil B’s “ Fuck KD.” In the same way that it’s a make-or-miss league, Drake either has your jersey number forever etched onto his skin or he doesn’t. Steph Curry received a criminally underrated eponymous Soulja Boy song. Lil Wayne gifted Kobe Bryant with an epic ode in 2009. If there’s one thing rappers love more than Hellcats, rhyming “models” with “bottles,” and dissing that one substitute teacher who never believed in them, it’s naming songs after NBA players.