Who is Jack Harlow? The American rapper lighting up the Official Charts with First Class

First Class is just the latest in a long line of bangers from the Louisville-born rapper. But how did he get to this point, on the cusp of his first-ever UK chart-topping single?

Jack Harlow is heading for his first-ever UK Number 1 single this week with First Class. If he can hold off some stiff competition from Harry Styles, of course.

But just who is Jack Harlow? Despite a relevant dominance of social media conversation, Jack hasn't really, truly broken through in the UK - until this very moment.

Until First Class challenged for Number 1, his one and only Top 10 entry here was for his perfectly-judged guest verse on Lil Nas X's incendiary Industry Baby.

Who is Jack Harlow?

Great question. Jack Harlow was born Jackman (great name) Harlow on March 13, 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky. The 24 year-old originally started rapping at the age of just 12, originally using a Guitar Hero microphone to record songs on a laptop.

Jack would release a few EPs and mixtapes independently throughout high school, even opening for acts such as Vince Staples and Portugal, The Man while still a teenager.

But his biggest breakthrough would come with moving to the city of Atlanta, where he would be introduced to DJ Drama, while working part time at fast food joint Chick-Fil-A in a university cafeteria.

From there, Jack would sign with Drama's label Generation Now, who brokered a deal with Atlantic Records - still his record label to this day.

MORE: Jack Harlow's Official Charts history in full

What is Jack Harlow's biggest hit

Jack's first big breakthrough hit was What's Poppin, a single from his EP Sweet Action and eventual debut album, That's What They All Say. A braggadocios cut about how far Jack has come since his early days, What's Poppin' went viral on (where else) TikTok and peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It did less well here, only peaking at Number 25 on the Official Singles Chart.

But perhaps Jack's true breakthrough came with his guest verse of Lil Nas X's Industry Baby, a huge hit from last summer that reached Number 3 in the UK.

This is all supported by Jack's rise as a cult internet personality, one of social media's boyfriends, if you will. It's difficult to dilute and explain the appeal simply - it's a combination of him being a bit dorky, whilst at the same time being really self-confident and sarcastic - but maybe watch his Chicken Shop Date and thank us later.

How is First Class heading for Number 1?

First Class was recently released as the second single from Jack's upcoming sophomore album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, which is dropping May 6.

The song was technically already a success before its official release. Jack teased a snippet on TikTok and it went massively viral.

Does First Class sample Fergie ft. Ludacris's Glamorous?

Yep, the song heavily interpolates a sample from Fergie's iconic 2006 ode to excess, Glamorous (G-L-A-M...).

Now, First Class has taken that attention and run with it. It may be due to the Fergie sample, it may be due to the fact everyone is now just a little bit in love with Jack Harlow or it may be a potent combination of the two, but it's definitely shaping up to become Jack's biggest solo hit ever in the UK...and a sign that this is only the beginning.