The Kentucky rapper sat down with The New York Times podcast “Popcast” to explain why he felt compelled to venture into smoother territory, and his reasoning goes way deeper than just wanting a genre switch.
He said he “got blacker” by embracing the sound, which he genuinely loves, and he’s aware of the politics surrounding white artists abandoning rap for safer sonic spaces. Harlow is aware that a lot of his white contemporaries have retreated from Hip-Hop into “traditionally white sounds” as a safer landing spot. But instead of following that playbook, he went the opposite direction. He leaned into Black music harder, not away from it. That’s the whole point of Monica.
The album dropped on March 13, 2026, as a surprise release to celebrate his 28th birthday. It’s a nine-track project with zero rap verses and zero expletives. Harlow set strict rules for himself during the recording process. No cursing, no digital instruments except drums, everything else had to be live, and absolutely no rapping. He told the Times he did this to challenge his writing and remove any crutches from the creative process. The move to New York sparked this creative shift. Harlow started listening to softer, more melodic music and realized he wanted to make something that reflected what he actually wanted to hear. The result is a stripped-back version of Harlow with velvety undertones and confessional lyrics that sound nothing like his previous work.
The new effort features contributions from such producers as Aksel Arvid (PinkPantheress’s Fancy That), Jermaine Paul (Brandy, Alicia Keys), Clay Harlow, Angel “BabeTruth” Lopez (Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber) and Hollywood Cole (Lil Wayne, Drake, 21 Savage), plus guests spots from Robert Glasper, Ravyn Lenae, Omar Apollo, and rising hometown R&B artist James Savage. It’s the followup to Harlow’s April 2023 effort Jackman, which cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 8 for his third top tier appearance on the tally. That album also marked Harlow’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart.
