Mr. Harlow vs. Mr. Morale

The world always enjoys a good ole "David vs. Goliath" tale, right?

Well, hip hop has one brewing in real-time.

Jack Harlow's sophomore album, "Come Home the Kids Miss You", releases on May 6th, 2022, exactly one week before the highly anticipated release of Kendrick Lamar's 5th studio album, "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers". Kendrick has been missing in action since his most recent release in 2016 with his album, "Damn.", which received multiple accolades including a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy award. Alternatively, Jack Harlow has been an active trendsetter at the forefront of the music industry. In a year and a half's time span, Jack's been a part of the biggest songs to hit the charts. For example, his feature on Lil Nas X's song "Industry Baby", which reached #1 on the US Charts on October 23rd, 2021, as well as his own songs "What's Poppin" and "First Class" topping the charts shortly after their respective releases, the latter of which had a mesmerizing sample of Fergie's 2006 hit, "Glamorous".

At first glance, this seems like the classic, "Veteran vs. Tenderfoot" match up as Kendrick Lamar is projected at least 400k + album sales within his first week of release, contrastingly, newcomer Jack Harlow is hoping to surpass 100,000 + first week sales. Although there's a 10-year age difference between the two, Mr. Harlow may have a couple of tricks up his sleeve, as he unveiled the tracklist today which reveals collaborations with music industry heavyweights from start to finish on the album. Names such as Drake, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell, and Lil Wayne may give this project what it needs to outlive Kendrick's release - assuming "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" is lackluster in quality.

As a fan of both artists, I'm beyond eager to hear what type of sound "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" is conveying. Considering it's been 6+ years since Kendrick's last release, it's difficult to predict what type of music he's been creating as of late. On the other hand, it seems as if Jack Harlow has a very down pat formula when creating hits, if this album is any better than "That's What They All Say", his last release, then this project could solidify his longevity in the music industry.

We know which way the pendulum will swing when it comes to first-week sales, but whose album will stand the test of time?

Only Father Time will have the answers.