Rapper Jack Harlow gained significant regional buzz as a teenager coming up in Louisville, Kentucky's hip-hop scene but matured quickly as his styles developed with each new song. Examining the pains, victories, and boredom of youth with an honesty and vulnerability lacking in many of his peers, he went from songs about partying and hanging out on 2015's Handsome Harlow EP to more nuanced lyrics about sexuality, depression, and self-doubt on 2017 mixtape Gazebo. His raw talent and growing acclaim led to a record deal with Atlantic Records subsidiary Generation Now, which released his full-length project Loose in 2018. Two years later, he returned with a proper debut album, That's What They All Say.