Louisville, Kentucky recording artist, producer & actor Jack Harlow returning with his 4th studio LP. Breaking through when the pandemic started off the single “What’s Poppin’?”, this resulted in DJ Drama & Don Cannon signing him to their Atlantic Records imprint Generation Now Entertainment as well as them putting out a mediocre full-length debut with That’s What They All Say that same winter & who could forget the arduous listen of a sophomore effort Come Home the Kids Miss You in 2023? Jackman. followed 11 months later & I thought that was alright, not really expecting anything different out of Monica.

“Trade Places” begins with Jack desiring to get alone with his lover the way she wants to whereas “Lonesome” produced by Rogét Chahayed talks about how sometimes he has to walk away when his partner’s feeling alone. “Prague” admits to his partner that he should stop holding on to them existing as a couple because he misses this woman the more she resists just before “My Winter” goes for a more laidback vibe describing a woman who he considers to be the complete opposite of himself,

To get the 2nd half of the album going, “Move Along” comes across as this 54 second interlude cautioning to be careful of what you take from him while “All of My Friends” talks about people telling him he comes off too strong to others. “Living Alone” confesses he can’t postpone disrupting the tempo of this person’s life any further & after “Against the Grain” asks his partner why she’s opposing what considered to be normal, “Say Hello” finishes with him suggesting he’ll get at this person when his life gets slow.

I kinda had the feeling that the commercial success of the obnoxious “Lovin’ on Me” would get to his head because Monica is a step above Come Home the Kids Miss You, but worse than Jackman. & has me questioning the future of Generation Now following Lil Uzi Vert’s departure. The production is more lenient towards the contemporary R&B & pop soul side of things rather than the pop rap style he became known for & although I very much appreciate him trying to artistically transcend by doing what he hasn’t done previously, I’d much rather listen to GENA’s full-length debut The Pleasure is Mine or Jill Scott’s 6th album To Whom This May Concern.

Score: 2/5

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