A new face now decorates a side of the A-OK Storage Building at the corner of Barrett Avenue and Broadway. A massive portrait of the Louisville-born rapper Jack Harlow alongside the words “Jack’s Louisville” is the first Hometown Heroes banner of 2023.
“I think the mayor has banner envy. And frankly, so do I,” said Gov. Andy Beshear as he stood beneath the massive new banner.
Harlow joined the ranks of people like boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball legend Pee Wee Reese and jockey Pat Day whose faces adorn the sides of buildings around the city. Harlow said the banners had been a point of inspiration for him growing up.
“If someone could ask me if I would rather have a Grammy or this, I would choose this a million times,” Harlow said at an unveiling ceremony Wednesday. “I just feel such a foundation with this city. And I feel so indebted to the city.”
Harlow said he took inspiration from other music icons when he mentions Louisville in his work because it’s an integral part of who he is as an artist.
Beshear said he and Harlow have become friends over the past several months.
“I cannot remember a time when someone at this time, the height of their career, said they were going to move back to their hometown,” Beshear said. “At a time when Jack could have chosen to be anywhere, literally anywhere, he wanted to be right here with us. How special is that?”
Harlow also announced his new foundation Wednesday, called the Jack Harlow Foundation. The first donations have been promised to four Louisville-based nonprofits: Adelante Hispanic Achievers, Centro Latino, Russell and Sponsor4Success.
“You think about other brands where people first hear of Kentucky, you have Kentucky Fried Chicken, you have bourbon,” Beshear said. “And now we have Jack Harlow.”
