Jack Harlow’s “Blame On Me” Lyrics Meaning

“Blame on Me” is one of the 10 tracks found on the standard playlist Jack Harlow’s album “Jackman”, as issued through Generation Now and Atlantic Records on 28 April 2023.

In this case, a musician by the name of Gray Hawken is credited as a writer and producer, as the other producers, Angel Lopez, Azul, Hollywood Cole and Boi-1da, saw fit to sample his 2020 track “Blame” onto this song. And the lot of them are also given writing credit, as is Jack Harlow.

“Blame on Me”, A Tale of Generational Abuse

According to Wikipedia, Jack Harlow only has one sibling, a younger brother by the name of Brian. But in the first verse of this song, the rapper appears to be addressing his own older brother.

As depicted, this is someone he was close to earlier on in life, being inseparable siblings if you will, but once big bro started growing into manhood, i.e. during his “junior high” years, he began hanging with a different crowd and proceeded to neglect Jack. 

As relayed, he also made it his goal to embarrass his little brother when opportunities presented themselves. However, Jack tried to not to internalize such mistreatment, rather chalking it up to his big bro trying to make him stronger. 

It’s as if the ideologies the rapper’s brother came to accept made him see Jack as some type of outcast, and he treated him accordingly. 

At the end of the day, their relationship proceeded to be destroyed, as Harlow remained afraid to confront his brother in terms of how he internally damaged him. So now, it’s as if Jack is using the opportunity of this song to try to clear the air and get the associated frustration off his chest.

The Younger Brother

The second verse, meanwhile, is addressed to Harlow’s younger brother.  And as relayed, Jack treated him with the same type of disdain as illustrated above. So the logical conclusion would be that in the first verse, he was taking on the role of his younger bro, Brian, since Jack doesn’t actually have a big brother. 

Indeed, the unfortunate truth is that many of us have grown up with older siblings who, upon becoming cool or whatever, proceeded to hate us. So whereas this situation may speak to the vocalist’s personal experiences, it also has a general applicability, if you will.

Harlow reasons that the mistreatment of his younger brother was the result of their dad being harder on Jack than he was on Brian. So in the third verse, when then have the rapper taking on the role of his father – a stern, unwavering disciplinarian who feels that the older brother always has to be perfect in the name of setting an example for the younger. 

The Cycle of Abuse

And to make a long story shorter, Harlow seemingly comes to the conclusion that his family is caught up in a cycle of generational abuse, which, dear reader, is in fact a real thing. In other words, Jack’s maternal grandmother mistreated his dad, who then maltreated Jack, who then abused Brian. And yes, for families that are afflicted with such maladies, bringing up the topic is usually taboo, as the vocalist implies at the ending of each verse.

So to reiterate, it appears that Harlow takes on the role of his younger brother in the first verse, portrays himself in the second and speaks on his father’s behalf in the third. 

And as far as the title of this track goes, let’s just say that sometimes it’s left up to the listener to determine why Jack names his songs as he does. But it may be that in this case, in acknowledging that he too has inflicted the same suffering he received, the vocalist is willing to take the blame for it all, in the name of finally healing these unspoken wounds and potentially breaking the cycle.

“Put the blame on me
Put the blame on me, oh”