Jack Harlow Reveals What He Finds Most ‘Sexy’ in a Woman — and Thinks It’s a ‘Magnetic Pull’

Jack Harlow

New Balance

It’s no surprise that Jack Harlow is at the top of his game. From releasing his latest studio album Come Home the Kids Miss You, going on tour, filming a movie, to playing double duty as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live (and pulled off frat boy in a tampon costume — range!) — “Young Harleezy” has been the “Talk of the Town.”

Despite these career achievements, the 24-year-old “First Class” rapper, who is featured in PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive issue as a part of the Men of the Year portfolio, has felt most fulfilled by one moment in particular.

“Album release weekend in my hometown was pretty fulfilling for me. We shot the ‘Churchill Downs’ video and the energy was just unprecedented,” he says of the video shot at the Kentucky Derby, which featured Drake, his collaborator on the track. “I like making magical things happen where I’m from.”

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Harlow speaks highly of his hometown in Louisville, Kentucky, and has expressed that his career is a “mission that’s bigger” than him. “I know there’s a kid in the city with headphones on, getting off the bus, walking home from school — listening to my music, watching my interviews, reading these words right now — that feels like this same dream is possible for him,” he told PEOPLE in October 2021. “I want people nationwide to look at Louisville as an important and cultural city.”

And that feeling hasn’t changed. In between his busy schedule and strict routines, there’s one thing Harlow won’t cut back on: “Spending hours and hours with my childhood friends in my Kentucky home.”

“Taking those same friends out to eat,” he adds. “Last week I was home and we went to a new restaurant we’ve never been to every night. Hard to say why it makes me happy. I like sharing my unique access and privilege with them — it’s more fun to experience this life together than by myself.”

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Otherwise, the “Like a Blade of Grass” rapper says he finds solace in early mornings — which he sometimes experiences far and few in between.

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“It’s rare I get to experience one. I stay up late and sleep in a lot. But I love the peace of the morning and the feeling of having a whole day in front of me. Being awake before other people is exciting to me.”

When the “Poison” performer takes a moment to reflect, he knows now more than ever what he’s after: “I feel like I am under fewer and fewer illusions about what makes me happy. I really know what I want and I’m as disciplined as ever.”

So, what does he want? “[I’m] hungry to improve on the person and artist I am every day.”

Now, enough about what makes him sexy — it’s time for the hard-hitting questions! In the past, Harlow has said he likes dark hair, ’70s style, sweet demeanors and women in scrubs. We set out to get that answer for ourselves and asked the heartthrob what he finds sexy — and how he defines it.

“Sexy is just a magnetic pull,” he says. “Awareness is sexy. I find confidence and intelligence most sexy in a woman.”