Over the span of several records and EPs, Harmz has claimed that he’s one to watch out for. His new album, Early 20s, aims to support that with a riveting and vulnerable coming-of-age story.
With collaborator Acalus, a dance and hip-hop producer based in Halifax, Harmz weaves a narrative about heartache, ambition and self-discovery over ’80s-inspired synth-wave beats. It’s all based on his own time learning and growing as a young adult with roots in South Africa, Saskatchewan, Halifax and now Montreal.
His last full-length project, 2021’s The Best is Yet to Come, was a thesis statement for what would be Harmz’s career. He wanted his audience to know he’s worth keeping an eye on. It wouldn’t be long till he makes something special of himself: all he needed was time and experience.
He would garner both while making his 2023 EP Better Watch, where Harmz purposefully took on a more arrogant persona, coming in hot and not letting up, showing listeners that he is someone to take seriously. The industry seems to have agreed, with Harmz winning Hip Hop/Rap Recording of the Year at the 2024 Nova Scotia Music Awards for Better Watch.
Having already proved himself as a force to be reckoned with, Harmz is stepping back on the bragadocious nature of Better Watch for a more sensitive approach on Early 20s.
“The character I’m portraying is a very heartfelt character, who has gone through the highs and lows of life… In your early 20s, you’re not really sure where the road is going, but you are in it regardless. You just have to ride it,” says Harmz in an interview with The Coast.
“I’ve experienced a lot of emotions that I’ve never experienced in my life, and I told myself, in this record, I’m actually going to be vulnerable. I talk a lot about the love aspect of my life that I’ve never actually spoken about, or rapped about, or sang about in any of my records. I kind of like, hinted, but I’ve never really been as open and as vulnerable.”
As Harmz notes, a person’s early 20s is an incredibly vulnerable time where you are forced to discover who you are through the trials and tribulations of regular, everyday life. The training wheels are off, and you’re expected to pedal along as if you know what you’re doing.
“They tell us we need to chase the sun, you know, go get it,” says Harmz. “But nobody tells us what to do when the sun sets.”
As much as the project is about his own development, Harmz couldn’t have done it without producer Acalus (Alex LeBlanc), who’s been by his side through numerous projects, including The Best is Yet to Come.
“We go way back since high school,” Harmz explains. “I think I started this whole music thing with him. He was the first person, when I came to Nova Scotia, who kind of helped me take my music to the next level in terms of recording. I have ideas. I have talent. He has the skills, so we just always collaborated where he makes beats for me (and) produces my music.”
It’s this tight-knit relationship between artist and producer that makes Early 20s what it is, according to Harmz.
“We really put two stories together. In terms of the production, storytelling, lyrics and the music, we kind of like, joined forces with his producing style to match the story I wanted to achieve.”
This led to a fusion of Harmz’s style of melodic rapping paired with synth-pop beats, giving a glitzy dance edge to the tender drama that plays out over the record. The most recent single, “Butterflies”, is a great example of this, with the song opening up with keys piercing through background noise, eliminated when the percussion kicks in, and the synths are in full swing. The synths and pounding beat make the chorus powerful and emotive, while the pared-down synths on the verses give Harmz’s rapping centre-stage.
“It’s a very cold album,” says Harmz. ” The messages and the lyrics… It’s not as hype, and as trap, and as cool. It’s more heartfelt. It’s more cold. I try to juxtapose the feeling with a poppy sound that is very happy-focused, in a sense.
“The beats, and the feeling you get from listening to this, are very punchy and it makes you want to dance, but the messages are very cold. There’s a gravity to it, and it serves the main message behind this: no matter what you’re going through, if the road ahead looks icy… You just have to keep that upbeat tempo in your life and just keep going.”
Just as he managed to do with himself on his early projects, Harmz’s advice is simple: “If there’s nobody to inspire you, you’ve got to inspire yourself.”
Early 20s drops on Friday, Feb. 20, which will be followed by an album release show at the Auction House in Halifax on Friday, Feb. 27.