Harm Franklin Sees It All Clear in ‘HDMI’ Video

At a recent festival appearance in British Columbia, Canada in September, Harm Franklin aka Harmenvir Khara took a friend and songwriter Spensir Sanghera’s idea to actually throw weed into the crowd during his performance. Cannabis is, of course, legal in “the California of Canada” as Harm calls it. “So I was like, ‘When in Rome!’” 

It served as a stunt that also allowed him to win the crowd over as an early act on the festival bill. “Everyone loved it and people from the back rushed to the front. I was the people’s champ for that,” the Indian-origin Canadian hip-hop artist says. 

That kind of confidence is only growing sharper and stronger for Harm Franklin, as we hear in his new song “HDMI,” produced by Vietnamese-Canadian Curtains aka Devin Bui. “I doubt by ear a lot less than I used to. Which is always a struggle as an artist, but getting my foot in the door with [2020 single with Curtis Waters] ‘Stunnin’’ really helped me be more sure of myself and have fun while I’m doing it. I think you can hear that in the music,” the rapper says. 

Harm has known Curtains for a little over three years now and they’ve watched each other grow from Toronto’s underground SoundCloud space to becoming artists in their own right. Curtains,  whose credits include co-producing rapper Trippie Redd’s 2021 song “iPhone,” serves up a dizzying, booming production on “HDMI,” as Harm raps about his new-found sense of perception, looking through superficialities and finding vision. 

While the song clocks in at just under two minutes, Harm is clear that he’s not really trying to make music TikTok viral potential in mind. “I don’t like that thinking. I just make what I like and say what I’m feeling or what the beat brings out of me. I kept it short because the hook is just so grand and big. I don’t like to overstay my welcome. I wanna make you want more and hear it again because the song/video is like a fever dream,” Harm adds. 

“HDMI” follows his song “Legendary,” which was actually a theme song for a cannabis brand of the same name. Up next, Harm will kick off 2023 with his project “Long Time Coming.” He describes it as the song that will “cap off my season 2 of releases.” While the past releases have been more about experimenting, artistry and world-building, Harm says season 3 features music that is “undeniable” and talking about everything that’s happening for him in terms of success. The rapper adds, “Expect two projects at least and a collab EP on the way with my boy Austin Millz who’s a crazy house producer and DJ.” 

Watch the video for “HDMI” below.