Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrence Harmon Jr.
Hi Terrence; we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born: March 4th, 1995
Raised: Eatonville, FL
Parents: Takeyia Brown & Terrence Harmon Sr.
It started in 5th grade; when I was 10 or 11, I joined a group of classmates and performed at a talent show at our school. We rapped “Grillz” by Nelly, I didn’t get the Nelly verse, but I practiced hard to ensure my verse was correct. I knew then I had a secret love for music. Rewind to the third grade, and one of my old friends would rap “Lose Yourself” by Eminem to girls we used to like. At that time, I’m sure girls didn’t listen to “Lose Yourself” in the third grade, but we did. We would rap to them, and they would love it (lol). Internally it felt good getting people to think what they heard was dope. Fast forward to now, 13 years old, I have begun to make music. Creating a separate MySpace account from my account, and I would upload all my music there. Looking back on it, my rap name used to be “Lil Trigga.” At that time, where I lived, it was a mixed family situation—one of the kids there, who ultimately grew into the family, used to record music with me and never had a microphone at that time. We had the old Walkman headphones and broke them in half. He was the left ear side, and I was the right. From there, we recorded as much music as possible until we moved from each other. I think deep, deep, deep down from that point; I knew I wanted to make music.
As time progressed, I tended to belittle my love for Rap due to my insecurities and lack of belief in myself. As I got older, I started to focus more on the opinions of others, which then put me in a place of uncertainty. Yet, one thing I always continued doing was freestyling around friends and on beats. It was always like my hidden sign that I never was aware of. High school, same instance. I would rap with friends but never internally or intentionally take myself seriously. College was the same, except more opportunities came to me. People recommended I do more things musically, but I always said no. I was always afraid of failure or feedback negativity. However, that flame was always within me. The icing on the cake for me would have to be the recent loss of my mom. Knowing she had so many dreams and aspirations, fear held her up. I never allowed fear to hold me back again. Even if it meant doing it scared, I instead do it than not do it at all. I didn’t want to do it if I didn’t do it. Find a way or find an excuse.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all; the road could have been smoother. For sure, my main struggles had to be internal. Mentally not thinking I was good enough or comparing myself to others, which I knew later down the road wasn’t healthy—also allowing the wrong ears to know my dreams and passions. Doing so allowed them to put their fears and opinions on me, and I sometimes internalized them, thinking they were too. So even a lack of confidence could be said too.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My professional life outside of my artistry would be in architecture. I attended Hampton University and got my master’s degree in 2020 before returning to Orlando. Proud of graduating, of course, would be the main thing. I won a scholarship as well during school. I was an honorable mention in a Statewide competition between other colleges in VA. Lastly, I placed second in my final Thesis design. That bothered me the most, but I knew I would be great. I didn’t apply myself as fully as I should. Fast forward, I now work at a residential architecture firm in Orlando as a designer helping with projects inside and outside the city.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I was spending time with my cousins. My relationships with them were excellent. Granted, I had friends, but like I genuinely loved family time.
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/THarmJr
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/tharmjr?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@tharmjr
- SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/7KBsrJxhrvUcCiU58
Image Credits
Photographers: Scott LaNear (white background photo), Wallace Swift (Me and Another artist in all black)
