Edmonton DJ Harman B steps in as Mase’s hype man at Soundtrack: ‘I’ll never forget it’

Edmonton DJ and event producer Harman Brar (known as Harman B) is used to playing for big crowds.

This past weekend, at the Soundtrack Music Festival in Edmonton, it was Harman B’s job to entertain the crowd in between acts like TLC and Goo Goo Dolls.

“They asked me to come in keep the energy at a high,” said Harman B, who was most excited to see the rapper Mase perform.

“Mase is a legend. He was like the pop icon of my childhood growing up.”

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On Saturday morning, as the DJ prepared for his sound check on-site, everything was going as planned. That is, until he got a phone call from Mase’s manager asking him to be the DJ and hype man for Mase that night.

READ MORE: Edmonton Man gets chance to groove on stage with TLC at Soundtrack Music Festival

Harman B immediately left the festival site to begin working on the set list with Mase.

“We literally cut the show in those two hours,” said Harman B.

Mase “reverted to me for my input on how we wanted to come out, what tracks we should use for the instrumental and the build-ups,” he continued.

“The energy was fantastic and I’ll never forget it.”

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By show time, the two had everything prepared and as Mase took the stage, Harman B found himself performing next to one of his childhood idols.

At the end of the set, the rapper wanted to play an encore so he asked Harman B to come up with another song on the spot, something they had definitely not planned.

READ MORE: Edmonton’s Soundtrack Music Festival to feature 90s tunes

“The crowd went crazy,” Harman B said.

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He couldn’t help but think about how artists like Mase shaped his career.

“To think this all started at a hall party when I first heard this song back in 95/96 and here we are — it was crazy.”

It’s not clear why Mase didn’t bring along his own DJ for the Edmonton performance.

“I’m assuming that he was just going to perform to a track,” said Harman B, adding that he didn’t want to ask too many questions and lose the opportunity.

Harman B said he is still in contact with the rapper and his manager, and that more shows together are a possibility in the future.