H.E.R. fans, don’t fret – new music will be here sooner than you think.
H.E.R. (a.k.a. Gabriella Wilson), 28, exclusively told Us Weekly a bit about the new music that she’s working on.
“I don’t know if it’s really a sound that makes it cohesive more than it is a story and kind of this evolution of me now, but I’m so excited to share,” H.E.R. told Us at the September 5 preview for the “She Built That” event hosted by LEGO. “I’m, like, beyond excited. I’m ready to get it done. I’m almost there. I’m almost to the finish line. So you’ll hear something soon.”
H.E.R. said that the upcoming music will be a “celebration of femininity.”
“It’s a reflection of me empowering myself,” she continued.
The two-day event featured activities hosted by U.S. gymnast Suni Lee, astrophysicist Dr. Jackie Faherty and YouTuber and artist Jennifer Zhang, a.k.a. JENerationDIY, as well as H.E.R. The four women led a different “club” based on their specialty — sports, science, art and music — where they would engage in hands-on LEGO building “that empowers kids to explore their interests and kick off the school year feeling confident, inspired and ready to build their world with LEGO bricks,” according to a press release.
This event was a part of LEGO’s “She Built That” campaign aimed at encouraging “girls to redefine what it means to be a builder by celebrating their creativity and empowering them to see themselves as builders, creators and innovators,” the release continued.
H.E.R. told Us that her parents were instrumental in encouraging her to pursue any path she wanted and not limiting her because of her gender, especially regarding her desire to pursue music.
“I feel like being a kid in early 2000s, there was always this pressure to be like a singer, dancer. There weren’t that many young girls who were playing instruments, producing and [drumming],” she said. “My dad would show me videos of Sheila E. and Patrice Rushen and A Taste of Honey to say, like, ‘You can do that too. My little girl can be a rock star, and she doesn’t have to be what the world says a woman should be as an artist.’ And he always told me that there was no mold.”
The five-time Grammy-winning musician also gave much credit to her mother for allowing her to determine what femininity looked like to her.
“[My mom] just encouraged me to embrace what my version of femininity was. There was never this pressure, like, ‘You gotta do this. You gotta wear your hair like this.’ She was always like ‘be yourself,’” H.E.R. said.
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H.E.R. told Us that she was “excited” to be a part of the “She Built That” campaign.
“My dad’s a construction worker, so it has another meaning to me. Oddly enough, I used to be so proud that he was a builder,” H.E.R. said. “It’s really nice to see that the LEGO Group wants to encourage women to also be builders, and also to redefine what that even means.”
During the event, H.E.R. taught the attendees to build little album covers using LEGOs. In the spirit of building, Us asked H.E.R. to build Us a playlist of some songs that have soundtracked her life, for our Make Us a Mixtape section in our newest issue.
A Song That Reminds Her of Her Childhood
It’s still my favorite song ever: “Free,” by Deniece Williams, because I opened up for her when I was, like, 8 years old in Oakland [California]. I loved the chords, I loved the vibe — this idea of “I just want to be free.” It’s a theme that constantly shows up in my life and reminds me to be a kid always.
A Song That People Would Be Surprised You Love
It’d probably be a Black Sabbath song, “Iron Man.” I love Ozzy Osbourne.
A Song You Put on When You Need a Good Cry
“Summer Soft,” by Stevie Wonder. Even though it’s upbeat, there’s something about it that’s yearning.
A Song You’ve Recently Started Listening To
I really love Lola Young — she’s dope. There’s a great song on her album called “Conceited.”
A Song by One of Your Idols That Inspires You
“Fly Away,” by Lenny Kravitz. It’s another freedom song. I love the guitar.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
