H.E.R. Is Psyched To Be A Breakout Artist In 2019: 'Real Music Is Coming Back'

For years, R&B singer-songwriter H.E.R. diligently hidden her identity, letting her poetic, slow-burning music speak for itself. Little by little, though, she's been peeling back the layers, giving her growing fanbase glimpses into the woman beyond the soulful voice and the dark sunglasses. It couldn't come at a bigger time for the 21-year-old, whose career reached a milestone in December once it was reported that she was nominated for five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year. To hear H.E.R. — Who's MTV's Push: Artist to Watch for the month of February — tell it, she's finally where she's supposed to be.


"It feels like the opportunities are endless," she mentioned. "It feels like, wow, I'm where I'm supposed to be. All my hard work is paying off. Everything I've dreamt about is here. My time is really now."


That journey toward stardom — yet bizarre it could have been in today's social media-driven era of oversharing — started as soon as H.E.R. Was just a little bit girl. She grew up around music, and the initial time she performed on stage was with her dad's cover musical group at a local Bay Area festival, where she sang Alicia Keys's "If I Ain't Got You." She later began writing her own songs and learned how to play the keyboard, guitar, and, at her mom's urging, the bass.


"It was so cool, 'cause I was a young girl playing the bass. Not several girls play bass," she recalled.


H.E.R. Still plays those instruments today — case in point, in her exclusive MTV efficiency of "Carried Away," she effortlessly bounces between all three — and she believes that give attention to instrumentation is building a big comeback this year.


"In 2019, a lot of real music is coming back," she mentioned. "And by real music I mean, like, real instruments are being used, along with a lot of real stories. Folks are saying a lot of things with substance. It's about the instrumentation and the musicality."


She continued, "I'm really excited to be an artist in 2019, because I can showcase more of my musicality. I feel like I have, although this year is just different for a lot of artists. And I think a lot of female artists, also, are building a lot of power moves, and it's excellent to be able to see that."


H.E.R. Is unquestionably segment of that class of musicians making power moves — she could have kept a low-key profile at first, nevertheless she's right now a high-key superstar, as evidenced by her handful of Grammy nods, millions of streams, plus a loyal following that happens to include Rihanna.


"There's several ways to receive music and the fact that I've touched so several people and am right now nominated for five Grammys, it should give somebody hope," she mentioned. "You can do it. You don't have to have a big huge label push or anything. Just mention what's on your heart and release it out into the world."


Hey, it's worked for H.E.R. Visualize the singer's efficiency of "As I Am" below, and check out more of her exclusive Push content here.