Payton Wilson

Some talents are defined as once-in-a-generation. Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruno Mars, and Janet Jackson are just a few examples. In 2022, there’s a relatively new talent whose quickly approaching that title. H.E.R. is the multi-talented, a million-instrument-playing, singer-songwriter extraordinaire and she’s taking the industry by storm with her exceptional talents. Her career began in music, and she has several Grammys under her belt for her efforts. Just last year, she won an Oscar, and she’s now working on a movie with Taraji P. Henson.

We sat down to talk a bit about her latest endeavor, a fashion collection with Amazon The Drop, new music, special projects, the Bay Area, and so much more.

Shop her collection with Amazon The Drop here!

The Knockturnal: You’ve been quoted as saying that your new Amazon The Drop collection was inspired by the two places that made you who you are- Vallejo, California, and Brooklyn, New York. Could you tell me a bit about how those two places shaped you as a person and an artist?

H.E.R: Definitely being from Vallejo and the Bay Area, and just growing up there. I have been surrounded by just great music, so much culture. The Bay Area is such a diverse place. And like I said, every weekend, every opportunity, I got to listen to music, you know, it was such a big part of my family like I was listening to Con Funk Shun performing. And you know, all of these classic players like Tony! Toni! Toné!, they’re all from the Bay Area. On top of like, E40 and Too $hort, all of that culture was there. Kehlani is from the Bay Area and we used to perform together around the Bay. And Jhene is also from the Bay Area. It’s just such a culturally rich place. It influenced my personal style. And then, as I kind of went into my preteen years, my teenage years, I started traveling to New York to record music. And that was a place that I went to it was just a whole new world to me creatively. I met musicians from New York, and that was a whole other vibe. Going to places like Village Underground, another culturally rich place. I feel like it opened me up, taking the train and being exposed to so many different people and different things. Those places just made me the creative that I am today and the artist that I am today.

The Knockturnal: Who are some of your style icons?

H.E.R: There are so many! I have to think. Prince. Prince is always probably been my number one. Alicia Keys. Honestly, in the beginning, I used to want to be like her so much. Every time she had braids, I had braids, shoot wearing the hat, I’d wear the hat because she was the only female artist at the time that was like playing instruments and singing. So I just wanted to be like her. I thought she was so cool with the big hats. And she was a lot more of a tomboy, you know? I really liked that. But Prince for sure has been my biggest icon lately with the boots, the button-ups, the silks, and the ruffles.

The Knockturnal: You’re currently on tour right now! How’s that going for you?

H.E.R: Yeah! So I started doing the Music of the Spheres Tour with Coldplay, and we started in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. And it was insane. It was like 50,000 people that night, something crazy like that. I was so surprised to see that I actually had a lot of fans and an audience. They were singing some of the words to my songs and Coldplay, showing me a lot of love. I’ve never been on a stadium tour. So this is a new experience, but it also feels easy, you know, it feels like “Oh yeah, I could do this every night.” But before I go back on the road with them, I have a few of my own dates on the Back of My Mind Tour and I’m doing theatres, so that’s going to be fun too. But yeah, just wrapping my head around these two setlists, and yeah, just kind of having fun.

The Knockturnal: Let’s talk a bit about this single you did with Kaytranada. It’s on every editorial playlist, radio is loving it, and it’s the perfect song for summer. Can you talk a bit about what it was like working with Kaytranada and creating that gem?

H.E.R: I love Kaytranada. I think he was in LA at the time. And we just wanted to create, because I hadn’t worked with him before. And I’m such a big Kaytranada fan. Like, he got me through like high school homework, sometimes I can listen to words, and I just listened to his music, but he’s really dope producer-DJ. And I was in a studio, where there’s this old upright piano. I just started playing these chords, and I put them on a voice memo. And he just started kind of producing to those chords, and it ended up being in the song. It was just such a good vibe working with him. It was fun. He just wants to make great music. It wasn’t like we were going for anything. And I think that’s why the response is so great.

The Knockturnal: ‘Damage’ was another single that did incredibly well for you last year. Some were even saying it was the best R&B song to come out that year. Take me behind the scenes in creating that track. What does your process typically look like?

H.E.R: Man, honestly my process is all over the place. It’s funny because when people ask me that, I can’t really give you a straight answer. Just because music is one of those things where it just kind of comes…I feel like as creatives we don’t necessarily know what we’re doing, nor do we like, fully master what we’re doing ever, we just create. You just get that feeling. And you hope that other people do too. And ‘Damage’ was one of those songs where I knew it definitely was kind of a no-brainer, especially with the collaborators that I worked with. Everybody is just so dope like, Ant Clements and Cardiak. It was definitely a no-brainer, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It’s a classic r&b sample, and nobody’s really heard it before, especially the new generation. So I did feel like it was a no-brainer.

The Knockturnal: A lot of your fans were introduced to you back in 2017 with the release of your self-titled album. Now that you’re a few projects into your career, what does that album mean to you? 

H.E.R: Man, it means everything to me. It’s funny because I listened back and I sound so young, but it’s the beginning. It’s the pivotal moment in my life, it was the beginning of the rest of my life. And it’s crazy. However, many years later, it’s been like five years or six years, something like that. And it’s like, the songs won’t go away, people are still discovering it. People still love those records. I still love a lot of those records. And it just reminds me of a time when I wasn’t thinking about what people would love. I just did what I felt was right. And I still try to keep that, you know, it’s all about what I feel in the studio with a little bit of consideration for the fans and the people that love my music. It was a simple time and I just created. That was it.

The Knockturnal: What’s your favorite song from that project?

H.E.R: I couldn’t tell you, it changes for sure. ‘Losing’ is definitely a special song. I wrote that at my mom’s house. And my cousin had just passed away. And I just got back to myself, trying to figure out my future. I was 18 and I was really trying to figure out my future. And I remember the situation that I was talking about in the song, with some dude that I really liked. And I just felt like, “Okay, what are we doing?” I was really trying to settle into life. At 18 it’s like the beginning of adulthood and trying to figure it out. And it was me really trying to figure it out. So that song is pivotal to me, but I don’t know if it’s my favorite. It’s just it’s an important song to me.

The Knockturnal: Back in August, it was announced that you’d be making your acting debut in the Color Purple. What’s it been like working on that?

H.E.R: Oh, man, honestly, I feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end with it, and in a good way. And the best way because I’ve learned so much. I’m around such seasoned actors and actresses and I’m learning something from everybody, but also, like, I couldn’t have thought of a better project to start my debut and it’s because it’s our people, and there’s something really comforting about it. In the community working with Blitz, the director. He’s just, he’s such a creative, he’s not just director. He’s a musician. He’s a writer, he’s all of these things. And so he’s fully involved in every aspect. And I love that because I like to be fully involved in so many different aspects. So it just feels like a family environment, very communal, which is what I’m used to, and I love that about it. But I’m excited for people to see it. I absolutely love Fantasia and Taraji and Danielle and Coleman and Cory, all of these people. They’re just great people.

The Knockturnal: Speaking of film, you won an Oscar last year!!! Congratulations on that. How did that feel?

H.E.R: Thank you, man. I still can’t believe it. I still look at that thing on my table. It’s actually it’s not even on the shelf right now. It’s in the middle of my dining table. So people come over, they’re like, “Wait, is that your Oscar? Is that real?” I’m like, “Oh, yeah, I guess it is real.” It felt like such a blessing. I never expected an Oscar, you know. And I’m so honored, you know, to have been recognized for that song, especially at that time. So it means it means the world and I’m excited for what’s next.

The Knockturnal: Lastly, when you wrap up this tour and the movie comes out, what’s next for you?

H.E.R: Man, I will never chill. I’ve got too many things that I want to do. Too many things on my to-do list. Definitely more movies. I’m still working on a new project. More music. It’s a lot, but I definitely am going to find a little bit of time to breathe at some point in life.