2021 is an eventful year for H.E.R. The 24-year-old singer/songwriter collected a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Golden Globe nomination among other prestigious accolades earlier this year. She then followed it up with a debut album titled "Back of My Mind".
H.E.R., born Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, climbed to No. 6 on Billboard Hot 200 and No. 4 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with 36,000 album-equivalent units sold. One of the singles, "Damage", additionally shot up to the top spot on Billboard Adult R&B Airplay.
One of the elements that drew people to her music is the emotions she poured into it. "People always ask me, 'What's the message? Where does this come from? Is it personal experience?' " she explained in a trailer of the album.
"And it's always the thoughts that sit in the back of my mind. It's always things that I've been through, things that I go through, or what I feel, and all those thoughts that I'm afraid to say sometimes…"
"Things that feel too honest or too vulnerable or too emotional or too aggressive… It's all of those things that have been in the back of my mind for the past few years since my first project. It's like a peek into my soul."
She elaborated further in an interview with Apple Music, "Back of My Mind is accepting the vulnerability - being able to quiet the noise around me and listen to my own voice. It's the many layers that make me, me."
"There were a lot of records on this album that I realized were like elevated versions of songs on my first projects, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, where sonically, it's vibey. It's like that alternative, kind of new R&B sound. But with live instrumentation, it just took it to another level. It's a celebration of all things that make R&B - the different aspects, the different sounds of R&B. R&B is the foundation of all music."
"This album is representing this freedom of creativity that people are now accepting of me. Music is my playground, and I can do whatever I want."
© AceShowbiz.com