is strikingly direct when it comes to writing about a relationship (or perhaps relationships) damaged by distance, infidelity and complacency. Though she launched her career in 2016 as a rather mysterious figure, even keeping her face hidden in early promo photos, H.E.R. “All the things they said that I can’t be, revenge taste just like candy.” “They said I won’t come up with the family and cop a couple Grammys,” she sings. She’s equally spiky but a little more specific on ‘We Made It’, which includes a triumphant rebuke to industry insiders who questioned her potential. calls out “corporate racists” and laments the fact there’s still “no conversation” about “reparations”, presumably for historic wrongs committed by white America. The album’s most political moment arrives in the form of ‘Bloody Waters’, on which H.E.R.
When an artist can pay homage to their heroes in a way that feels audacious yet faithful, it’s a sure sign they’ve hit a creative sweet spot. This mellifluous neo-soul gem sounds like a more subdued moment from ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ – it’s that good – and actually samples ‘The Sweetest Thing’, a song Hill wrote and performed for a ’90s rom com. However, the standout track that best exemplifies H.E.R.’s swelling confidence is ‘Cheat Code’. Two late-album tracks co-produced by H.E.R., ‘Hard to Love’ and ‘For Anyone’, prove she’s just as comfortable emoting over nothing but acoustic guitar strums. ‘Come Through’ is so precision-tooled for balmy summer evenings that it’s a shame Chris Brown has to feature on it. ’Damage’ uses a smart sample from Herb Albert’s quiet storm classic ‘Making Love in the Rain’ to build an ’80s throwback bop with shades of Sade. Ty Dolla $ign adds texture to the vibey title track by echoing and flanking H.E.R.
Though she never threatens to break a sweat on ‘Back of My Mind’, there’s definite light and shade here. really doubles down on her dreamy downtempo R&B. Working with producers including Kaytranada, Drake collaborator Hit-Boy and Rihanna hitmaker Mike Will Made It, H.E.R. Unfolding languidly over 79 minutes, it doesn’t so much expand H.E.R’s musical world as enrich and refine it. ‘Back of My Mind’ has no mid-album join and feels completely cohesive. This isn’t the 23-year-old musician’s first substantial body of work, but both 2017’s ‘H.E.R.’ and 2019’s ‘I Used to Know Her’ were compilation albums, each uniting a pair of previously released EPs. We should all speak out against things that we don’t like”
Given that she also performed at February’s Super Bowl, kicking things off with a pin drop-brilliant ‘America the Beautiful’, this stunningly accomplished debut album almost feels like a victory lap.
Then, in April, she collected an Oscar for ‘Fight for You’, her stirringly soulful contribution to the film Judas and the Black Messiah. In March, she won a Grammy for ‘I Can’t Breathe’, her heartrending protest song written in response to George Floyd’s murder. Gabriella Wilson – the remarkable San Francisco Bay Area artist from known by fans and meme appreciators as H.E.R.
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