H.E.R Opens Up About Her Evolution As A Woman Ahead Of Urban One Honors: ‘I Decided To Just Be H.E.R’

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Tonight is the world premiere of the 2022 Urban One Honors and we’re more than excited to see our favorite entertainers take the stage on one of Black music’s biggest nights.  Hosted by Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Ne-Yo, the two-hour broadcast will air tonight at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT on TVOne and CLEO TV, a division of Urban One.

Taking tonight’s big stage are Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Kelly Price, Tyrese, Tank, Johnny Gill, and Ralph Tresvant. There will also be a special set by D-Nice to keep the crowd dancing all night long. Entertainers Jermaine Dupri, Marlon Wayans, and Vashawn Mitchell are tapped to present and are sure to give us a ton of laughs and memorable moments throughout the night, while H.E.R is tasked with setting the stage for an exclusive opening performance we’re sure will set the tone for the amazing night ahead.

Urban One caught up with H.E.R ahead of the big night, where she touched on who she is as an artist and the evolution of her becoming a woman. “H.E.R came from a period of time in my life when I was in high school. I call it the ‘evolution of a woman’ when I was just trying to figure out how to be comfortable with myself and just going through things that are just inevitable for young girls to go through, whether it’s falling for the wrong guy. And I always said ‘I’m not going to make those mistakes, I’m not going to be that type of girl. I’m not going to be her’ and then I ended up being her because it’s inevitable. It’s what makes us who we are. It’s what makes us stronger. And I wrote my first few songs on Volume 1 and they really reflected that time. So I decided to just be H.E.R, and let everybody focus on the music and the message, we focus on the exterior things a lot, so yeah it was a focus thing.”

She continued by explaining how she first started playing music, crediting her dad for introducing her to different genres at a young age. “A lot of people don’t know that I had been playing music since I was really little, since I was like five years old,” she explained. “My dad was in a band but he just did it for fun. They would play like James Brown and a lot of funk and blues and R&B, Earth Wind & Fire, stuff like that. So I would listen to them rehearse in the living room and I gravitated to playing all the instruments.” H.E.R then explained how her dad would post videos of her on YouTube which led her to eventually get discovered and signed at the age of 14. “It’s been many years. in the making,” the now 24-year-old laughed after sharing her story.

Check out the full interview below.

Catch H.E.R and others take the stage tonight at the Urban One Honors airing at 8pm.

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