H.E.R.: The irony of Having Everything Revealed, anonymously.


R&B and sensuality are inseparable siblings, and singer H.E.R. – an acronymous of Having Everything Revealed – has managed to exploit that sparkle in her homonymous debut, which is the compilation of her first two EPs from 2016 and this year.

 

The Californian singer/composer gave her first steps into the music scene playing the gimmick of anonymity and mystery that artists like Rhye, Jungle, dvsn and even famous animated ensemble Gorillaz have previously exploited: letting the audience’s’ curiosity be the catalyst in the diffusion of her work. It took little time for someone to find out the project lay on the hands of a young lady from Vallejo called Gabi Wilson, but she insists on keeping a low profile and to be represented exclusively by her music.

Maybe the most suitable adjective to portray this penchant for evasion and anonymity is “strategic”, and that her evasiveness is just a way of communicating the importance that she places on her privacy. But, in becoming ‘faceless’, she states, she is trying to create a space for her listeners to fill the blanks and to take exactly what they need from her music.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Instagram @hermusicofficial

 

Nevertheless, signing a record deal with RCA, even as it had a rather underwhelming promotion, was a great help on her artistic development, as record company affiliates and collaborators Alicia Keys and Bryson Tiller helped to her get her stuff out there through social media support.

H.E.R. is intended to put in display to the artist’s female followers just how honest and vulnerable she is behind her lyrics, and for them to understand that they’re not alone, that feeling and striving the way she does is an authentic expression of a human being’s life and emotions.