mysterious songstress h.e.r peels back the layers in magnetic new ep ‘i used to know her: the prelude’

H.E.R may be shrouded in a cloud of intrigue but every new release feels like a peeling back of a new layer of the songstress’s musical offering. Her latest EP, ‘I Used to Know Her: The Prelude’ is a 6-track build-up to the singer’s debut album. H.E.R has managed to carve her own piece of sultry paradise in modern R&B yet her latest offering reveals more of her influences while still maintaining ethereal vocals and a solid production.

The EP opens up with ‘Lost Soul’, a spoken-word rendition of 90s favorite, ‘Lost Ones’ by Lauryn Hill. The singer is making it known that she’s got some things to say, coming out guns blazing with the line “Confusing self-conscious with self-confidence,” going to town on toxic-masculinity while propping up women empowerment. As much as the track is a slight departure from H.E.R’s primarily vocal offering, the rhythm of her rapping paired with the chopped and screwed Blues guitar riff feels right at home in her discography.

H.E.R sprinkles spoken word sermons throughout the EP, interspersed with the kind of songs with smooth backing vocals and a seductive beat that had us falling in love with H.E.R from the beginning. The last few seconds of ‘Against Me’ offer pearls like ‘Intuition can see through elusive intent. Listen to it,” forcing us to not gloss over her poignant lyrical content when we get transported by her luring vocals. ‘Could’ve Been’ is a distinct H.E.R track featuring Trap Soul prince Bryson Tiller, delivering alluring layered vocals undergirded by a simple yet effective beat.

H.E.R gives us an EP that consists of the essential sound that brought her onto our radars, but what it also does is eloquently introduce us to a part of the songstress that feels like it’s been there all along. She manages to make her listener experience feel familiar and brand new all at the same time, which is why we will stan forever.

H.E.R will be performing at AFROPUNK Brooklyn (which is in just under 3 weeks yasss) so if you haven’t gotten your tickets already then i’m sorry beloved.