H.E.R. Reveals Upcoming EP Is ‘Gonna Feature A Lot Of Reggae Artists’
American R&B singer H.E.R. has revealed that she has an EP incoming this year that will feature several Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall artists.
H.E.R., whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, 23, joins other international stars confirmed to be making Reggae and Dancehall-inspired projects this year including Rihanna, Tory Lanez, and Doja Cat.
The multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning singer is also working on a song with DJ Khaled that’ll appear on his upcoming album, Khaled Khaled . Both of them are currently in Jamaica, where H.E.R. is said to be working on both projects, with at least one music video shoot for Khaled’s song.
In an Instagram video two days ago, Khaled greeted H.E.R. on arrival, and hinted that her vocals on both projects “sounds amazing.”
“Me and DJ Khaled have a song together that I’m really excited for people to hear, and he wanted to shoot the video here,” H.E.R. told the Observer. “My EP that I’ll be releasing is gonna feature a lot of reggae artistes. It’s gonna be dope.”
The singer’s silky-smooth duet, Slow Down with Skip Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Adult R&B Songs chart last year. “I felt like Slow Down was one song that made me even want to dive into reggae even deeper,” she said, indicating that the megahit was the inspiration for the EP.
Following the success of Slow Down, H.E.R. released her first solo reggae offering, Do To Me , on July 7, 2020, which interpolated the iconic Reggae songs Murder She Wrote by Chaka Demus & Pliers’ and Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam.
“I’ve always loved reggae, and now I’m about to do a whole reggae project. My EP is definitely coming this year. I’m still finishing it up and making sure it’s great before releasing it,” she said.
Which Reggae Artists Will Appear On The Album?
No details on who might appear on the album were given, but Dancehall star Shenseea and Reggae songstress Lila Iké are among the likely first picks.
In September 2020, H.E.R. and Iké, who is best known for Second Chance, Stars Align, and Solitude, were spotted in the studio, striking poses for their Instagram fans.
The Where I’m Coming From singer, who has been praised for her sultry vocals and work ethic, is signed to Protoje’s In.Digg.Nation Collective where she released her 7-track debut The ExPerience EP last year.
In February this year, H.E.R. also linked up with Shenseea. The two stars didn’t provide much details for their meeting, but Shenseea told eager fans: “we’ll soon let them know what it’s gon’ be! In the mean time, we doing our thing.”
Shenseea, who is best known for Blessed and Trending Gyal, also has an album that will be released this year.
H.E.R., which stands for Having Everything Revealed, won the Grammy Award for Song Of The Year last month with her 2020 song, I Can’t Breathe . She said, “It’s such a big deal and an honour. I didn’t expect to win it, and there were so many amazing artistes in the same category.” This year, she also copped the Best R&B Song award for Better Than I Imagined, a collaboration with Robert Glasper. Slow Down with Marley was also nominated in the same category.
Her album H.E.R. (2017) won Best R&B Album and received four other nominations at the 61st Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The singer’s last compilation project was I Used to Know Her (2019).