- Performing with the kids
from the Save The Music Foundation is gonna be incredible.
They're probably super nervous, but me being a musician
that started when I was about their age, maybe even younger,
they're gonna look back years from now
like "Wow, I really, I had the bravery
to go up onstage and do something that I love,
and people actually are appreciating it."
And I think it's a really, really dope thing.
I'm excited about it.
Any program that allows kids to explore their passions
and have instruments available, accessible,
that's just a really important thing
because there's so many kids out there
who may be the next Quincy Jones
or the next Prince or the next Chick Corea,
Herbie Hancock, but they don't have the tools.
And it's just a really special thing
for somebody like me to be able to be an inspiration
for those kids.
I think about when I was a kid,
and I was just like them,
wanting to be on a stage, eager to perform,
eager to be able to play an instrument
without somebody saying turn that music down
or you're just a kid.
That's the time to explore.
(H.E.R.'s "21" playing)
I wrote the song "21" for fun honestly.
I was on tour and just thinking about my whole year
and how crazy my journey has been, how far I've come.
It was more than I expected.
Being 21 was like "Wow, I'm really living a different life
than a lot of 21-year-olds out here."
So it's really just about that
and kind of like the cool side of all these things,
these great things that are happening to me,
the funny little quirks of being an artist.
Lately I've been thinking about my journey,
but when everybody talks about how much I've accomplished
and how much I've done, I'm like, "It's just the beginning."
That's the scary part.
It's like this is literally just the beginning.
I've been doing music since I could talk.
The fact that I've made my dreams a reality
and my visions a reality,
I just feel like now it's about taking everything
to the next level and continuing
to prove myself and work even harder.
It's easy to be 22 years old and be successful
and get comfortable, and that's not who I am at all.
It's not what I wanted to do.
I find new ways to get better and challenge myself.
The next few years are just gonna be even more of a grind
than they were before, you know?
And also, making sure I take those moments to enjoy it
'cause sometimes you can work so hard
that you forget to enjoy and sometimes smell the roses.
So, it's like right now I'm finding that balance,
but it's all about elevation.
That's my theme for 2019, elevation.
My new project, it's really my debut album,
and I can't even day that anymore
because so much has happened
between my first project that I didn't expect,
but this is really going to be my official debut album.
And yeah, new music.
I'm in the studio now, in and out, when I have the time
'cause I'm busy now, but yeah, I'm excited.
It's gonna be H.E.R. but elevated.
Like I said, that's my word.
So, I think everybody's gonna enjoy it.
When I found out that I was gonna perform at the VMAs,
I was honestly a little bit nervous,
and I don't really get nervous very often,
but it's just such a huge stage,
and there are so many artists I look up to
that were on that stage before me.
So, I'm honestly really excited.
I'm looking forward to it just 'cause it's the VMAs.
I can't believe it.
It's a dream come true.
I was watching the VMAs as a kid
like "When am I gonna be up there?"
And now the time is here,
and it's like you really can't.
It hasn't really processed yet.
I feel like it's not gonna be real
until I get up on that stage.
The process for preparing for an awards show
is it's gonna be different
because it's like okay, I got one song.
I have to make it spectacular,
I have to make it have all the elements
that I feel like represent me
because there are gonna be people watching the VMAs
that have never seen me before,
many people that have never seen me.
So, it's really just about really showing who I am
and what my artistry is about in one song,
which is kind of a hard thing to do,
but I think I'll do it.
I'm gonna ber performing a song that's actually unreleased,
and this song is just so telling to my personality
and who I am and what I represent.
And I think on that stage, you're gonna see that.
First time being nominated for three VMAs,
I'm just excited.
There's no other word for it.
It's a dream come true.
It's like I don't know, just watching Alicia Keys
at the VMAs and all these other artists
that I've looked up to,
it's just like "Wow, I'm gonna be up there now,
like it's my turn."
But there's so many dope artists that are also nominated.
I'm just honored to be named amongst them.