Embracing a New Era with H.E.R.

IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson

H.E.R. joins Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on IMO to discuss her new role in the DreamWorks film Forgotten Island, celebrating Filipino

Key takeaways

• H.E.R. sees her new look and music era as symbolic of personal grounding and confidence beyond artistic output.
• She reflects on how rare meaningful connections are in the music industry due to its isolating nature.

Main topics

• Filipino cultural representation
• Artistic identity and authenticity

Notable quotes

"I just feel like a new... grounding and confidence in myself and who I am aside from what I have to offer to the world."

Conclusion

H.E.R. shares that embracing her full self—culturally, personally, and

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Suddenly, I became a teenager and I had feelings. And, Speaker 4 (0:03) you know, Speaker 5 (0:04) I had things to talk about. And I was feeling the teenage angst. And I was like having crushes and like getting my heart broken. And it was like, you know. You were allowed Speaker 4 (0:15) to go on a date by then? Yeah. To even get your heart crushed? Not Speaker 5 (0:19) really. You weren't supposed to be getting your heart crushed. Exactly. I wasn't supposed Speaker 4 (0:23) to. But you Speaker 5 (0:23) were. But I was. I Speaker 4 (0:25) was. Speaker 4 (0:32) This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance and Midi Health. Speaker 1 (0:37) How are Speaker 4 (0:38) you? Speaker 1 (0:38) Hi, Craig. Speaker 4 (0:40) I'm good. Hi, Michelle. Yeah, yeah. We're here. We're back. Speaker 1 (0:44) We are. We are back. We Speaker 4 (0:45) got more great stuff to do. I know. More great people to talk to. I'm Speaker 1 (0:49) energized. I'm energized. You know, I have to say, though, about L.A., Speaker 4 (0:53) I Speaker 1 (0:53) usually don't have allergic reactions, but when I come to L.A., My nose starts running and I start coughing. It's really interesting. See, Speaker 4 (1:01) now you see Speaker 1 (1:01) what I go through, right? I Speaker 4 (1:02) do. Speaker 1 (1:03) It's Speaker 4 (1:03) like everywhere I go, I have a runny nose. I was known, I was the allergy kid growing up. It was horrible, but it got me out of yard work. So Speaker 1 (1:12) this, it got my sister out of doing yard work because every time she'd go out there, it would be like, Speaker 4 (1:20) And it would be that those sneezing attack. And your Speaker 1 (1:23) eyes would be so red and runny. And Speaker 4 (1:26) mom would just say, go back. Go back inside. Speaker 1 (1:28) And I'm out there pulling weeds. Speaker 4 (1:30) Yes. Speaker 1 (1:31) And if you saw our backyard, it was like maybe eight weeds back there. But, you Speaker 4 (1:35) know, when it after the spring, there would be all this growth in the back. Right. Yeah. And it would be cutting that stuff down. Speaker 1 (1:42) I'm making it sound like we had a back 40, but we had like a... No, Speaker 4 (1:46) for sure. It was a city backyard. I mean, but it was still, you know, it was still full of green things that made me sneeze. And Speaker 1 (1:53) you never had to cut the grass, right? Oh Speaker 4 (1:55) my God. That was your job. Speaker 1 (1:57) No. I was thinking after I left, but no. Speaker 4 (1:59) Anywho, we digress. We do. Speaker 1 (2:01) We do. We Speaker 4 (2:02) have a really great conversation as we always do. Yes. One of my favorite... Little people? No, she's a grown woman. But to me, she's a baby out in these streets, living her life, doing some good things. So, Speaker 1 (2:19) you know, you have known her. This is my first time meeting her. I didn't even get a chance to meet her at Barack's birthday party because it was so hectic. But she performed at the birthday party. And my younger boys absolutely love her music. Which is interesting, you know, because they're more... Speaker 1 (2:40) They're like 16 and 14. Speaker 4 (2:43) Her's music is universal. All ages. She's just that talented. But why don't we do a proper introduction and get her out here. Get her Speaker 1 (2:53) out here. Her is a five-time Grammy Award winning, Academy Award winning, and Emmy Award winning musician, actor, director, and producer. She is best known for her Grammy Award winning musical Project Her. She has starred in movies like The Color Purple, and she will next be heard as the voice of Joe in the DreamWorks animated movie Forgotten Island. Speaker 4 (3:18) Yeah, it's a good one. Speaker 1 (3:19) So without further ado. Speaker 4 (3:22) Ladies and gentlemen, her. It feels like we should Speaker 1 (3:25) have music. I'm sorry. It's Speaker 2 (3:29) so good to see you. Speaker 1 (3:30) So good to see you. Speaker 4 (3:33) Welcome to IMO. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here. You know, I'm loving the super curls. Thank you. Love them. They look so good. Thank you so much. So good. You've been doing that lately? Yeah, you Speaker 5 (3:44) know, this is me. I'm unmasked. You know, I don't have glasses on. Like, this is me. I was thinking Speaker 1 (3:50) about wearing my sunglasses today. Speaker 4 (3:53) It's like, that's old. That's old news. Gab is out here in these streets now. How does it feel sort of unmasking? I know you've... you know, you've been out here as you for a while. And I know that transition was a little scary for you too. Speaker 5 (4:11) Yeah, and still is. And I Speaker 4 (4:12) haven't released a project in a really long time. Speaker 5 (4:14) So I feel like I haven't fully thrusted myself into that era and really got to show people what becoming, no pun intended, has looked like for me. And I'm just excited. Like it excites me more than it scares me. Speaker 5 (4:31) I just feel like a new... grounding and confidence in myself and who I am aside from what I have to offer to the world. And that is a whole different level of me. And the curls are just part of that. I feel like it's a symbol for that. Speaker 4 (4:48) Ooh, Speaker 5 (4:48) okay. Speaker 4 (4:49) Now you guys, Speaker 1 (4:51) I was just saying, you guys know each other. Speaker 4 (4:53) Yeah. How did that come Speaker 1 (4:55) about? Because why don't I know you? I'm trying to figure that out. Speaker 4 (4:59) I know, we're a little late to the party. You Speaker 1 (5:01) don't be Speaker 4 (5:01) out in these streets enough. Please. More than you. Where do we first… There have been a bunch of, you know, cross sections. What's your memory of our first meeting? Because it feels like it's been a lot. Speaker 5 (5:17) Yeah, totally. I know. I was even trying to think the first time. I feel like I've known you for so long now. But there was like a Zoom or something. It was like a video call like over the pandemic about the show that I did the song for. the song Change. It was like this beautiful animated like moment for We the People. Yeah. And that was really cool. And Speaker 4 (5:41) then we had a great conversation when, was it The Light or Becoming came out? It was The Light. On Revolt. Speaker 5 (5:50) Yeah. Speaker 4 (5:51) And that was a really beautiful conversation. It was Tina Knowles and Kelly Rowland and Angie Martinez. Who else was there? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was like the first time I really got to look into your eyes and say, what's going on in there? Speaker 5 (6:08) Yeah, that was really special. You have no idea what that conversation did for me. Like a lot of the transition I was going through and just like being around so many powerful women, especially in an industry full of like a lot of men. It was so refreshing. You have no idea. Like it really, it... it sort of like catapulted me into finding my kitchen table and, you know, just like doing this like outreach. I think artists like we're isolated a lot. Yeah, Speaker 4 (6:37) that's it. We talked about like how surprising that is. Yeah, it's crazy. Speaker 1 (6:41) What do you think the reason is you guys don't, not collaborate, but sort of fellowship. Well, Speaker 4 (6:48) socially Speaker 1 (6:48) collaborate. Yeah. Yeah. It's Speaker 5 (6:50) a combination of things. I think, I feel like, You know, it. Speaker 5 (6:58) I don't want to speak negatively because I know there's so many layers to it. But I think for me, at least, I've found that like when you're just in the studio and you're going, going, going, and the only time you see people is like backstage at the award shows. You know, you never really get a moment. And those are really Speaker 4 (7:17) artificial, crazy, not, you know, people think those shows are great. You know, oh, everybody's hanging out. But it's just a zoo. Yeah, it is. It's crazy. Speaker 5 (7:26) Yeah. Speaker 4 (7:26) So, yeah, that's not a place to socialize. Yeah, totally. Speaker 1 (7:32) Do you feel like, and I don't want you to say negative, go negative if you don't want to, but does it feel like competition a little? I mean, there's Speaker 5 (7:41) always going to be a layer of that, but I don't feel that necessarily for me. I think that, honestly, there's a lot of people who, you know. Someone told me the other day, artists and creatives were sometimes a controlled Speaker 2 (7:57) and contained substance. You know, Speaker 5 (8:00) that it benefits a lot of people who are in the music business Speaker 2 (8:05) to, Speaker 5 (8:06) you know, don't worry. We got it. We got you. Don't worry. Don't talk like we'll handle, you know, and you become sort of. Speaker 5 (8:19) insulated, you know, and isolated into this island of people who are sort of filtering. Speaker 4 (8:26) And Speaker 5 (8:27) that benefits a lot of people in the business, you know, because it means more control over the thing. And sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's protective. It's a protective layer. I was Speaker 1 (8:39) just thinking about that because you started so young that that probably was helpful to start with. Speaker 5 (8:45) Totally. I'm so grateful for that. And it definitely became a little bit Princess Locked in the Tower vibes a little bit, you know. And I think, let Speaker 4 (8:57) me out, y'all. Yeah, yeah. I want a friend. Yeah, Speaker 5 (9:02) it definitely, it gave that. And, you know, I think the glasses even, you know, taking them off has made me feel even more connected to people. But, yeah, anyway, I mean, I do think that. Now I'm in a place of just like talking to people and Speaker 4 (9:17) realizing Speaker 5 (9:18) how… it's crazy how similar our experiences are. Even if we're completely different artists, completely different journeys, there are so many similarities. I've had the privilege of talking to a lot of different women artists, even just in the past few months, the past few years, like I said, since our talk. And it was like, oh my gosh, girl, you went through that too? Or you felt this too? Oh man, I wish we would have reached out to each other or we would have talked about it. And so it's been a really great... eye-opening experience. And you also, you Speaker 4 (9:49) guys, you know, when you're an artist, you're often, and as gifted as you are, you're starting your career at a time when you should, you would normally be flexing and learning that social, those social tools. Totally. We talked about that. It's like, you didn't have a regular high school experience. You didn't have a... college experience. And that's, those are the beginnings of where you just start learning. Oh, I'm in my dorm. How am I going to figure out what to do? I got to make a new friend. I've got to pick up the phone. I've got to walk across the cafeteria. And those are muscles, you know, it's like, so, you know, you play every instrument under the sun, your voice is on point, but there's that, there's the practice of the comfort level of reaching. out to other people. And I'm so glad for you that you're starting to do that, especially when it comes to women. We need those conversations. So powerful what you're saying, because that just makes me think about, especially Speaker 5 (10:57) when you're young in the industry and you're learning and you're like, this is so new. And there are people who have been in the music industry for a long time. And a lot of times what happens is you start to think like, oh, these are the professionals. I don't know anything. And then you start quieting your instincts or your inner voice and distrusting that and leaning on the quote unquote professionals. But at the end of the day, we're Speaker 4 (11:24) all trying to figure it out. Exactly. Like, Speaker 5 (11:26) I think knowing that there's value to your newness and your perspective, no matter how... much experience you have and learning how to, like you said, exercise that muscle of speaking up and asking questions and then discerning what you're receiving, you know what I mean? And not outsourcing your stuff all the time, you know what I mean? Really trusting your inner voice. That has been my whole journey, I think, the past few years. I am now the professional. You sure are. And I've learned a lot, but I'm also always learning and always a student. But at the same time, like my perspective is so important and valuable. And there's always going to be someone who has experienced more, knows more, quote unquote. But that's not what it's really about. Not at all. My favorite word right now is autonomy. Speaker 3 (12:21) Having autonomy over Speaker 5 (12:22) my life and my career and, you know, keeping things for myself. Like, and really, Keeping my own peace and center and like doing the things that give me that and surrounding myself with people who respect that and honor that, you know, and also learning to set those boundaries and honor my voice. Have you fired anybody yet? Speaker 1 (12:45) We're trying to not be negative. No, Speaker 4 (12:46) but I'm Speaker 3 (12:47) just Speaker 4 (12:47) saying you don't have the same names, but that's also a part of creating, you know, it's like that's a big move, right? Especially when you're young and when you start doing that and you look and go, you're not working for me. And so I'm just wondering, have you done that yet? Yes, I have. There you go, girl. Speaker 5 (13:07) It wasn't fun. It was not fun. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, to be honest with you. Like, I... Such Speaker 3 (13:14) a great question. Speaker 5 (13:16) But Speaker 3 (13:16) no, I honestly... Speaker 5 (13:17) I feel like artists, we sometimes, especially in the beginning, people will make you think you work for them. That's crazy. It's crazy. And again, when you're young and you're just trying to figure it out, you want to lean on your counsel. You want to lean on the people that are there to support you and help you and nurture you. But there comes a point where it's like, wait a second. Speaker 3 (13:43) Who's working for who? Speaker 5 (13:45) And so that is a really big step in anyone's career. And that was really, really hard. Speaker 1 (13:56) You keep talking about how young you are, but you're pretty wise for a young person. So your intuition is going to take you a long way. Like if you feel like you need to fire somebody, that's probably the right decision. Speaker 5 (14:11) Yeah. Speaker 1 (14:11) And Speaker 5 (14:12) I'm working on my reaction time because I feel like I would sit for too long. And there's also such a thing as moving too Speaker 2 (14:18) quickly. But like Speaker 5 (14:20) when you know, you know. And it's like sometimes it's important to... Act on that on every level, you know, not just when it comes to firing people. So Speaker 1 (14:28) Mish knows you. Okay. I want to get to know you. But before I start at day one, when as a little kid. I Speaker 4 (14:34) was born. Talk about Forgotten Island. Yeah. That really looks Speaker 1 (14:39) like. We Speaker 4 (14:40) got to get a little. We Speaker 1 (14:42) got a little taste of it. So good. So Speaker 4 (14:44) it Speaker 1 (14:44) looks really good. And tell me about how that all came about. What it's like to voice a. character that's your dad was Speaker 4 (14:54) that your first voiceover for a character in the Speaker 5 (14:57) film yes yeah yeah yeah yeah big deal honestly I mean it's the perfect transition because again as I'm becoming and like really um leaning into who I am in a different way and not compartmentalizing myself I feel like Forgotten Island has come at the perfect time because I get to share with the world, like a piece of my culture and my background and who I am and what has really made me, me. And, um, yeah, that movie is like, it is so special. I'm not just saying that cause I'm in it, but it's like the first major, uh, film that is highlighting Filipino culture, which is a huge deal. Speaker 3 (15:36) Right. Speaker 5 (15:37) So, um, I remember. I'm a huge Speaker 3 (15:40) DreamWorks fan. I'm Speaker 5 (15:41) like a huge animation fan, but Speaker 3 (15:43) DreamWorks specifically. Like Shrek, Speaker 5 (15:45) Madagascar, like Speaker 3 (15:47) Wild Speaker 5 (15:47) Robot. Like all the movies at DreamWorks are my favorite. I went to the building and I had a meeting with the directors. And they were just so excited to tell me about the project. I think I was in the building for something else, but they… wanted to meet me and we talked about it and I saw their enthusiasm and the directors are also best friends. Like they're actually best friends in real life. And one of them has a Filipino wife. I was Speaker 1 (16:14) going to say, where did the Filipino line come in? Yeah. So Speaker 5 (16:19) one of them is Filipino and the other has a Filipino wife. And he's like, so in the culture. So they were like, we want to. highlight our friendship and like some of the women in our lives and the culture. And it's such a big deal because like we never see films with us in it. There's no representation. And they took it a step further and talked about, well, the movie's all about the Filipino folklore. So it's like all these crazy mystical characters that we were. taught about when we were kids. Like my mom would say like, watch out for this. You Speaker 4 (16:53) know, you be good. Otherwise the manananggal is going to get you. So Speaker 5 (16:57) there's all these like creatures that we grew up on, right? These stories. And so the movie is about these two best friends that go on this crazy adventure Speaker 3 (17:07) and these Speaker 5 (17:09) really interesting characters. And it's told in such a sweet way. Like when I tell you it's... so endearing. It's so, it makes you want to call your best friend. Oh, yeah. And like, that is what I really love about it. Like, it has the heart, but it's also so vibrant and playful and fun. And yeah, Speaker 4 (17:30) you really Speaker 5 (17:30) get to know Filipino culture. Yeah, it's hilarious. It's hilarious. It is funny. Speaker 4 (17:35) And I love the fact that there are two girls as the protagonists. You know, it's a girl adventure story, you know, and you don't often get, The girls as the leads, the ones who are taking the chances. And your character is a mess. Speaker 5 (17:51) Yes, she is. Speaker 4 (17:53) She's the messy friend. Yeah, she Speaker 5 (17:55) is. Who winds up Speaker 4 (17:55) getting everybody in trouble. Yeah, yeah. Well, that's going to be exciting. Like you said, the studio gave us a little bit of a glimpse of it. And it is really a beautiful, beautiful project. Yeah. Speaker 5 (18:07) It's good. It's Speaker 4 (18:07) happening. Speaker 5 (18:08) It's really exciting. Well, Speaker 4 (18:09) congratulations. Speaker 5 (18:10) Thank you