H.E.R. has credited her experience of working with Barack and Michelle Obama as “life-changing.”
H.E.R., – real name Gabriella Wilson – teamed up with the former U.S. President and his wife on upcoming Netflix series “We the People,” which explores the importance of educating children through music.
And having the opportunity to join forces with the couple, who have become known for their activism and philanthropic efforts since leaving the White House, was transformative for the 24-year-old.
“It was more exciting more than anything, it made me really want to, you know, kill it just because of them being attached and them being a part of it,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
“It’s like, wow, you know, I am a part of something that the Obamas (did). It’s kind of life-changing, you know?”
H.E.R. added that while the younger generation is dismissed by some, she believes she and her peers have the ability to change the future.
“Sometimes you think, ‘I’m just a kid,’ or, ‘That’s a job for the adults,’ but the youth is really the beginning of the rest of our lives,” she explained. “I would like to believe my generation and younger, we’re going to set the tone for the future and it’s up to us to be informed. I always say, you know, you can’t understand today without understanding yesterday, and so I think kids are going to start being more proactive and not reactive and really take control of our future.
“And we’ll learn from those things that we learned in the past, and make a difference and make a change when they know that they can – that they have the power to – and this project is going to empower people. I mean, it empowered me.”