H.E.R. calls working with Barack and Michelle Obama on the Netflix series, We the People, “life-changing.” ET’s Rachel Smith spoke to the singer as well as series creator Chris Nee and director Peter Ramsey about the new animated show — which is produced by the Obamas through their Higher Ground Productions as well as by Kenya Barris through his Khalabo Ink Society banner — that focuses on educating children on United States civics lessons through music.
The 10-episode series, premiering July 4 on Netflix, will feature three-minute-long animated music videos that will cover a range of basic U.S. civics lessons. Each video will be set to original music performed by artists like H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Brandi Carlile, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Lambert, Cordae, Bebe Rexha, KYLE, Andra Day and poet Amanda Gorman.
“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,” H.E.R. says of working with the former president and first lady. “It’s like, wow, you know, I am a part of something that the Obamas [did]. It’s kind of life-changing, you know?”
Nee says Barack was extremely involved in the series, making sure all the facts were correct.
“Look, the president was super involved, way more so than I ever thought,” Nee shares. “He helped us figure out what the 10 topics were going to be. He actually came up with the idea of doing the act of citizenship, which is the one that Peter and H.E.R. have worked on. He would listen to the songs and there were a few times where he said, ‘Well, that’s not factually correct.’ And you’re like, ‘All right, then I think that’s the end.’ … But honored to have them as a part of this project and it opened a lot of doors so that we could ask the best talent in the world to come join us and help activate our youth.”
As for a potential concert coming out of the series given the level of talent involved, H.E.R. definitely doesn’t oppose it.
“Anything for We the People. Anything for the Obamas, honestly,” she notes. “Anything for the Obamas.”
H.E.R. also spoke to ET about the importance of young people getting more involved and why the series is so important to her.
“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 points out. “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.”
Nee echoed this sentiment.
“Look, my whole purpose with this was to remind us that we all have the power and that this next generation is the generation that is going to redirect this ship and get us back on track on this country,” Nee says. “And we have to take the place we are in this world and instead of being angry and frustrated and just leaning back, we have to lean forward and lean in. So, anything that this project could do that leads us to that place, I will do it.”
Meanwhile, 24-year-old H.E.R. is definitely extremely accomplished for her age and is already halfway to an EGOT with her recent Oscar win for Best Original Song, as well as her multiple GRAMMY wins. The artist talked about how she feels about being an inspiration to others and how her success has come so naturally.
“It feels crazy and I can’t always believe it,” she marvels. “I noticed that too, even talking to some of the artists that I look up to who are popular and even legends, you know, years and years more than I have been in the industry, like, not even fully knowing their impact and I think there is power in that. Like, we’re just doing it and it’s dope and I’m intentional about it and I want to inspire and empower young women, especially, but, you know, I think it’s so much cooler when you’re just doing it because you love it and it just so happens that, you know, we’re changing the world or we’re educating people and that’s the beauty of life sometimes.”
Main Image: Highsnobeity
