H.E.R. is back with a brand new EP called I Used to Know Her: The Prelude. It was released on August 3, 2018. I Used to Know Her: The Prelude serves as the anticipation for H.E.R.'s upcoming debut studio album, which is set to be released this year.
Click here to listen to "Lost Souls" on YouTube
Lost Souls featuring DJ Scratch is the opening song for I Used to Know Her: The Prelude. It also serves as a tribute to Lauryn Hill's classic song Lost Ones. On the first verse, H.E.R. is giving us some major Lauryn Hill vibes rapping, "Confusing self-conscious with self-confidence/ So you monogamous, be body positive/ Those pills you swallowing, for a following/ What he got to offer? He don't see the kids that he fathering/ If you don't bother then, why you responding then?/ Careful where you plant them seeds, before you water them?/ Uh, I don't click up, I don't click up, nah/ I don't click up, I don't click up, that's why/ I don't click up, I don't click up, hey/ I don't click up". Then she sings on the outro with, "A lost soul can't lead the people, no/ A lost soul can't lead the people, no,no/ A lost soul can't lead the people, no/ Yeah, yeah, yeah/ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah/ A lost soul can't, lost soul/ Can't lead, can't lead".
Click to listen to "Against Me"
Against Me talks about how the singer is not feeling like herself after she starts having doubts about trust in a relationship. She sings on the first verse, "I should've listened to my intuition/ I've put myself in this position/ It's all my fault, look in the mirror think what am I missing?/ Seeing thing different, oh am I lost?/ Feelin' a way, nothing's the same/ I wish you would change, oh I'm lost/ Numbin' the pain, don't make it okay/ Nothin' to say but-", and then ask her lover not to blame her for all of their issues with the lyrics, "You brought all the issues (issues)/ And I would stay here with you/ Don't hold it against me ('gainst me)/ Against me ('gainst me)/ Hold it against me. against me (yeah)/ And I don't trust you lately/ And if that makes me crazy/ Can't hold it against me ('gainst me)/ Against me ('gainst me)/ Hold it against me, yeah". On the outro of the song, H.E.R. begins to speak a little poetry saying, And the corners of a man's mind is a place where vulnerability hides/ And intimacy is not the act of physical intertwined but it's the isolation of two minds/ That's why he keeps his heart and his head separate/ There's only one he can connect with/ The multiple names on the checklist, only calls when he's desperate/ I'm too high maintenance, way too many expectations when, we're just dating, right/ But I'm special, right?/ Deny, deny, deny/ All you do is lie, word is bond/ But not with me because I don't know what it's like/ I'll never understand the needs of a man or how to nurture/ And what she doesn't know can't hurt her/ To my women with the utmost respect, intellect/ We often forget and neglect intuition can see through illusive intent, listen to it".
Click to listen to "Be On My (Interlude)
Be On My (Interlude) is about the singer moving on from a previous relationship, so that she can have a fresh start with herself. She starts off with, "If I'm giving you the cold shoulder, that's closure/ Needed someone to hold/ But we both had our motives, never told him that mine was to stay alone/ And you don't belong to me/ So, you don't have to let me go/ Doesn't always have to be something more/ I'll be on my way (I'll be on my way)/ I'll be on my way (I'll be on the way)/I'm no good if I stay (I'm no good if I stay)/ So, I'll be on my way (I'll be on my way)/ My way (my way)".
Click to listen to "Could've Been"
Could've Been featuring Bryson Tiller talks about the possibilities of a relationship between two hopeless romantics. H.E.R. sings on the first verse with the lyrics, "Somebody give me, uh/ Somebody tell me the answers/ Me and you isn't the answer, uh/ Me and you isn't/ Maybe I'm telling myself that/ But there ain't nothing that'll change that/ What good would it be, if I knew how you felt about me?", and then continues on the chorus with, "We could've been/ And we tried to pretend/ Every now and again/ We don't dream about, we don't think about/ We could've been/ Though I'm holding again/ Cause I know in the end/ You dream about, I think about/ We could've been/ We could've been, yeah". Tiller exchanges his verse with, "What we could've been/ what we should've been/ If I wasn't, if I wasn't-/ With somebody, if you gotta hide it what's the point of trying?/ I ain't just your friend, no, what's the point of lying?/ Tryna sell a story, ain't nobody buyin'/ Look me in the eyes, don't that feel nice?/Why should it end? Baby, I could've been/ I could've been him, more than your friend/ Just say where and when, where to make a trip/ Baby, make a wish, be the one I'm with".
Click to listen to "Feel a Way"
Feel a Way is where the singer finds herself dealing with the fact that her partner is mad at her, but also bringing up some stuff from their past. She sings on the first verse, "I'm up, late night, my phone so dry/ No goodnight, I'm tight cause I'm paranoid/ I can't sleep, you're still mad at me/ It's not that deep, we been here before". On the chorus, she is asking her lover to "Don't make me feel a way/ Don't make me feel a way/ Don't make me feel a way/ Don't make me feel a way (don't make me feel)/ Don't make me feel a way (don't make me feel)/ Don't make me feel a way (don't make me feel)".
Click to listen to "As I Am"
As I Am is the final track on the EP. On this song, H.E.R. takes on a more happier and loving tone which is different from some of her previous songs where they were both fierce and empowering. The singer wants to have and embrace the love for her partner as she sings, "It's like the morning time/ Don't wanna wave goodbye/ Just wanna stay in bed/ But if I'm next to you/ I'm looking forward to/ Just layin' in this bed", and then moves on to the chorus with, "Tell me I'm the best, I am/ I'll be feelin' like, yes, I am, I am/ You know I'm the best, I am/ Be a fool not to take me as I am/ Tell me I'm the best, I am/ I'll be feelin' like, yes, I am, I am/ You know I'm the best, I am/ You'd be a fool to not take me as I am".
I listened to I Used to Know Her: The Prelude EP on Google Play last night! I absolutely love it. This is my new favorite EP by H.E.R. so far. I give this project a 5/5! Make sure that you go and purchase I Used to Know Her: The Prelude from Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal, Amazon Music, SoundCloud and Deezer:
