H.E.R. has opened up about the complicated experience of growing up Black and Filipino, revealing that she sometimes felt she was 'too Filipino' for Black children and 'too Black' for Filipino children.
The Grammy and Oscar winner, whose real name is Gabriella 'Gabi' Sarmiento Wilson, reflected on her childhood while discussing her role in DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island, a new animated film inspired by Filipino culture, mythology and folklore.
'There were times where I would feel like I was maybe too Filipino for the Black kids or too Black for the Filipino kids, and sometimes that was a struggle,' H.E.R. told PEOPLE.
H.E.R. Learned To Embrace Both Sides of Her Identity
The singer, 29, said her upbringing also gave her a strong connection to both cultures, particularly within her family home. 'In the house it was amazing because I got both cuisines,' she recalled, explaining that her father cooked soul food while her mother cooked Filipino food.
H.E.R. grew up in Vallejo, California, where she said there were significant Black and Filipino communities and other children who shared her mixed background. She said she sometimes found herself feeling caught between the two cultures.
'Throughout the years I've really learned to embrace both sides and letting them exist together because they're so much a part of me,' she said.
The experience became more noticeable when H.E.R. left the Bay Area and encountered people who were unfamiliar with Filipino culture. She recalled being asked questions such as whether Filipinos eat with chopsticks, describing the encounters as examples of people having limited exposure to Filipino culture.
H.E.R. also said she did not remember seeing many animated characters who reflected her own mixed-race background while growing up. One character she did connect with was Disney's Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, partly because she recognised elements of the Southern culture represented through her father's side of the family.
Why Forgotten Island Means So Much to H.E.R.
That personal history made Forgotten Island particularly meaningful for H.E.R., who voices Jo in the animated adventure.
Jo and Raissa, voiced by Liza Soberano, are best friends who find themselves transported to the mystical island of Nakali, a world inspired by Filipino mythology and folklore. They must find their way home while facing the possibility of losing their memories.
For H.E.R., playing Jo also brought back memories of her younger self. 'I'm a lot like Jo, very Type B, very go with the flow. I can be a little chaotic,' she told PEOPLE. 'There's a lot of things that were already in me that I just had to bring front and center. It definitely reminded me a little bit of young me.'
The project marks H.E.R.'s feature-length animated film debut and gives her an opportunity to bring an important part of her heritage to a major Hollywood production.
'When they told me it was about Filipinos and it was animated, I'm like, "I'm in, I'm in. That's all you had to say",' she recalled of first hearing about the project.
H.E.R. Says Filipino Culture Is Finally Being Seen
For H.E.R., the project represents more than her first voice-acting role. After years of navigating what it meant to be both Black and Filipino, she is now helping bring her Filipino heritage to the centre of a major Hollywood production.
'Media is, I think, a way we get to know certain cultures and traditions,' she told PEOPLE. 'So this movie is so important for that specifically so people can really see what Filipinos are about and what's important to us and the way we love each other, the things that matter to us.'
Forgotten Island hits theatres on Friday, 25 September.
