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19th October 2018
07:34pm BST
As a fan of her work, I’ve been looking forward to sitting down with Jessie for a good while. And sure, there’s a hundred things I want to ask, but there’s always been one question in particular. It’s not about Eminem. It’s not about Calvin Harris. It’s not about “Gatekeeper”. It’s not about her Cuban heritage. It’s about that damn Corvette.
On "Fuck It", the first song on her 2017 EP Kiddo, Jessie sings:
"I crashed your Corvette/ I heard you bitchin’…Fuck it, you're lucky I didn't roll it/ You're lucky I didn't blow your brains out."I just had to know, did she really crash her ex-boyfriend’s car? “No, that was all in my head,” she explains. “It was me showing restraint. That was self restraint on my part.” My hopes of living vicariously through Jessie are dashed. Having gone through several breakups myself there have been times in the past where I’ve wanted to crash a car, or two, but haven’t been brave enough to do so. Sensing my disappointment - not in her, but instead selfishly in my own desires not being able to feast upon some real-life drama - she tells me that if things had been different she’d probably have done it. "If I was under 21 and wouldn’t have gotten charged I probably would have done it. But that was me trying to be responsible and not fuck up my life in jail. And now I’m here, so it was a good choice." https://youtu.be/8cwApJY8URM So what is true about Jessie? One thing she’s particularly known for is the love she has for her fans. Again, many artists can claim to love their fans but do they really? Do they really thank them in person? Do they meet them after their shows? Do they do meet and greets without charging an arm and a leg for the pleasure? Jessie does all of the above and more. “I hang out because if anyone was willing to wait that long I should be able to meet them in the middle and stay, even just for a little while,” Jessie says whilst grinning that huge smile of hers. It’s obvious her fans are her world. “I’m very aware that none of this would be possible without people really supporting and really caring and really thugging it out.” Not just getting love from fans and consumers, Jessie’s peers are starting to take notice. As previously mentioned, she was recruited by Eminem for his Kamikaze album. She also featured on Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1 project, as well as writing “One Kiss”, his hit collaboration with Dua Lipa. And how could we forget her beautiful performance of “Figures” at this year’s Juno Awards, alongside another rising star, Daniel Ceasar? We can't. https://youtu.be/4f6qLbg_paU I ask Jessie who else she’d like to work with. After staring into space for a second, she suddenly snaps back to the conversation and lists off three names in succession: “Frank Ocean. Princess Nokia. KiD CuDi.” Gushing over KiD CuDi, the two of us share the same opinion of the G.O.O.D. Music whiz kid. After I describe what he and his music means to me personally, Jessie responds, stating, “KiD CuDi, man. He can do no wrong. He’s that kind of artist to me.” Jessie’s new EP, Being Human in Public, is out now. A collection of songs that she’s been putting out weekly for the past seven weeks, it’s her second EP but she’s still yet to put an album out. “I never stop working,” she tells me, making sure I know that her work ethic isn’t the reason for not having an album out in the marketplace. “I haven’t stopped working. Whenever God says it’s ready then it’ll be ready. It’s just a matter of making it, well, not perfect, but as perfect as I can. Perfect to me, which in itself is impossible. So as perfect as perfect can get to me, if that makes sense?” https://youtu.be/--YgtVuvWGo What strikes me about Jessie Reyez upon speaking to her is her focus, it’s unwavering. She knows what she wants, how she wants it and where she needs to be to make it happen. Whether it’s the type of music she wants to make, what type of human being she wants to be, or the goals she wants to achieve, she’s so direct and to the point. And not only that, she oozes confidence. Specific about her future, she informs me of her plans. “The end goal is to have a farm for my father,” she begins. “To have accolades on my shelf, to have at least two orphanages and name them after my mother, to be able to positively and tangibly effect the lives of at least a million people before I pass away, and to die a legend.” I tell her that I’ve not interviewed many people who have told me they want to die a legend. Several artists might think it but they rarely say it out loud. “I wanna die a legend and actually make my life worth something. I want to make a big difference before I leave.” Hopefully it’s a very long time before this becomes a reality. Jessie Reyez is one of those rare beings who has the capacity and resilience to do great things. Not good things, great things. And not just through her music either. We hug, take a picture, bid each other farewell, and as I leave the lobby of the hotel I turn and tell her my fingers are crossed for that KiD CuDi collaboration. Music needs it. Jessie Reyez's new EP, Being Human in Public, is out now.
