BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US
In a 2019 interview with Apple Music host Nadeska Alexis, Jessie Reyez explained the source of inspiration for her profoundly personal, often political, intensely swaggering R&B: “I like to sing about shit I don’t like to talk about,” she said. The Colombian Canadian singer’s intimate 2018 EP *Being Human in Public* felt at times like a diary, wrestling with deep themes like immigration (“Imported\") and gender discrimination (“Body Count”) in a conversational Spanish-English blend while tossing out cutting one-liners with a smirk (“I dodge dick on the daily”). Here, on her first full-length, the Toronto native and Up Next alum reaches deep into her emotional core to tell you exactly who she is and how she feels—exhilaratingly heartbroken, independent, and alive—with a matter-of-factness that has become her signature. The songs here are wide-ranging and ambitious—there are slow-burning pop ballads (“LOVE IN THE DARK”) and smoldering R&B-trap send-ups (“ANKLES” featuring Rico Nasty and Melii)—showcasing her staggering vocal range and unflinching lyricism. It’s the latter, really, that makes her coy verses so indelible: “I should have fucked your friends/It would have been the best revenge,” she sings on album opener “DO YOU LOVE HER.” “If I blow your brains out/I can guarantee that you’ll forget her.” Who could forget that?
Jessie Reyez explained the source of inspiration for her profoundly personal, often political, intensely swaggering R&B: "I like to sing about shit I don't like to talk about," she said. The Colombian Canadian singers intimate 2018 EP Being Human in Public felt at times like a diary, wrestling with deep themes like immigration ("Imported") and gender discrimination ("Body Count') in a conversational Spanish-English blend while tossing out cutting one-liners with a smirk ("I dodge dick on the daily"). Here, on her first full-length, the Toronto native and Up Next alum reaches deep into her emotional core to tell you exactly who she is and how she feels-exhilaratingly heartbroken, independent, and alive with a matter-of-factness that has become her signature. The songs here are wide-ranging and ambitious-there are slow burning pop ballads ("LOVE IN THE DARK") and smoldering R&B trap send-ups ("ANKLES" featuring Rico Nasty and Melii) showcasing her staggering vocal range and unflinching lyricism. It's the latter, really, that makes her coy verses so indelible: "I should have fucked your friends/it would have been the best revenge," she sings on album opener "DO YOU LOVE HER." "If I blow your brains out/I can guarantee that you'll forget her." Who could forget that? ℗ 2020 FMLY, under exclusive license to Island Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc
The powerhouse singer’s voice is chameleonic and present in every guise. Her debut is most satisfying not because she whizzes across multiple genres, but because of the skill she displays at each.
Jessie Reyez stretches R&B to its limits on Before Love Came To Kill Us
Jessie isn’t messing around in this death and mortality-obsessed record about the dark side of love
Anyone familiar with the range Jessie Reyez has shown since 2016 was not taken aback by news that the artist fought the pressure to make her first album a cohesive one.
Jessie Reyez's debut full-length, Before Love Came to Kill Us, has been built to last. Reyez told Exclaim! in our recent cover story that sh...
Jessie Reyez is a 28 year old, second generation Colombian-Canadian with a distinctive sound. Her outstanding debut album ‘Before Love Came To Kill
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