Jessie Reyez

Jessie Reyez infuses contemporary R&B with pop and hip-hop textures, her voice balancing raw intensity against calculated theatricality. Breakthrough arrived via the emotionally charged breakup single “Figures” in 2016, a multi-platinum Canadian success that earned her the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Subsequent EPs included Kiddo in 2017 and the Juno-winning Being Human in Public in 2018. Her debut album Before Love Came to Kill Us reached the top 20 on both Canadian and Billboard 200 charts in 2020, while the follow-up Yessie surfaced in 2022 ahead of additional singles and prominent collaborations, among them her 2023 appearance with Calvin Harris on Sam Smith’s “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” and the 2024 track “Shut Up” alongside Big Sean.

Born in Toronto on June 12, 1991, to Colombian parents, Reyez received early guitar instruction from her father, an accomplished player. Dance occupied her attention first; she trained in hip-hop from junior high through high school. After a difficult breakup at seventeen, a supportive music teacher allowed her to spend extended hours at the piano, where she began channeling her emotions into original material. By graduation she was writing songs that reflected personal experience, performing in Toronto clubs, and busking on city streets.

Family members obtained U.S. visas after years of waiting, prompting a relocation to Miami. A bartending job there convinced her that the city’s party-centric environment was eroding her focus, so she returned to Toronto once an early music video started circulating online. Back in Canada she joined the Remix Project, an initiative providing music and arts training to low-income youth. Through that program she met Chicago rapper King Louie, who invited her to collaborate.

Their resulting track “Living in the Sky,” released in 2014, generated significant attention and led to songwriting and vocal contributions for Chance the Rapper, Diplo, Skrillex, and Babyface. “Figures” became her first charting single in 2016, peaking at number 58 in Canada, earning multi-platinum certification at home and gold status in the United States. Kiddo followed in April 2017, reaching number 23 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart; that same year she appeared on Calvin Harris’ “Hard to Love” from Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1.

In 2018 Reyez claimed the Juno for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, joined Black Atlass on “Sacrifice” for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, and recorded “Figures, A Reprise” with Daniel Caesar. Eminem enlisted her for “Nice Guy” and “Good Guy” on Kamikaze, while she featured on the Calvin Harris and Sam Smith collaboration “Promises.” Being Human in Public arrived that autumn; its single “Imported,” which credits 6LACK or JRM on alternate versions, climbed to number 14 on Billboard’s R&B Songs chart, and “Body Count” united her with Normani and Kehlani. The EP received a Juno for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year and a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Multiple singles preceded the March 2020 release of Before Love Came to Kill Us, her first full-length project. The album revisited “Imported” and “Figures,” added the Eminem reunion “Coffin,” and debuted inside the top 20 in both Canada and the United States. Expanded editions titled Before Love Came to Kill Us (Deluxe) and Before Love Came to Kill Us (+) followed with bonus material. Later standalone releases included 2021’s “Rain” featuring Grandson and 2022’s “Fraud” with backing vocals from Kyle Dion.

Yessie arrived in September 2022, yielding the modest hit “Only One” and a reunion with 6LACK on “Forever.” Additional exposure arrived via her 2023 feature with Calvin Harris on Sam Smith’s “I’m Not Here to Make Friends,” the Miguel collaboration “Jeans” later that year, and the 2024 non-album single “Shut Up” with Big Sean.