The luxury of not getting judged for 'loving' who you want to love should be given to everyone - including women.
— Jessie Reyez
I like being able to just put everything out on the table and letting the cream float.
I thought, 'Maybe if I become a cheerleader, I can meet managers or agents. Maybe I can sing the national anthem at a game, and someone in the industry will hear me.' I saw everything as an opportunity to further my music. I was literally the cheerleader who had a mixtape in between her pom-poms at events.
The stories in the songs come from my real life.
The last thing I want to do is get too happy.
If you consume something that's poisonous, you don't consciously think of vomiting; your body just does it. It's a reflex. When I'm happy, I don't instantly feel the need to get rid of that feeling. But when I'm sad, I think maybe that's what happens.
I want to make something great. I want to make something that I can be proud of in 10 years, something that is timeless.
You can give a bunch of opportunities to people, but if they are not ambitious, nothing is going to happen.
I've been debating with people over what an album actually means in 2018. Certain artists who have paid their dues and proven themselves have almost the privilege to put out a full length album.
I think of legacy: I want plaques on the wall. I want a farm for my dad. I want an orphanage, preferably two, named after my mother. I want to positively and tangibly help the lives of millions of people and die a legend.
I feel like I'm really grateful that my parents chose Canada, and I feel like there's open arms here, and it's very apparent.
I love soul music.
I'm a child of extremes.
I'm appreciating every single bit of success I get, no matter how small.
All of the songs on 'Kiddo' were a part of my soul; they're songs that I could never give away.
My mom says that she caught me one day in front of the TV watching opera. I was trying to sing back the opera. She saw that I really liked music, and so she put me in piano lessons when I was about three years old.
My demons are not that easy to shake.
I was all depressed because my ex cheated on me. It was hard for me to get over that.
In life, unfortunately, I've had multiple experiences where people that I thought I could depend on have switched up, or I've caught them in lies, and their true colours have shown.
In a book, you can create a world in your imagination that's as intricate as you want. Even something like 'Angels & Demons.' I was reading it, thinking, 'This is incredible! This is so scary!'
For me, I try to always look at the positive.
I'm a person of extremes. I'm usually very polar in a lot of things that I do.
To be honest with you, the fact that people vibe with my music is just a really positive byproduct of something that is just a reflex to me. The fact that people even care to listen means a lot to me.
My God, it's laundry and family when I come back home. I've got to see my brother and kids, and my sister-in-law, my aunts, my uncles, cousins; everybody is here.
Amy Winehouse affected my life tremendously. I think maybe she was the first sense of intimacy that I had with a complete stranger, musically speaking.
You just need to create and be open with that energy. The second that you are precious with it, it's almost like you showing the world you have a limited amount.
I think about legacy, of course. I don't want to make my life nothing. I want to know that I died and made a massive difference. I want to know that my life purpose was bigger than myself, and I want to pay forward because the amount of people that have helped me... the list of people that have contributed to where I am now is insane.
The EP is called 'Kiddo' because this has been an uphill battle for me. As a female in the industry, as a female of colour, some people will demean me. So it's like, 'OK, you wanna call me kiddo? I'll show you kiddo.'
I'm sensitive. I'm proud of being sensitive. I'm proud of being empathetic.
Ugh, I'm a Gemini!
I ended up moving to Miami and bartending, but the party atmosphere is a black hole down there. People party all the time, and if you're working in the industry, you're sleeping all day and at the club all night, day after day.
I purposely try to make my music cinematic. I try to inspire visuals even though I'm only an instrument of sound.
I know I'm grown, but there's a part of me who will eternally be six years old.
The key to having something beautiful is being able to convey a normal human emotion but say it in a way that's never been said.
Sometimes if I feel the songs are too much, it hurts, but then I open my eyes: people are singing along or crying, and the 7-year-old in me is like, 'Yeahhh.'
When I'm performing, I have to tell myself, 'Wait a minute. You need to be here right now. You need to hold these memories and remember time is golden.'
Paying attention to my breath makes me happy to be alive. And that really grounds me during a performance.
I feel like it's dangerous to get complacent and celebrate too much... You can't get comfortable.
I'm a fan of leaving people hungry; I don't like leaving people satisfied.
First time I met Kehlani was through Jahaan Sweet - a really dope producer; then we linked up in Toronto, and the vibe was just lit. She's a really warm human being.
I'm just happy to know that no part of me thinks that I made it. Everything in me says you need to keep going, keep working.
The first time I went crowd surfing was heaven.
My thought process is I have been lied to so much by people who I thought I could trust that it motivates me to want to be as honest as possible, to project that energy, because that is how I want people to treat me.
Honestly, the angrier I am, the looser my tongue is... when I get angry, it's just a motor mouth, and it just goes off, which is great, but it doesn't really work unless I'm very, very passionate about what I'm talking about.
I love being in the woods, when I can just walk barefoot in the grass and just sit down and breathe. I love that so much.
I'm proud of the fact that I can just focus on the bullseye and go. Thank God, I don't have to worry about distractions or veering off course because my focus is very defined. I'm proud of that.
I'm all about polarities and juxtapositions.
I'd get out at school at 3:00 P.M., show up to dance practice at 6:30 P.M., practice for three hours till 9:00 P.M., get home at midnight, and try to do whatever homework I could before getting back up for 7:00 A.M. But I did it because I liked dancing, and I loved the music.
Luckily, everyone that I've collaborated with, everyone that has been willing to offer guidance and advice, they've all been dope people.
I struggle with insecurities. I struggle with forgiveness. I struggle with letting someone go that did me dirty without vengeance, which is an evil thing.
