In the midst of a national quarantine, Jessie Reyez drops her highly anticipated debut LP Before Love Came to Kill Us. The Colombian-Canadian artist takes us through a rollercoaster of sounds and emotions through her brutally honest, introspective post-break up thoughts. Reyez’s newest project includes features from 6LACK on IMPORTED and Eminem on COFFIN.
Jessie sets the tone for the album with her first line “I should’ve fucked your friends” off the opening track DO YOU LOVE ME, bringing us through her unfiltered thoughts of contemplating revenge against her ex by blowing his brains out. Reyez plays with these themes of mortality and love throughout the album, proclaiming “I know nobody gets outta love alive, we either breakup when we’re young, or we say goodbye when we die” on KILL US.
Reyez solidifies these motifs through the bleak cemetery imagery on the album cover, showcasing the Toronto-based artist seated on a coffin in the middle of the night. On the track COFFIN, Jessie talks about committing suicide to join a lover in “a coffin, handmade for two”. The track vividly paints a picture of love, loss and death all intertwined.
The singer later draws parallels between the invasive and possessive nature of love, war and colonialism on the track INTRUDERS when she sings “Put down my flag, this is mine from now on”. She talks of guarding and shooting any potential intruders on her claimed land, begging to question wether or not the possessiveness in these situations are rightfully warranted.
Jessie Reyez’s debut LP is an exciting showcase of her diverse talents, introspective lyricism and includes a wide array of diverse, genre-blending sounds throughout the album.
Listen to Jessie Reyez’s debut LP “Before Love Came to Kill Us”: