INTERVIEW: Jessie Reyez Talks Single 'Figures,' Her Roots & Family

There have been a lot of amazing artists to come out of Toronto, the latest being singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez. The 26-year-old picked up the guitar early on in life and began songwriting while in high school. And after graduating, Jessie decided she wanted to pursue a career in music. 

This year, Reyez was featured on Calvin Harris' Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 album on a song called "Hard To Love," and released her debut EP Kiddo, which features her single "Figures," a song inspired by a breakup she went through. 

Jessie explains to iHeartRadio that the inspiration and meaning behind "Figures" came from a very real breakup, and the emotions she was experiencing poured right into music. She tells us:

"'Figures' was a time capsule of a breakup that I went through. I was just going through it, and crying, and sad, and happy to be away from home, because I was across the pond in Europe at the time. And I was given the opportunity to just let it out on the mic."

Jessie was born in Toronto, Canada to Colombian parents, and describes the city as a "mosaic" of different cultures and races. She explains that her roots in the Canadian city have helped to influence her songs. 

"I feel like [Toronto] is a mosaic of cultures, it's a mosaic of races. It's cool because I come from an immigrant family, so it's nice to be able to have grown up somewhere where it's normal to wave your parents' flag, and wave the Canadian flag, and wave both proudly, and you can hold on to your roots. Spanish is my first language. I didn't learn English until I went to school. And I think that was facilitated by the fact that I was born in Toronto."

Not only is Jessie very in touch with her roots, she's also very family oriented. In fact, quite a few family members had a hand in her Kiddo EP's cover art. Involved in creating the visual for the seven-track set were her nephew, her niece, her cousin, and close friend. Jessie explains:

"My niece is actually the little kid on it. My nephew did the calligraphy, the typing on it. That's his writing. And, my cousin Jenny Castillo Celly, Jenny Celly Photography, did the photography. And it was actually also a brain child of TG from Toronto, who was not family, but he's remix fam [The Remix Project]. It was a team effort."

Photo: Rachel Kaplan