Top 50 Jessie Reyez Quotes

Before I pass, I want to start an orphanage and name it after my mother. She worked with kids all her life.

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.

The first time I went crowd surfing was heaven.

All of the songs on ‘Kiddo’ were a part of my soul; they’re songs that I could never give away.

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.

I’m a fan of writing, and writing letters, because I hate when I’m trying to get a thought out, and I can’t.

The last thing I want to do is get too happy.

I can’t be so guarded up all the time. I know it’s not healthy.

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.’

I want to make something great. I want to make something that I can be proud of in 10 years, something that is timeless.

At Afropunk, everyone can be themselves, and I think that’s beautiful.

You have to have your own back.

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.

Paying attention to my breath makes me happy to be alive. And that really grounds me during a performance.

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.

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.

If you’re serious about your music, there’s this thing called The Remix Project in Toronto, and it’s an art incubator, and it’s basically like free school. If you don’t got money for studio, you don’t have the networks, they help you.

I remember that I wanted the Razor scooter, and my dad went to the garage, spent one or two days, and built one out of wood and painted it with the Colombian colors.

Spanish is my first language.

I know I’m grown, but there’s a part of me who will eternally be six years old.

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.

I feel like humans, when you’re faced with decisions, you can go up and down: duality.

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.

Some people’s parents listened to the Beatles… but my family is Alquimia, Celia Cruz, and Carlos Vives – this old, rich Colombian music. I loved hearing that while I was growing up.

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.

There are things I still criticize myself heavy for. There are days I have to pick myself back up, but that, to me, is success; it’s getting to both sides: physical and the spiritual, mental. Just peace. Peace of mind.

I feel like it’s dangerous to get complacent and celebrate too much… You can’t get comfortable.

At every show, I pray with my band. It’s a big thing.

The second you’re not honest with yourself, you’ve lost everything.

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.

I know I’m my own worst critic.

I’m all about polarities and juxtapositions.

Canada has this really cool way – specifically Toronto – of encouraging you to wave both flags: if you’ve been born there, like, wave your flag and then wave your parent’s flag, too, and be proud of it.

The stories in the songs come from my real life.

Ugh, I’m a Gemini!

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.

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.

When you come from an immigrant home, you’re in a whole different world until you leave your house. In my teenage years, I had to learn to switch cultures the second I left my house and, when I came back, to go back to my fundamentals.

I’m very meticulous.

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!’

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 soul music.

I’m appreciating every single bit of success I get, no matter how small.

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.’

When I went to school, I didn’t know a lick of English, but it was okay because there were so many immigrants in the area, a lot of the kids didn’t speak a lick of English, either. It was normal to have a wicked accent.

My earliest memories have to do with music.

I’m a fan of leaving people hungry; I don’t like leaving people satisfied.

I like being able to just put everything out on the table and letting the cream float.

Someone can be miles away, but if they’re in your heart, that means they’re locked in your head, too.

I remember going to audition in Toronto for a girl group. I was 15 or 16. I went in with my guitar. I had the wickedest nerves, man! I was decent, but not good enough.