When it came time for Toronto artist Jessie Reyez to name her long-awaited second album, it turned out there was only one name that could truly capture it all: Yessie.
It’s a nickname, but it’s also how she’s referred by those closest to her: management, friends, and family. And Yessie is the kind of personal project that gets deep into who the artist is and what they’re about.
“The album was originally going to be called Self,” Reyez says. “But as time passed, I was going over everything and Self sounded general. This project isn’t general. I’m not writing about other people, I’m writing for me.”
For this Complex Canada original video, Alex Narvaez drove up to Columbus Bakery in North York to eat empanadas and other Colombian delicacies with the 31-year-old star. She spent a lot of time at the bakery in her younger years and it’s still a go-to for the Reyez family. In this interview, Reyez discusses favourite dishes, the inspiration behind Yessie (including a famous Los Diabolitos sample that almost didn’t clear), self-care, singing in Spanish, hometown shows, and Latin Heritage Month.
Yessie dropped in September and Reyez will perform two Toronto shows Nov. 28 and 30 at History.
