Jessica Reyez was born on June 12, 1991 in the Jane and Finch/Driftwood area of Toronto, Ontario to Colombian parents. She was introduced to the guitar by her father, leading to a career in art and music. She played guitar as a child and began writing her own music in high school. Around age 7, she moved to Brampton. Her roots brought her back to Toronto during her sophomore year. After graduating, she opted out of college and instead chose to pursue her music while doing odd jobson the side. In 2012, Reyez and her family moved to Florida, where she was primarily bartending and busking on the beach. but returned to Toronto in 2014 after being accepted to The Remix Project's Academy of Recording Arts. At the Remix Project, Reyez was mentored by Daniel Daley, from Dvsn, and her music was heard by King Louie.
In 2014, she and King Louie released a joint single titled "Living in the Sky", followed by a second single, "It Hurts ", in 2015. In early 2017, she released the single "Shutter Island" and toured Europe opening for PartyNextDoor. Her follow-up single, "Figures", was premiered by Zane Lowe on Beats 1 radio, alongside its music video. "Figures" peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2017 and was certified triple platinum by Music Canada. In April 2017, Reyez released her debut EP, Kiddo as well as her short filmGatekeeper, which addressed sexism and exploitation in the music industry. It specifically was based on her experience with music producerNoel "Detail" Fisher, who was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including artist Bebe Rexha. Kiddo peaked at #83 on the Canadian Album Chart. Kiddo was placed on the Long List of the 2017 Polaris Music Prize and lead to four nominations at the 2018 Juno Awards, where she won Breakthrough Artist. She also received two 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards nominations for Best New Canadian Artist and Fan Fave Video for "Shutter Island". She was also nominated for two 2018 MTV Music Video Awards, including Push Artist of the Year and Video With A Message. Reyez performed "Figures" at the 2017 BET Awards on June 25, 2017 and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on August 8, 2017. Later in 2017, she signed a record and publishing deal with Island Records.
''Being Human in Public'' (2018–2019)
named Reyez one of the "10 Hip-Hop and R&B Artists to Watch in 2018". She also received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination for the song "Cotton Candy". Reyez released her second EP, Being Human in Public, and toured across North America. The EP won 2019's R&B/Soul Recording of The Year at the 2019 Juno Awards and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. It also appeared on the short list for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. In August, Reyez collaborated with Eminem on "Nice Guy" and "Good Guy", from the album Kamikaze, both charting on the Billboard Hot 100 and appeared on the soundtrack to Fifty Shades Freed. On April 9, 2019, Reyez released the single "Imported" featuring 6lack, a re-working of a song off her last EP. The single was later certified Gold by both the RIAA and Music Canada. She also had a cameo in the Netflix film, Someone Great.
''Before Love Came to Kill Us'' (2020–present)
Reyez received her first Grammy nomination, when Being Human in Public was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Reyez opened for Billie Eilish on her Where Do We Go? world tour, with some of the dates postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. She was also booked to perform for the first time at Coachella festival, which was also postponed due to the pandemic. Reyez released her debut studio album, Before Love Came to Kill Us, on March 27, 2020. The album includes collaborations with Eminem and 6lack, with the deluxe edition including additional features from Rico Nasty, Melii, JID, and A Boogie wit da Hoodie. The album was preceded by the single "Love in the Dark" and also included previous singles "Figures" and "Imported". Before Love Came to Kill Us debuted at #13 on the Billboard 200 and was short-listed for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. Reyez was featured in Beyoncé's musical film Black Is King, which premiered on Disney+ in July 2020. Reyez was nominated for two awards at the 2020 Juno Awards: Artist of the Year and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, winning the latter award.
