JessB’s career has taken her around the world, from the New Zealand hiphop stages into Amsterdam studios, and stages opening for artists such as Kehlani and Coldplay, all while her music continuously shifts in sound.
The latest album, Matters of the Heart, was never intended to be about a relationship, with the songs all emerging organically from particular emotional moments to create an emotional web as opposed to an intentionally constructed narrative. “When I set out to make the album, I didn’t set out to tell a story. The album honestly just fell out of me. I was quite literally writing to the experiences that I was going through at the time, and it was so funny how it all came together because as we started going through it, we were looking at the tracks that we’d done, and I was like ‘this is like the 5 stages of grief’, which is obviously a psychological concept. It’s like when you move through something like a breakup, there are some songs that are really angry and then there are some songs that are really sad, I think it was this process of writing to the specific feeling that I had in a moment. When I was in the studio, it kind of created this web of emotion and transmuting the feelings of a breakup, from, almost not necessarily in order, but in the ways that it came up. It was a really healing experience to be able to do that with Andrew, who’s the producer of the album, because we were also yarning about life as we went. It felt really authentic, and not forced.”
One of the key themes on the album is that of emotional contradiction. The album moves through the excitement and lust of a new relationship and then through conflict, hurt, and separation. As we don’t experience relationships in neat emotional categories, JessB allows these contradictions to remain in her songs. “Two things can exist at once, and what you feel yesterday may be the complete opposite of what you feel today – but that doesn’t make those feelings any less valid. I think the track FUBIMU in particular is exactly that contradiction, where it’s like, I am so mad at you, but I still miss you and I still love you, in lots of ways. You hurting me doesn’t automatically cancel out of negate all of the great times or the happiness that you brought me, and that’s a confusing place to be, right? When you’re trying to move through something, because you’re like, am I crazy? And I think that was my genuine experience, and it was just kind of how I was. I didn’t censor myself too much, I guess, in terms of that. I was happy to show that kind of contradiction, that contradicting narrative I guess, running through all of it.”
The songs were written over an extended period, some while she was still processing what was happening, and others after she reached particular realisations. The writing didn’t necessarily help JessB to understand what was happening in real time, but rather allowing her to communicate what she’d come to understand. “It allowed me to kind of express how I was feeling and transmute it into something that became like, you know, like if you start a task and then you make this thing that you’re proud of and then you finish it, and then you’ve got this thing to hold. It’s changed that feeling’s purpose, like it’s now become this thing that’s more postitve leaning because you’re like, oh cool, I’ve made this song and it’s perfectly encapsulated my feelings. I think being able to move through a creative process with your feelings is really healing and rewarding, in this tangible way. It just becomes like an emotion that’s swirling around, it’s just a feeling that becomes a thing you can speak to and hold and listen to. That was a really, really cool process and and something that was kind of new for me, I guess, in terms of the way that I’m not necessarily new, but it was definitely a deeper dive into that way of working.”
The progression from Jess’ previous album, Feels Like Home to Matters of the Heart shows the journey from finding a sense of identity and self to a place of emotional exposure, intimacy, and relationships. Each project becomes a reflection of where she was at the time, adding to her vast toolkit as she adds to the version of JessB that we know today. “Every year that goes by, we have new experiences as people and we grow. I wouldn’t want to be in the same place that I was when I wrote Feels Like Home because that would mean that I hadn’t grown, you know? I think they were relevant to my life and what I was feeling at the time, and the focus of my life at the time. They’re all just new tools, like I’m putting things in my toolkit as I’m going along. It’s not that I don’t relate to those songs anymore, I still 100% do. I think it’s just all a journey of self, or to self, or with self, in terms of where I’m at with my life at the time that I’m writing music.”
Part of this evolution is Jess’ ability to draw from various influences and genres in the creation of her sound. While rap and hiphop forms an important foundation, her back catalogue shows Afro, reggaeton, dancehall, and various club subgenre influences. “My elevator pitch is not short, because I’m like, well I started in hiphop, but it’s almost like there’s still elements of hiphop in everything I do. I’m still a rapper, but a lot of the sounds that I use are taken from from Afro or reggaeton or dancehall or dance music. I don’t like to be boxed in. There’s certain genres that have more rigid, maybe, not criteria, but an R&B song is very specific, the sound and the way it’s structured and all those things. For me personally, I didn’t want to be a one-genre hyper artist. I think it keeps things fresh for me as well.”
Performing internationally offers an opportunity for Jess to introduce herself to audiences for the first time, rather than an audience who already knows what to expect. “I always treat it as an introduction, you know. Like ‘guys you don’t know who I am, but this is what I do’ kind of thing, and it’s always really, really fun, trying to win people over and introduce them to what I do.” Having the opportunity to perform on stages alongside some of music’s biggest names has offered Jess an opportunity to witness some of the high levels of performance close up. “Watching anyone who’s at that level, they just have a way about them. Touring with Kehlani was incredible, just watching how she moved, and how her team moved, and the way that she just participated in her own tour, in her own show, was definitely very inspiring.”
The importance of community and creating spaces where people feel like they belong hasn’t changed as her audience becomes more international. If anything, the world has shown her how much bigger community can be. “Part of the reason I love travelling is becuase I get to tap into communities that I really resonate with and relate to in different places in the world. I think that everything I do is about community and connection, and ultimately the big wide world just offers more of that. You know, me and my friends always talk about our international family, where it’s like we have friends all over the world, from different walks of life, and doing different things with their lives but yet somehow we’ve all been able to meet, and connect, and share experiences together. That’s one of my favourite parts of it all.”
Across her career, Jess has made some very different music, from her earlier recordings such as Bloom to her latest album. Looking back, she says, “I feel like the essence of it is all the same. It’s always been about me, I guess, growing into myself. I feel like sometimes listening to my old music is like when you look at old photos of yourself and you’re like, ‘what the hell am I wearing?’ – I definitely feel like that sometimes when I listen to my older stuff, but at the same time, it was all part of the journey to arrive here. It’s all been important in my artistic growth, so to speak, and I think in terms of my sound specifically, it’s like as I had more access to my own skills or resources and then developed my skills further, I was able to hone in over time on what I was actually trying to do. When you start out, you’re just experiementing and working with what you have.”
If there is one thing which JessB hopes that listeners take away from the new album, it isn’t having a deeper understanding of who JessB is – it’s the listener understanding themselves. “I think sometimes you can see artists and perceive them to be one way, and I didn’t ever want to be perceived as one specific type of person or thing. I’m obviously a very deep feeler, and I wanted to be able to share that part of myself. But, on a bigger scale than that, it’s about being able to find comfort in a shared experience. If people related to any of these songs in any way, and it helped them feel less lonely or they felt represented by what was being said, then that for me would be the coolest part.”
For all her travels and success so far, there’s one place where Jess would love to perform: New York. “Home of hiphop, you know what I’m saying? I’ll take whatever I can get!” Always hungry for the next experience, JessB is an artist who refuses not only to be boxed in musically, but also one who refuses to define a ceiling of how far her career could go.
Check out JessB’s latest album Matters of the Heart on various streaming platforms now.
