Quotes from Jessie Reyez

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.'

Talk to your enemies; sometimes ignorance comes from a lack of understanding.

I think about legacy, of course. I don't want to make my life nothing. I want to know that I died and made a massive difference. I want to know that my life purpose was bigger than myself, and I want to pay forward because the amount of people that have helped me... the list of people that have contributed to where I am now is insane.

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

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!'

The power's in the people, more so because we have platforms that we can control, like Instagram, Twitter, Soundcloud, where we can deliver straight. If you're building a fanbase, it's in your hands; it's not monopoly. You can do it.

Amy Winehouse affected my life tremendously. I think maybe she was the first sense of intimacy that I had with a complete stranger, musically speaking.

I ended up moving to Miami and bartending, but the party atmosphere is a black hole down there. People party all the time, and if you're working in the industry, you're sleeping all day and at the club all night, day after day.

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.

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.

My earliest memories have to do with music.

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

I love soul music.

Spanish is my first language.

To be blunt, I feel like lyricism in Spanish is of a different quality than English. You can get really poetic in Spanish, but I feel like if you do that in English, you risk sounding cheesy. In Spanish, it's never that. It's always this deep, passionate, beautiful imagery; it's painted different, a different color.

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

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.

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 think life would be a lot easier if people were able to stand in their mistakes and not backtrack. If you did something wrong, own it. Like, hold your own.

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

Frank Ocean - I have so much respect for him.

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.

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

You can give a bunch of opportunities to people, but if they are not ambitious, nothing is going to happen.