PAID IN MEMORIES

the take

There's just something about Jessie Reyez that makes me keep coming back to her music every time she drops something new. For an album that's this long, a part of me quickly got weary on if it'll be able to sustain my interest the entire time. Thanks to Jessie's authentic point of view, it kept me wanting more and more until the album was done playing. What I always adored about Jessie Reyez is the fact that she's musically multi-dimensional, switching genres from song to song and still somehow making it work cohesively. For me, the album kind of goes through multiple cycles: starts off amazing, then falls off a bit (still good, though), then repeat. Songs like "**NYB**", "**CUDN'T B ME**", and **TORONTO SHORDIE**" are some of my favorites that showcase Jessie's vulnerability to her emotions, while sometimes it may come off as a bit too much for my ears. (I'm looking at you, "**RIDIN**" and "**HEAD N HEADACHES**... but I might be a hypocrite because I enjoy the song **JEANS**.) A part of the reason why "PAID IN MEMORIES" is a bit up and down may have to do with the production she was working with, buuuuuut it doesn't really take away from the body of work all too much. I've yet to see Jessie Reyez disappoint me, as this was one of those ones I kinda slept on, despite me being a fan since 2017. Glad I came around to this album sooner instead of later.