Jessie Reyez' Soul-Baring Pop Will Make Her Toronto's Next Breakout Act

There's something special and incredible about seeing a Toronto artist on the come up. Toronto is home to many, many talented acts who face a variety of ongoing challenges just to get recognized. It is truly a testament when they get the accolades they are so rightfully deserving of. Though the city is known for our relentless resting screwface, we collectively root for our artists from the proverbial stands. A win for one is a beacon of light for all and, currently, that beacon is shining on Jessie Reyez .

Reyez's story is one crafted by chance. After having moved between New York and Miami, working through and out of depression, she released her first project Kiddo, ultimately finding haven within music and an audience receptive to her profound talent. She's been able to call Toronto home; rising to her calling while representing the city with her acoustic guitar in hand. The line of excited fans wrapped around Toronto's Mod Club two hours before the door's opened. Reyez was able to make her sold out show feel like an intimate performance. And perhaps that's what the best part of being a fan of hers is: you can always count on her raw, relatable, and lively presence.

Decked in an oversized sweatshirt, a neon orange tee and denim shorts, she launched into her set with "F**k It." It basically felt like we were all part of a massive sleepover and Reyez spilled the tea on what she did to her ex's car. "Before anyone fucked with my music, they fucked with my covers," Reyez said after singing a few of her own tracks. And with that, she sang her renditions of Chance the Rappers' "Cocoa Butter Kisses" and the Kanye-assisted Schoolboy Q track "That Part" before teasing her audience with two new songs. Reyez has only released an EP so far, so it's a testament to her talent that fans are ready to lap up any and all new tracks she gives them.

Though Reyez's sets can be characterized as intimate performances, often a connection between her and the listener, she also made her set a collaborative affair; emphasizing the community found in music. A few years ago, Reyez happened to cross paths with Chicago rapper King Louie—another one of those incidents where chance was in her favour. They worked on a track together called "Living in the Sky" and have remained close since. Fans felt their friendship when he graced the stage to perform his song, "Live and Die in Chicago." Yet, it wouldn't be a homecoming party if she didn't have hometown pals to welcome her back with open vocal cords. For Reyez, it was a Toronto ting from time as she performed alongside Allan Rayman performing "Repeat" and a duet of Alessia Cara's "Here."

"I make songs for people I fuck with and then I make songs for people I don't fuck with," she bellowed into the mic as she segued into "Gatekeepers" a song that gave a deeply powerful and personal music video and short film about how she was pressured to compromise herself in exchange for getting ahead in the music industry. With a backdrop of red and white flashing lights, she shared her rage and, maybe, found some catharsis.

"Singing songs in my city means so much to me," she said in-between tears as she ended the night with the chart topper "Figures," which truly was the pinnacle moment of her set. The Colombian flag hung on a balcony to the left of the stage where Jessie's family sat; a figurative and literal indication that she was home. Her smallest efforts like her anecdotes between songs, her DJ asking the crowd to pronounce her name as her family does (Yessie), and continually thanking her support systems, made everyone feel like they were part of the family.

Reyez had no openers and yet was able to fill an entire venue based on the strength of her music alone. It truly makes Reyez's show a full circle moment. Reyez was able to come back to her stomping grounds and be embraced by adoring fans who chanted back every single one of her lyrics with as much passion as she gave them on the stage. It's true that not all heroes wear capes, but Jessie is a hometown hero whose superpower is her soul-baring honesty, which has given her place to rise to where she is today.

Sharine had a lot of feelings at this show. Follow her on Twitter.