Afropunk Fest 2018: Jessie Reyez Is the Artist to Watch

After lighting up the stage with a performance her single "Apple Juice" at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday, Jessie Reyez will set Brooklyn ablaze when she performs at the 2018 Afropunk Fest.

Since emerging on the music scene with her hit song "Figures" last year, the young songstress gained the affection of millions of fans young and old across the globe, all of whom have become addicted to her flavorful style and powerful, often gut-wrenching, lyrics.

While her music has placed her on a number of festival stages since the release of her 2017 EP, Kiddo, the Colombian-Canadian singer told Newsweek she's especially pumped to perform at Afropunk, an annual festival that celebrates people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures through music, art and community.

It's particularly fitting and timely for Reyez to perform at such a festival, considering the singer and songwriter released her first Spanish-language song, "Sola," off her forthcoming project, in early August. More than likely, fans will be delighted with a special performance of the song and more of Reyez's contagious energy when she hits the stage at Afropunk on Saturday.

Check out Newsweek's full interview with Reyez below.

How has your transition as an artist been since releasing Kiddo?

I'm older. I like to think I'm wiser. There's still heartbreak there. There's still shit. I think it's interesting when people say it's crazy for someone to be sad after something is embraced the way [Kiddo was]. But give somebody with heartbreak a million bucks, they're still a person with heartbreak and a million bucks. That being said, it feels good to be here. It feels good to be talking to you. The way [the music's] been received feels good.

Did this latest project help you get through your feelings a little bit more?

Kinda, yeah. I don't know that it works like you can write a song and then things are good. I don't know if it makes you feel better. It's like when you're sick and you need to throw up and then you vomit 'cause you need to get it out, and then you feel like that [exhales in relief]. You're stomach still feels sick. It's still in your body. The moment where I feel the most humbled or filled with purpose is when someone else is touched by [my music] and they say, "This song helped me," or "It made me feel happy," or something like that. Those are moments when I feel like I have a purpose and I feel like it's bigger than me and what I've gone through.

Has a fan ever made you cry?

Oh my God, yes! Once a week! It's the worst. I'm such a sap. Sometimes it's on the street, sometimes it's in my DMs, sometimes it's a cover [of one of my songs]. The last thing that made me cry was Cubique [dancers on World of Dance]. They did a performance to "Figures" and made it about domestic abuse and I sat there watching in tears. It was so cool.

I've seen you perform in New York before and people way older than you were in the audience crying and singing the words to your songs. How does it feel to know that your music is impacting people regardless of age or race or upbringing?

Moments like that bring me the most comfort. There are moments in life that are hard and make you question who you are, why you're hearing, what you're doing. It's the moments when I'm having connections with strangers based on something they heard me sing or music that gives me purpose.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Amy Winehouse, I love. Bob Marley, I love. Those are who I'd say I've listened to the most and have impacted me the most. Carlos Vives from Colombia, he's so sick. A lot of old Colombian music. Queen, I fucking love Queen.

"Sola" is the latest single off your upcoming project and it's the first fully Spanish-language song you've put out. What is it about?

It's about chilling on feelings and [telling a person] not to profess your love for me because your mother isn't going to approve. I'm not the type of woman your mother wants to see you with. That's the verse. The chorus goes into everything that the [woman they want] is. [A woman that's] sanctified, holy, doesn't talk back, doesn't make scenes in public, forgives him easily and quietly and all this shit that's impossible, beyond submissive. That's what your mom wants for you and I'm not that type of woman, so this isn't going to work.

Can we expect to hear more Spanish-language from you? Will you give us more of your Colombian roots through your music?

Hell yeah. That's important to me because it's my first language. It's my kin language. It's what I speak to my family. Using it in music, it almost feels like another layer of intimacy because it's something so close to my upbringing. That being said, it takes me longer to [write and sing in Spanish] because I didn't go to school in Colombia. There's always this f***ing weird thing where sometimes I think in Spanish and sometimes I think in English, but with Spanish it's just what I speak with family or what I speak in the streets. When we're talking about terminology and grammar—there's no f***ing way because I didn't go to school for it. But it's important to show that in my music because I want to show where I'm from and be proud of where I came from. It's part of my blood, the color of my skin, all of that. I have to share all of that.

Who is your music for?

Anybody going uphill. A lot of my life I felt like [I was] trying to find my foot-in, trying to find out who I was. High school was difficult because I was a massive tomboy and then I had my first heartbreak. Honestly, if it wasn't for my family, my mom and my dad, I'd be fucked. I lost a lot of friends. There's a lot of times where I felt like a loner like I didn't stand out. Those days where you feel like you can only really count on yourself and then those days when you're super fucked and you can't even trust your shadow. Anybody who's experienced that, going up-hill. Anybody who never went to college that's aching to prove they don't need it. Any women out there that are facing a battle. Immigrants and kids of immigrants that feel like they're alone. I hope they hear the fight in my s***.

Is this your first time performing at Afropunk?

It's not my first festival, but it's the first time I'll be at Afropunk.

Why is a festival like Afropunk important for you to perform at?

Because of representation. Because of culture. Because of the vibes. As a Latina, as a woman of color, f*** yeah I'm excited I've been asked to be there. I can't wait to see everybody. One of the best things about shows is that you get to connect with everybody, and this is something specifically connecting people of color and celebrating people of color.

What's your favorite festival moment, as a fan or as a performer?

Bonnaroo [in June]. We were in a f***ing tent and it started out with just a few people there before I went on and then it just got so crowded, hundreds of people. It was so fu***ing cool. It was so fun; the energy was insane. There was crowd-surfing, people were throwing these big balls in the air. Chance [the Rapper] was there. Kali Uchis was there. I got to see them. Chance performed right before me with Knox Fortune and then after I was Kali Uchis. I got to watch, take a break, have a drink, then perform, talk to some fans. I got to hop the fence and chill with people for like 20 minutes before Kali came out. It was the best.

What can fans expect to see during your set this weekend? Any new songs from your upcoming release?

Yeah. There will be some new things. I'm so excited. I'm bringing my band, which is the first time I'll have my own band with me and they're f***ing nasty. I'm so excited.

What does your family think about everything happening with your music and the fan reaction?

They think it's crazy. They think it's wild. It's insane for them, especially because they've watched me struggle. It's cool to be able to share some of these moments with them. It's such a blessing. I'm the happiest of all bringing my folks on the road, putting them on a tour bus, bringing my parents to a performance. It's the shit I dreamed about when I was a kid. They get scared, nervous. They see what this industry does to people, but they're mostly happy for me. A lot of scared, but mostly happy.