'PAID IN MEMORIES' Is Just the Jessie Reyez Project We Needed

Jessie Reyez has made her triumphant return. That’s not even to say she’d been gone for too long – having dropped her sophomore studio album YESSIE back in September of 2022 – but rather to say that her third studio album, PAID IN MEMORIES, is one that’s been a long time coming.

Reyez revealed the first single from the LP back in August of 2023 – “JEANS” with Miguel – which she followed up with “SHUT UP” with Big Sean, “RIDIN” with Lil Wayne and “JUST LIKE THAT” with Ari Lennox. She then reminded us that, despite being tapped in, she can do it all on her own, lifting the veil on solo cuts “GOLIATH” and “PSILOCYBIN & DAISIES,” the latter of which interpolates the Smashing Pumpkins.

Elsewhere throughout the 21-song tracklist come features from Lil Yachty on “HEAD N HEADACHES,” Deyaz on “BROTHER” and, of course, frequent collaborator 6LACK on “6LESSINGS,” which signals the pair’s fourth studio collaboration following up Reyez’s “IMPORTED” and “FOREVER” and 6LACK’s “Homicide.”

“My relationship with success has been a little convoluted for a long time,” Reyez recalls in a press statement.

“I was scared of it when I first got started in the industry. It was an ongoing joke that I would give away a lot of my hits because I write a lot of music for other people as well. To be honest, maybe they were right. But the operative word here is WERE. I’ve done un-packing, some of it has to do with being the underdog for too long, another has to do with not having been born rich, and almost feeling like all of the success that I’ve been lucky enough to have feels like a jacket that was too tight,” she continues, emphasizing the past tense of the sentiment.

PAID IN MEMORIES is Reyez’s reflective return. “I’ve been in the gym, I’ve been growing my biceps, I’ve been becoming more familiar with feeling at home. I’m reaping the fruits from the seeds I’ve buried years ago. And I’ve been lucky enough that my success has not just come materially. I’ve been really fortunate that along with the heartbreak, I’ve had beautiful love stories. Along with people that I’ve lost along the way, I’ve had people that stuck it out with me. I’ve been paid in more ways than one, and luckily, I’ve been well paid in memories.”

“I NEVER SAID I WAS SANE” kicks it off – a more mature take on Reyez’s 2017 cut “Shutter Island” – while other notable inclusions include a four-second voicemail from Lil Wayne on ”GOAT NOTE” and “NYB,” which is short for “New York Baby.”

**I NEVER SAID I WAS SANE**
**GOLIATH**
**NYB**
**PALO SANTO**
**CUND’T B ME**
**BEGGIN 4 LUV**
**PSILOCYBIN & DAISIES**
**GOAT NOTE**
**RIDIN (WITH LIL WAYNE)**
**GUESS IMU**
**NIGHTS WE’LL NEVER HAVE**
**JEANS (WITH MIGUEL)**
**TORONTO SHORDIE**
**6LESSINGS (WITH 6LACK)**
**HEAD N HEADACHES (WITH LIL YACHTY)**
**BEEN ABOUTA YEAR**
**BROTHER (WITH DEYAZ)**
**L.O.Y.L.**
*****FREE*****
*****JUST LIKE THAT (WITH ARI LENNOX)*****
*****SHUT UP (WITH BIG SEAN)*****

Stream PAID IN MEMORIES – out everywhere now.