Wikipedia

Before Love Came to Kill Us

Before Love Came to Kill Us is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez.[4] It was released on March 27, 2020, by FMLY and Island Records.[5] The record was prefaced with the singles "Figures", "Imported" with 6lack, and "Love in the Dark", and the promotional single "Ankles".[6][7] A deluxe edition with three additional songs was made available digitally on April 9, 2020.[8] A super deluxe edition of the album was released on September 25, 2020.[9]

Before Love Came to Kill Us
Studio album by
Jessie Reyez
ReleasedMarch 27, 2020
Genre
Length46:52
Label
Producer
Jessie Reyez chronology
Being Human in Public
(2018) 		Before Love Came to Kill Us
(2020) 		Yessie
(2022)
Singles from Before Love Came to Kill Us
  1. "Figures"
    Released: August 26, 2016
  2. "Imported"
    Released: April 19, 2019
  3. "Love in the Dark"
    Released: January 23, 2020
  4. "Intruders"
    Released: June 19, 2020[3]
  5. "Before Love Came to Kill Us"
    Released: August 7, 2020

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [11]
Clash8/10[12]
Exclaim!9/10[13]
NME     [14]
The Guardian     [15]
Pitchfork6.8/10[16]
The Telegraph     [17]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+ (  )[1]

Before Love Came to Kill Us was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on nine reviews.[10]

For AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "Although it's all over the place, Before Love Came to Kill Us radiates conviction from front to back, and is without doubt a true representation of its creator."[11] Exclaim!'s Ryan B. Patrick affirms that the album "has been built to last" and is "one of the better albums in an already interesting 2020."[13] Rhian Daly of NME called it "heart-stoppingly good" and a "beautiful, heart-wrenching debut that sees its creator come good on her early promise."[14] Writing for Clash, Narzra Ahmed complimented Reyez's versatility and adjectived the album "an excellent debut".[12] Kathryn St. Asaph of Pitchfork pointed out that the album's genre range works in a "satisfying" way "not because she whizzes across multiple genres, but because of the skill she displays at each".[16] The singer's uniqueness was praised by The Guardian's Kitty Empire, who labeled the tracks as "largely excellent".[15]

The album was shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize,[18] and for the Juno Award for Contemporary R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.[19] For the Polaris Music Prize, which followed a unique format of commissioning filmmakers to make short films inspired by the shortlisted albums due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada preventing the staging of a traditional gala, the album's film was directed by Alicia K. Harris.[20]

Track listing edit

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Do You Love Her"
3:16
2."Deaf (Who Are You)"
  • Reyez
  • Suby
Suby2:53
3."Intruders"
  • Akil King
  • Darius Ginn Jr.
  • Reyez
  • John Thomas Roach
  • Mario Jefferson
3:05
4."Coffin" (featuring Eminem)
  • Bizness Boi
  • Frelin
  • Eminem[a]
4:22
5."Ankles"
2:49
6."Imported" (with 6lack)
Hennedub3:45
7."La Memoria"
  • Björn Djupström
  • Reyez
  • Johann Deterville
  • Savannah Ré
  • Tobias Frelin
3:18
8."Same Side"
  • Reyez
  • Suby
Suby3:10
9."Roof"
  • Robertson
  • Reyez
  • Richard Isong
  • Bizness Boi
  • P2J
1:46
10."Dope"
  • Djupström
  • Reyez
Djupström2:38
11."Before Love Came to Kill Us[A]"
4:06
12."Love in the Dark"
  • Reyez
  • Djupström
  • Suby
  • Frelin
3:59
13."I Do"
  • King
  • Andre Harris
  • Ginn Jr.
  • Jaramye Daniels
  • Reyez
  • Jefferson
3:52
14."Figures"
  • Reyez
  • Djupström
  • Shy Carter
  • Frelin
  • Djupström
  • Frelin
3:58
Total length:46:57
Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Far Away II" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie and JID)
  • Chahayed
  • Vegyn
3:35
16."Ankles" (featuring Rico Nasty and Melii)
  • Blvk Jvck
  • Delicata[a]
  • The Monarch[a]
4:42
17."Worth Saving"
  • Reyez
  • Suby
Suby3:24
Total length:58:38
Target edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Sugar at Night"  2:57
16."No One's in the Room"  4:08
17."Far Away"
  • Reyez
  • Chahyaed
  • Vegyn
  • Chahayed
  • Vegyn
2:41
Before Love Came to Kill Us+
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."No One's in the Room"  4:08
2."Sugar at Night"  2:57
3."Before Love Came to Kill Us[A]"
  • Alexander Crossan
  • Reyez
  • Suby
  • Suby
  • Reyez
  • Jessy Aaron[a]
  • Mura Masa[a]
4:06
4."Roof"
  • Robertson
  • Reyez
  • Richard Isong
  • Bizness Boi
  • P2J
1:46
5."Coffin" (featuring Eminem)
  • Andre Robertson
  • Reyez
  • Marshall Mathers
  • Tobias Frelin
  • Bizness Boi
  • Frelin
  • Eminem[a]
4:22
6."Worth Saving"
  • Reyez
  • Suby
Suby3:24
7."I Do"
  • King
  • Andre Harris
  • Ginn Jr.
  • Jaramye Daniels
  • Reyez
  • Jefferson
3:52
8."Intruders"
  • Akil King
  • Darius Ginn Jr.
  • Reyez
  • John Thomas Roach
  • Mario Jefferson
3:05
9."Ankles"
  • Alexander Delicata
  • Andre Davidson
  • Andrew Harr
  • Jermaine Jackson
  • Reyez
  • Sean Davidson
  • Blvk Jvck
  • Delicata[a]
  • The Monarch[a]
2:49
10."La Memoria"
  • Björn Djupström
  • Reyez
  • Johann Deterville
  • Savannah Ré
  • Tobias Frelin
3:18
11."Same Side"
  • Reyez
  • Suby
Suby3:10
12."Figures"
  • Reyez
  • Djupström
  • Shy Carter
  • Frelin
  • Djupström
  • Frelin
3:58
13."Dope"
  • Djupström
  • Reyez
Djupström2:38
14."Imported" (with 6lack)
  • Reyez
  • Henrik Bryld Wolsing
  • Jaramye Daniels
  • Ricardo Valentine
Hennedub3:45
15."Far Away II" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie and JID)
  • Artist Julius Dubose
  • Destin Choice Route
  • Reyez
  • Rogét Chahayed
  • Chahayed
  • Vegyn
3:35
16."Do You Love Her"
  • Fredrik Ball
  • Jessie Reyez
  • Rui Afonso
  • Tim Suby
3:16
17."Love in the Dark"
  • Reyez
  • Djupström
  • Suby
  • Frelin
3:59
Notes
  • ^[a] indicates an additional producer
  • ^[b] indicates a co-producer
  • ^[c] indicates a vocal producer
  • The track's titles are stylized in all caps.

Charts edit

Charts performance for Before Love Came to Kill Us
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 17
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 198
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[23] 10
US Billboard 200[24] 13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[25] 9

Certifications edit

Certifications and sales for Before Love Came to Kill Us
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[26] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Release formats for Before Love Came to Kill Us
Region Date Format(s) Edition Label Ref.
Various March 27, 2020
Standard
[27]
CD Target exclusive
[28]
April 9, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Deluxe
[8]
September 25, 2020 Super deluxe
[9]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b The song was initially titled “Kill Us”.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hull, Tom (April 27, 2020). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Mahalingam, Udit (April 20, 2020). "Jessie Reyez stretches R&B to its limits on Before Love Came To Kill Us". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Jessie Reyez Tackles Colonialism in Animated 'Intruders' Video | uDiscover". 19 June 2020.
  4. ^ Bloom, Madison (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  5. ^ Mamo, Heran (January 21, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Announces Debut Album & Drops Feminist Anthem 'No Sweat'". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Rowley, Glenn (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Finds 'Love In The Dark' in Sparkling New Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Murphy, Sarah (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Previews Debut Album with "Love in the Dark" Video". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Hare, Anders (April 9, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Releases Deluxe Edition of 'Before Love Came to Kill Us'". Rated R&B. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Jessie Reyez — BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US+". 25 September 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Before Love Came To Kill Us by Jessie Reyez". Metacritic. United States: CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Before Love Came to Kill Us - Jessie Reyez". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Ahmed, Narzra (26 March 2020). "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us". Clash. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Patrick, Ryan B. (March 27, 2020). "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came to Kill Us". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Daly, Rhian (March 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez – Before Love Came To Kill Us review: a dheart-wrenching, ferocious and unfiltered debut". NME. Bandlab Technologies. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (March 21, 2020). "Jessie Reyez: Before Love Came to Kill Us review – an outrageously fine debut". The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Asaph, Kathryn St. (April 2, 2020). "Jessie Reyez: Before Love Came to Kill Us". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  17. ^ McCormick, Neil (March 27, 2020). "The best new albums to stream this week, from Pearl Jam to Childish Gambino". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  18. ^ Allie Gregory (July 15, 2020). "Here's the Polaris Music Prize 2020 Short List". Exclaim!.
  19. ^ Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
  20. ^ Richard Trapunski, "Polaris Music Prize 2020: Backxwash’s victory is for the unapologetic". Now, October 20, 2020.
  21. ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  22. ^ "Top Albums (Week 14, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  26. ^ "American album certifications – Jessie Reyez – Before Love Came to Kill Us". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  27. ^ "Jessie Reyez Official Shop". Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  28. ^ "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us (Target Exclusive, CD)". Target. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
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