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Before Love Came to Kill Us

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Before Love Came to Kill Us
Studio album by
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

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 production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Rogét Chahayed, Mura Masa, Hennedub, The Monarch and Bizness Boi among others. The album also features guest appearances by Eminem and 6lack on the standard version and with Rico Nasty, JID, A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Melii on the deluxe verisons.

Before Love Came to Kill Us was prefaced with the singles "Figures", "Imported", and "Love in the Dark", and the promotional single "Ankles".[6][7] The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. 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]

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+ ((2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention))[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]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Before Love Came to Kill Us debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 27,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[21] This became Reyez' first US top-twenty debut.[21] On November 21, 2023, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States.[22]

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)[23] 17
French Albums (SNEP)[24] 198
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[25] 10
US Billboard 200[26] 13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[27] 9

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications and sales for Before Love Came to Kill Us
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22] 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
CD Target exclusive
April 9, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
Deluxe
September 25, 2020 Super deluxe

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. ^ a b Chris Willman (April 8, 2020). "The Weeknd Has Top Album for a Second Week, Followed by Chart Debuts for 5 Seconds of Summer, Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "American album certifications – Jessie Reyez – Before Love Came to Kill Us". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  23. ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "Top Albums (Week 14, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  25. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  26. ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  28. ^ "Jessie Reyez Official Shop". Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  29. ^ "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us (Target Exclusive, CD)". Target. Retrieved April 4, 2020.