Auckland’s JessB has confirmed her new album Matters of the Heart is on the way, with a release date of 10 September and a run of international shows lined up to carry the record well beyond New Zealand’s borders. The JessB Matters of the Heart campaign has been building steadily over the past couple of months, with lead single “Not Today” landing in June and follow-up track “See You There” arriving more recently to positive notices from local critics.
The twelve-track record is being pitched around themes of love, loss, growth and connection, a slightly more reflective lane than some of the high-energy bars JessB built her name on, though “Not Today” itself leans into that experimental, heartbreak-driven energy rather than moving away from it entirely. “See You There” has drawn particular praise for its layered production, with choir backing vocals and percussive touches giving it a fuller, more textured sound than a typical rap single.
What makes this album cycle stand out is the sheer geographic spread of the shows built around it. Rather than a conventional local album-release tour, JessB heads to Berlin for the ELLE & L’s Festival at the end of August, before a run through Japan that takes in Osaka and a Circus x Circus showcase in Tokyo, then on to Brisbane’s AfroSoul Festival in October. For an artist who has already shared stages internationally with the likes of Kehlani and Coldplay, it’s another marker of how far her reach now extends beyond the Aotearoa scene that first embraced her.
With Matters of the Heart landing in a matter of weeks, the JessB Matters of the Heart rollout looks set to keep building right up to release day, with pre-orders already available on vinyl through Holiday Records. For New Zealand hip-hop fans, it’s shaping up to be one of the more internationally minded local album drops of the year.
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