Grammy-Nominated Songstress Jessy Wilson Will Not Have Her Light Diminished
For Brooklyn-born-and-raised songbird Jessy Wilson, music has always been a key component of her evolutional makeup. Her melodic foundation can be traced back to artists whose songs blared through the radio speakers: Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield, Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z; a pleasant blend of soul and hip-hop.
The 2013 BET Music Matters Artist’s fierce anthem “Keep Rising” is nominated for a “Best Song In Visual Media” Grammy. The song appears in the ending credits for the Gina Prince-Bythewood-directed movie, The Woman King and the Angelique Kidjo-assisted track would ironically become an identifiable theme song in her life.
Despite her work with John Legend, Tyler, the Creator, Alicia Keys and more, grief would overpower the triumphant unfoldings.
During the early days of the COVID-19 scare, Wilson’s dearest grandmother died and her father barely escaped the wrath of the COVID virus in midst of the pandemic. Then, in late 2021, she and her husband lost their child after four months of pregnancy.
“My husband and I found out that we were expecting our first child. We were so excited,” she began. “Unfortunately, we lost him in March 2022. That was a really devastating time and it still stings to this day. I don’t know if I’ll ever be over it. Things were so bleak for me at that moment. I hadn’t been active in my music career at all. I wouldn't say I was experiencing writer’s block, I just think I felt abandoned by my own personal voice. I kind of felt abandoned by God. The one thing that brought me hope was now taken away from me. I was just living my life trying to figure out how to come up out of that hole.”
Wilson owed songs to her publisher, but dealing with the grief and the struggle to find agency within her own voice, increased the difficulty. One song that did make its way to submission was “Keep Rising.” She created the song summer of 2020 with producer Jeremy Lutito behind his Nashville, Tennessee home.
Wilson would go a year without stepping foot inside a studio. Then one day, ironically settled into the same studio she created “Keep Rising” with Lutito, the unimaginable happened.
“I did nothing to make the Woman King happen, except write the song. Out of the blue, I got the email saying [Keep Rising] had been chosen for [The Woman King].
The official confirmation was manifested by Wilson’s intuition — that gut feeling — as she explained. Gina Prince-Bythewood officially decided to use the song on the supposed-to-be due date of Wilson’s son.
“From that moment on, I didn’t feel so alone. I felt like God was really showing themself. I felt the spirit and the presence of my son — who we named Willing — very strongly. I started to regain a lot of strength. I started to embody the lyrics of the song.
I heard Diddy say that music is magic and the words that we write in our songs are magic. If that is the case, I think that the words that were written for that song, manifested themselves in my life.”
Before our Zoom call, Wilson had just finished up a journaling session. She disclosed she had been processing the decision to stop productivity and step out of the studio, wrestling with the draining reality of a “grind culture.”
“Something deep down, says you must sit down. It was really agonizing because I never experienced that stillness and break from music. I’ve been singing and performing my entire life — professionally since I was seven years old. It was an uncomfortable pause but my instincts wouldn’t let me do anything but listen to it. I get emotional talking about it, but the voice inside of us always knows. Even though I didn’t want to be still, I was still.”
The agonizing feeling of stillness was “messy and tragic” as Wilson described. Coming out of the deep woods, she says she feels a deeper sense of purpose. Her last two-and-half years are not full of regret. Instead, there’s more understanding and gratitude.
“As a dark skin Black woman in this industry, sometimes I don’t like to talk about the struggle and putting myself in a victim position. I don’t see myself as a victim at all. But we have to look at the reality. If you look across the board and the complexion of the leading superstars in pop culture, nobody is of a darker hue. I do think that colorism heavily exists in the music industry. If I can do something in my little corner that inspires young girls, young women or anybody — especially those that look like me — then I think that a little bit of pain is worth it when you think about how far you can reach others.”
Wilson is big on trusting that instinctual notion of the gut.
“For me, it was ‘I’m supposed to be on a big stage. I’m supposed to sing in front of thousands of people. When I would watch award shows, I would say ‘I’m supposed to be there. My reality didn’t look that way and it hurt. Even when I didn’t have much belief left, there was still that small voice speaking to me.”
From the time she started professionally singing to now at 36, a significant amount of life teachings have appeared. So what would Wilson tell her 7-year-old self?
“I would tell her don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and never let someone outthink you, outwork, or out believe you in your own life. Know that you are the vehicle and be the example of how you want people to see you, by walking and existing in that.”
No matter what happens at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, Wilson has already accumulated victories she’s immensely proud of.
“The serendipity of everything that’s happened around ‘Keep Rising', it’s hard for me to ignore the spiritual implications of that. So, that award is a physical thing. And yeah the strength that I feel is enough for me to persevere more. I’m already holding the biggest award I can hold, which is me and my renewed confidence in myself.”
Wilson also wanted to share an important message to women about their physical health, after having recently recovered from a surgical procedure.
“I encourage women of color to go get that ultrasound screening, so you can see what’s going on, not just for when you’re pregnant,” she advises.
Wilson has walked quite the path to get to where she’s at and as she talks, you can hear the emotions become – at times – overwhelming in a good way.
“I hope that Black women will hear my story and see themselves in me, because I see myself in so many of my peers and other inspiring women, especially when I tap into the women that BET is highlighting.”
