JessB Lays it Bare on Powerful New Track ‘Not Today’
The formidable JessB has today revealed the first taste of her new project, Not Today – an experimental and high energy track rooted in heartbreak, but with a hopeful undercurrent.
“Not Today is a song about being at rock bottom. You know that you will get through the heartbreak but also you know that it’s ‘not today’, and you allow yourself to sit in the feelings of the present,” says JessB.
The new track showcases the depth to JessB’s artistry and while she’s renowned for raising the roof with her dance-floor anthems and tongue-twisting rhyme schemes, she proves on Not Today that she’s just as gifted at digging deep and delivering powerful messages of sadness, loss and dislocation.
Meanwhile, the visuals for Not Today were designed to mirror the sonic world created through both the production and lyricism. Set against the vast, rugged landscapes of Tāmaki Makaurau’s west coast, the imagery explores the loneliness and isolation that can come with heartbreak . The feeling of being small within something much bigger than yourself, while still carrying the quiet beauty and hope that lives inside the song.
Co-produced by JessB and Andrew Meyer, this is the first new music from JessB this year and it paves the way for an exciting new project, which the award-winning rapper will drip feed to fans in the coming months.
Born in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa, to a Kenyan father and a Pākehā mother, JessB’s music explores authenticity, personal growth, and connection, with the stamina of a professional athlete, the sensitivity of a textbook cancer sign, and the unfettered creativity of an artist who embraces change.
The talented artist has spent the last seven years traversing Aotearoa, Australia, Asia, Europe, and the UK, through the shared global cultures that connect hip-hop, R&B, dancehall, ragga and afrobeats.
Along the way, she’s shared stages with Kehlani, and Coldplay; has recorded with Sister Nancy, and Sampa The Great (watch the video for Power HERE) and Kranium; and headlined her own tours.
JessB also performed at the last ever Splore in 2026, and was a top 5 finalist in the coveted Silver Scroll awards in 2025. In her hands, music and joy become something more radical than entertainment alone, infusing resistance and solidarity into every song and show.
Strap yourself in! If Not Today is a sign of what’s still to come from one of Aotearoa’s most celebrated hip-hop acts, fans are in for an exhilarating ride.
