“No false bravado,” promises Auckland rapper JessB on her 2019 single “Bump Bump”—and that simple phrase applies to her entire career. Born to a Kenyan father and a Pākehā mother, Jess Bourke graduated from pro netballer to versatile rapper in the mid-2010s and immediately matched her naturally low voice with a grounded sense of sureness. Authenticity remains a central theme in her work, right alongside a crackling spontaneity (see 2020’s “09 to the World Freestyle”) and hometown-proud collabs with fellow Aucklanders like Rubi Du and Church Leon. While the style of her tracks has evolved to incorporate dancehall and Caribbean influences in addition to her taste for conscious US hip-hop, Bourke’s load-bearing delivery is the constant throughout, as steady as it is meticulous.