Jayda G announces upcoming album 'Guy'

Jayda G has announced she is releasing a new album this year with a new single ‘Circle Back Around’ out now.

The GRAMMY-nominated artist’s upcoming album ‘Guy’ will be out on June 9 and include 13 new tracks which are claimed to draw upon house, disco, R&B and soul.

‘Guy’ was co-produced by Jack Peñate, who has previously worked with the likes of SAULT and Adele, and will feature Lisa-Kaindé Diaz of Ibeyi and Ed Thomas.

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The new track ‘Circle Back Around’ was created from the inspiration found within archived recordings of Jayda’s late father recounting his life story.

Archival recording from her father, William Richard Guy, will also appear elsewhere in the album.

Alongside the new track comes the music video which was shot in Jadya’s childhood home and the town of Grand Forks as well as clips of archival family footage.

Through direct quotes from her father, Jayda retells her father’s life from growing up in Kansas to being enlisted in the Vietnam War, starting a new life in Canada where he married Jayda’s mother and much more.

‘Guy’ also pays tribute to her grandmother especially within the track ‘When She Dance’ as according to the press release, it speaks on the resilience of and strength of Black women.

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“I wanted the album to be a blend of storytelling, about the African American experience, death, grief, and understanding,” explains Jayda. “It's about my dad and his story, and naturally in part my story, too, but it’s also about so many people who wanted more for themselves and went on a search to find that. This album is just so much for people who have been oppressed and who have not had easy lives.”

Jayda also has said: “I think the biggest thing that really drove me to understand more of his life is that my dad, just a few years before he was diagnosed, had worked so hard on himself. He went back to school to become a social worker, examining himself and his own demons, and really working on himself in the process. And I think it's just a testament that it's never too late to look at yourself and try to understand why you are the way you are, and strive to be better. Understanding the Black man's experience, Black people's experience in terms of America, and rising above what society tells you you're supposed to be.”

Take a look at Jayda G’s new track ‘Circle Back Around’ below and pre-order ‘Guy’ here.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter