Jayda G has shared new single “Scars”, along with a video directed by David Ehrenreich. It comes from her forthcoming album Guy which is out June 9th on Ninja Tune. The record is co-produced with Jack Peñate, with contributions from Lisa-Kaindé Diaz, Ed Thomas and more. It follows her recent single and video release “Circle Back Around”, and subsequent single “Blue Lights”.

Guy sees Jayda G draw on her roots in House, Disco, RnB and Soul, interspersed with archival recordings of her late father, William Richard Guy. More than 11 hours of his videotaped stories, made shortly before he passed away, form the bedrock of the album’s narrative, capturing a small snapshot of the American experience, told through the eyes of a young African American man.

“Scars” — one of the record’s most dancefloor-ready moments — is partly inspired by a story from when her dad was in high school, and was running into issues with one of the local bullies. “This guy would wait outside of his school, to just beat him up for no reason whatsoever, other than that they could,” explains Jayda. “So my dad would try to avoid them, or would wait hours after school ended or leave through different entrances so that it was safe for him to walk home. But these people were just not letting up. Eventually, he realized he had to face them in order to move forward… and he got the shit kicked out of him! But then they left him alone.”

“I think of how terrified my dad must have been to stand up to these guys, and by putting myself in his shoes it makes me think about what we all carry with us, as we go through life. What do these kinds of situations mean in terms of how you see yourself, and how you interact with people, how you deal with conflict, how that informs you as you move through life. How if you don’t know your worth and you don’t have self love, this world can really beat you down, especially if you’re a person of color or you look different or sound different, you have to be really strong and have conviction of yourself to move through this world.”

The album arrives on the back of a busy few years that have seen her Grammy-nominated for her mid-pandemic single “Both Of Us”, created with producer Fred again..; release a trove of high-profile remixes for the likes of Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa; tour the world’s biggest festival and stages including Glastonbury and Coachella; release a compilation for the renowned DJ Kicks series and highly praised collaboration with Aluna; appear as a guest judge on BBC’s ‘Glow Up’; marry her childhood sweetheart in her hometown of Grand Forks, BC (in the same house her parents got married decades earlier); and contribute to the immersive installation ‘Undercurrent’ (New York, June ‘21) which focussed on the Climate Crisis, alongside artists like Khruangbin, Nosaj Thing, Mount Kimbie and Bon Iver.

Most recently she has embarked on a life changing journey whilst undertaking filming for the forthcoming feature-length documentary ‘Blue Carbon’ — the collective term given to seagrass meadow, mangrove and tidal marsh ecosystems that fringe every continent (excluding Antarctica) and sequester two to four times more carbon from the atmosphere per hectare than tropical forests. The film is hosted by Jayda and took her to the front lines of the climate crisis to meet with those communities already affected by the looming catastrophe. Created by the BAFTA and Emmy-winning director Nicolas Brown (The Serengeti Rules) and executive producer Fernando Meirelles (City Of God, The Two Popes) it also features Brazilian artist Seu Jorge and original music from Wu-Tang’s RZA. The film will be released later this year in conjunction with CNN.

Jayda continues to tour throughout 2023, with dates at Printworks in London (as part of their closing program), DGTL (Amsterdam), Terminal V (Edinburgh), Snowbombing (Mayrhofen), Field Day Festival (London), Primavera (Barcelona & Madrid), Hideout (Croatia), Defected (Malta) plus confirmed stops in Brazil and many more dates TBA.

Jayda G 2023 tour dates:

12.05.23 – Sandbox, El Gouna EG
26.05.23 – BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Dundee US
27.05.23 – Sunset, Monaco MC
28.05.23 – CORE Festival, Brussels BE
02.06.23 – We Love Green, Paris FR
03.06.23 – Primavera, Barcelona ES
04.06.23 – Glitterbox, Ibiza ES
09.06.23 – Primavera, Porto PT
10.06.23 – Primavera, Madrid ES
11.06.23 – Glitterbox, Ibiza ES
23.06.23 – Glastonbury Festival, Pilton UK
28.06.23 – Hideout Festival, Pag HR
03.08.23 – Defected Festival, Tisno HR
04.08.23 – TBC
05.08.23 – Brighton Pride, Brighton UK
18.08.23 – Lowlands, Amsterdam NL
19.08.23 – Field Day, London UK
25.08.23 – Lost Village, Lincoln UK
27.08.23 – Glitterbox, Ibiza ES
02.09.23 – Black Coffee, Ibiza ES
09.09.23 – TBC
10.09.23 – TBC

Pre-order Guy here.