Grammy nominated Canadian writer, producer, and DJ Jayda G loves making you feel good. Her acclaimed 2021 DJ Kicks compilation, and 2020 EP Both Of Us / Are You Down, would establish Jayda G as a purveyor of feel good, vibey house music formulated for sunsets and Sunday fun days. Her sophomore effort, Guy, titled as a nod to her surname and in tribute to her late father, is a love letter to the continued influence that he, the eponymous William Richard Guy, has on her life and art. It sees Jayda G take a more serious approach to her music, intertwining autobiographical elements and familial anecdotes into her breezy beats, attempting “a blend of storytelling, about the African American experience, death, grief, and understanding.” According to the producer, “It’s about my dad and his story, and naturally in part my story… This album is just so much for people who have been oppressed and who have not had easy lives.”
Spanning 13 tracks, Guy touches on familiar Jayda G signatures, from the boogie funk of When She Dance to the disco house of Scars, delivered with a more pop leaning edge. But between the juicy R&B of 15 Foot and groove focussed jams like Head Or Tails are a few surprises like the foggy italo of Blue Lights. The latter proves a glorious opening to the emotionally charged world of Guy, sewn together with archival recordings of Guy made shortly before his passing. These recordings become the heart and soul of the album, allowing Jayda G to visit her central themes of death, grief, and the African American experience by using them as a narrative thread across the album. The result is somewhat of a cenotaph in memory of Guy, with his direct quotes in combination with Jayda G’s lyrics mapping the (somewhat vague at times) story of his life.
Blue Lights, for instance, speaks of her father’s experience being caught up in the 1968 race riots while working as a late night radio host. Songs like Scars and Circle Back Around link to his encounters with racists, bullies, and authorities, while Lonely Back In O and Meant To Be touch on his romantic history. On the tracklist, these are linked by interludes of Guy’s voice speaking directly about these experiences. His phantom-like presence is felt across the album on these little interludes, while in the music itself, it’s Jayda G’s voice that assumes the role of narrator. She employs her own voice, for better or worse, as a device to echo that of her father’s, painting an intergenerational portrait of her family’s lived experience.
The overall effect is ode-like, but never dwells too long on the maudlin. Regardless of the overt seriousness of her source material, Jayda G remains committed to creating something uplifting, in her words, “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.” Despite these best intentions, this leaves Guy a touch disjointed. The overarching narrative gets lost amongst the majority of feel good house bangers, making it feel like Jayda G is not fully committed to the concept. Still, Guy is an intriguing evolution for her, and she manages to weave a powerful narrative tapestry that stands as her most vulnerable and emotionally raw work to date.
Listen to Blue Lights from Guy below
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