Taylor Swift/Dua Lipa remixer Jayda G’s Ninja Tune album, ‘Guy’ comes on what we can only describe as an ‘archival marble’ edition made from recycled vinyl records and off-cuts. Which is fitting for a record that is inspired by recordings of her late father recounting his life story.
The albums 13 tracks draw on house, disco, RnB and soul while emphasizing her pop songwriting sensibilities, interspersed with archive recordings of her late father, the eponymous William Richard Guy. As Jayda explains:
“I wanted the album to be a blend of storytelling, about the African American experience, death, grief, and understanding.”
“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.”
“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.”