SLINGSHOT

Canadian songwriter and producer Jeremy Haywood-Smith needed an escape from his state of mourning when he began working on Slightshot, his most recent LP as JayWood, the recording project he started in 2015. After the loss of his mother in 2019 and a global standstill with multiple social crises throughout 2020, Haywood-Smith yearned for some forward momentum. "The idea of looking back to go forward became a really big thing for me-hence the title, Slingshot." Haywood-Smith explains. Feeling disconnected from his past and ancestry after the death of a parent, Haywood-Smith made a conscious effort to better understand his identity and unique Black experience living in the predominantly white province of Manitoba. Through a year of self reflection and reconnection with his roots, Haywood-Smith has made the biggest leap forward for his project JayWood by simply looking back. Merging fantasy scenarios, personal anecdotes, and infectious pop and dance instrumentals, Slingshot is a self-portrait of JayWood at his surface and his depths.