JayWood - LEO NEGRO (2025) [Hi-Res]

JayWood – the alias of Jeremy Haywood-Smith – embraces a bold new chapter with Leo Negro, written after relocating from Winnipeg to Montreal. Looser, stranger, and more adventurous than his past work, it fuses funk, hip-hop, and art-pop with a fearless sense of play.

The record flips the Leo stereotype into what Haywood-Smith calls “black confidence” – a surreal, questioning take on self-assurance that underpins its emotional core. Lead single ‘Big Tings’ (featuring Tune-Yards) shimmers with whirling synths and loose-limbed groove, echoing the playful experiments of his youth. Built with a close-knit creative crew, Leo Negro leaves behind the polish of 2022’s Slingshot and 2023’s Grow On EP in favour of something braver, stranger, and truer.



Tracklist:
1 WOOZY
2 PISTACHIOS
3 BIG TINGS
4 J.O.Y.
5 ASSUMPTIONS
6 GRATITUDE
7 ASK 4 HELP
8 PALMA WISE
9 DSNTRLYMTTR
10 UNTITLED (Swirl)
11 SUN BABY