Jayda G, the Grammy-nominated writer, producer, DJ, environmental toxicologist, campaigner and broadcaster, returns with new single ‘Scars’. It’s the latest glimpse of her forthcoming album Guy — out June 9 on Ninja Tune — a record co-produced with Jack Peñate (who has previously worked with the likes of SAULT, David Byrne and Adele), with contributions from Lisa-Kaindé Diaz (of Ibeyi), Ed Thomas (Stormzy, Nia Archives, Jorja Smith) and more.

‘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.”