Roy Woods Essentials

Roy Woods is one of a collection of acts shaping the sound of R&B from Canada in the 2010s: slick, noir-flavoured production; earwormy melodic motifs; and sultry, game-spitting lyrics. Born in the Greater Toronto Area in 1987, the singer and sometimes-rapper rose quickly after Drake guested on and touted Woods’ debut single, “Drama”, in 2015. With the release of his debut mixtape and album—2016’s Waking at Dawn and 2017’s Say Less, respectively—Woods moved to carve out his own imprimatur separate from his label head, pursuing inventive Trap&B production and blending urgent vocal performances (“How I Feel”) with more laidback, lascivious crooning (“Say Less”). In subsequent releases and collaborations, he has broadened his stylistic horizons, singing over playful, Latin-flavoured beats about sex during lockdown (“Touch You”, from his 2023 second LP, Mixed Emotions) and embracing house music with the Martin Solveig collaboration “Juliet & Romeo”.