Denzel Spencer (born April 18, 1996), better known by his stage name Roy Woods (also stylized as Roy Wood$), is a Canadian singer, rapper, and songwriter. He signed with

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's record label

OVO Sound OVO Sound (short for October's Very Own) is a Canadian independent record label, founded in 2012 by rapper Drake, producer 40, and manager Oliver El-Khatib. The label operated as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group until 2022, after which it ...

, an imprint of

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

in 2014. His first two albums, '' Waking at Dawn'' (2016) and '' Say Less'' (2017), both moderately entered the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

and US ''Billboard'' 200. Woods has also founded his own collective, Unlock the Underground.

Early life

Denzel Spencer was born April 18, 1996, in

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

, Ontario, Canada. For over three years, Woods attended Turner Fenton High School and moved to St. Augustine Secondary School during his final year.

Career

2014–present: Career beginnings, ''Say Less'', and ''Mixed Emotions''

On July 11, 2015,

premiered "Drama", the first song from Woods' EP'', Exis''. The song was also premiered on

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

's Beats 1 radio during the first

radio show. The track also features with the guest appearances from Woods' label boss, Drake. On July 25, 2015, a second song titled "Get You Good" premiered on the second episode of the OVO Sound radio show. On July 31, 2015, Roy released his debut EP ''Exis'' digitally through OVO Sound, of which was the record label co-founded by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. On October 9, 2015, Woods released his first music video for his song, "Jealousy". It has since garnered over 9,000,000 views on YouTube. Roy Woods

On July 1, 2016, Wood's debut

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

, '' Waking at Dawn,'' was released and promoted by Woods and other artists, including Drake and

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

through social media. On December 23, 2016, Woods released his second EP, titled ''Nocturnal''. On July 20, 2017, Woods released the track, "What Are You On?", as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Say Less''. On November 17, 2017, Woods released the title track, "Say Less". On December 1, 2017, Woods released his debut studio album, ''Say Less''. On June 8, 2018, Woods released two new singles, titled "Russian Cream" and "Snow White", with no prior announcement. On February 8, 2019, Roy Woods released a single titled "Worth It". On September 18, 2019, Roy Woods released a single titled "Bubbly". On May 8, 2020, Roy Woods released the single titled "I Feel It" On May 15, 2020, Roy Woods released his third EP, titled ''Dem Times''. In 2023, he participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "

What I Wouldn't Do "What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, ''Harmony (Serena Ryder album), ...

", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health. On July 28, 2023, Roy Woods released his second studio album, titled ''Mixed Emotions''. The album features guest appearances from

Coi Leray Coi Leray Collins (born May 11, 1997) is an American rapper and singer. The daughter of rapper and media executive Benzino, she began her musical career in 2018 with the release of her debut mixtape, ''Everythingcoz''. She signed with Republic ...

, Jada Kingdom, and Vory, and was preceded by the singles "Touch You", "Insecure", "Bad Bad", "Don't Love Me", "Young Boy Problems", "Don't Mind Me", and "Test What I Know".

Artistry

Woods has said some of his biggest influences are

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

and

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (often stylized in all caps), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. He was the first artist to sign with Drake's record label OVO Sound ...

. Woods has also started an artist collective, titled Unlock The Underground, which is a branch of the

. The artists on this collective include In-house Producer/Engineer BATMANONTHEBEATZ, RAYNY, and DOLOINDACUT as Wood's DJ.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted and certified songs

Music videos

Tours

;Headlining * Unlocked Tour (2016) * Say Less Tour (2018) * Me And U Tour (2023) ;Supporting * Summer Sixteen Tour (2016) * Aubrey and the Three Migos Tour (2018)

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Roy 1996 births Living people Canadian male rappers 21st-century Black Canadian musicians Canadian contemporary R&B singers Canadian hip-hop singers Musicians from Toronto OVO Sound artists People from Brampton Canadian trap musicians Warner Records artists