Roy Woods - Dark Nights EP (2025) [Hi-Res]

“The energy’s high right now. I feel back in motion after a couple of years – it feels like I pressed the restart button,” he tells Billboard Canada.

The Toronto R&B singer and rapper released his new EP, Dark Nights, in April, and it showed off a new side of the OVO Sound-signed artist.

At nine tracks, Dark Nights is a bold and unfiltered reflection on betrayal, heartbreak and emotional survival. It debuts a more vulnerable side of the Toronto singer-songwriter, who opens up about some of the darkest moments he’s faced – and how he has learned to live through them.

With such complex emotions on the line, Woods took his aptly-titled EP and created a short film based on the project’s major themes. The 20-minute short film premiered on Thursday, June 12, at NXNE, followed by a Q&A with Billboard Canada’s National Editor Richard Trapunski.

“My manager, Banks, and I wanted to show this type of pain in a different way than the traditional music videos,” Woods shares. “We wanted to showcase the art in a different light.”
Before the EP’s release, he recalled having initial conversations about the short film at the top of the year. Woods and his collaborators noted that the tracklist flows into one another, boldly telling a story from start to finish.

“There's so much depth in the songs,” he explains.

While Woods had dabbled in acting as a child, making a short film was completely new territory. The project took four days to film and consisted of all-day shoots – not to mention managing a robust cast and crew. Yet, he fondly recalls the experience. “The energy was on 10. There was a lot of excitement, and everybody was ready to do the best job possible.”

With dreamy nighttime hues and dimly lit rooms, Dark Nights follows Woods through a relationship that transforms into a complicated dynamic that includes betrayal, unplanned pregnancy and big existential questions. Based on a true story, Woods channels somber energy and anguish in his first major acting role.