Lead Me to the Jayli Wolf new music!
Photo Credit Hayden Wolf
Indigenous and queer artist, actress, and activist Jayli Wolf returns with the stunning self-directed video for new single “Lead Me.” Originally meant to be released on the rising act’s autobiographical and critically acclaimed debut EP Wild Whisper, “Lead Me” lends us the strength to overcome our inner demons as Wolf opens up about her own battle with addiction. As the rising talent’s work towards reclamation and healing continues, so does the effort to draw attention to issues amongst marginalized groups. The track arrives on Orange Shirt Day, formally known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, to commemorate the victims of the residential school system—listeners can learn more here.
Jayli Wolf shares, “‘Lead Me’ is about temptation and addiction. It’s about knowing how good a person or a substance can make you feel but at the same time being aware that you need to fight the desire for your own self-preservation. I gave so much of my energy and life to addiction, and it was terribly difficult to fight, to no longer let it lead me. Addiction is about survival. I wanted to escape my reality because I didn’t have the tools to change it. Temporary highs can be so enticing, but the cost is always higher. The video for the song illustrates being trapped by your proverbial demons, and for myself, finding healing through reclaiming my culture and taking my power back—breaking free from the chains of my past."
Across 6 brilliant tracks on the Wild Whisper EP, the alt-pop artist details her experience leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion she was raised in; discovering her truth; issues concerning mental health, sexual abuse, and high-control groups; and concludes by looking forward through self-love, acceptance, and the celebration of life. The independently released collection has been heralded by the likes of The Advocate, BUST, MTV, NYLON, Ones To Watch, them, Rolling Stone, Under The Radar, Vogue, and more. The project has also been featured on several playlists including Spotify’s New Music Friday, Indigenous, Misfits 2.0, and SALT, plus Apple Music’s New Music Daily, Breaking Alternative, INDIY, and many others to date.
Speaking on the EP, Jayli Wolf says, “Wild Whisper is an autobiographical EP that features my father’s experience in the Sixties Scoop, leaving the doomsday cult I was raised in, releasing the shame and guilt instilled in me around my bisexuality, depression and mental health, post-traumatic growth, and reclaiming my Indigenous heritage.”
With new music on the horizon, plus roles alongside Justin Hartley in teen film The Exchange and FX's new majority female-led television series Y: The Last Man, Jayli Wolf proceeds to tell her story on her terms and is living proof that you can achieve your dreams despite a tumultuous past as long as you persevere.
About Jayli Wolf:
Jayli Wolf is an Anishinaabe / Cree artist, actress, and creative based out of Toronto, Canada. She is a doomsday cult survivor and works to be a role model in her community—speaking to Indigenous youth about the entertainment industry and inspiring them to follow their dreams. Together with her partner and collaborator Hayden Wolf, she started creating music, producing, and directing films as Once A Tree. Their releases and self-directed visuals have since resulted in praise from Billboard, CBC, Clash, Complex, Exclaim!, HYPEBEAST, PEOPLE, MTV, NYLON, Rolling Stone, The FADER, Vice’s Noisey, among others.
In March, “Child Of The Government” arrived alongside a chilling short film that was written, directed, and produced by Jayli Wolf herself. The short film later won ‘Best Music Video’ at Venice Shorts of California (an IMDb qualifying monthly and annual festival). Upon release, the single took Canadian radio by storm and Wolf landed on the cover of both Amazon and Spotify’s Indigenous playlist and spotlighted on their Yonge and Dundas Square billboard (equivalent to Spotify’s billboard in New York City's Times Square). The debut offering from Wolf exhibits her family’s experience during the Sixties Scoop, where the Canadian Government and Catholic Church were responsible for taking or “scooping” more than 20,000 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit children from their families and communities in the 1950s through the ‘90s. The children were placed in foster homes or adopted (with accounts of children even being sold) into non-Indigenous families across Canada, the United States, and beyond. Along with the loss of cultural identity, the government went so far as to change some children’s true ethnicity on file. Many experienced severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Jayli Wolf’s father was one of these children.
Sophomore single “Hush” opened another gateway for post-traumatic growth and enlightenment. With stirring poetic vocals over lush electrified sonics, the three-and-a-half minute song is amplified by an alluring visual in which a liberated Jayli Wolf takes full ownership of her sensuality and unfettered bisexual orientation. The track unpacks the multi-hyphenate act’s earliest memories of passion and self-discovery, ultimately plunged by her mother’s family members (devoted Jehovah's Witnesses). "I felt immense shame around the truth and who I am. My first true love with another girl (a fellow cult member) was filled with guilt and shame. We would pray together for forgiveness over the desires that we had every day. I believed Jehovah would destroy me in Armageddon," Jayli Wolf explains, "Being free now, my deprogramming has also allowed me to question the societal conditioning around relationships and sexual orientation. I hope this song brings people feelings of power and freedom in their own personal explorations." Like many in the LGBTQIA+ community, coming out and coming to terms with her sexuality was a long, often guilt-ridden process—one that was exponentially difficult in a high-control religious group. While this is her story by her definition, "Hush" serves as an ode for all seeking to advocate their queerness and find power in their truth.
Other tracks unlocked with the EP include “Would You Die?”—an intimate track about true love and faith versus the conditions we place around it—as well as “Bleed Like Us” which invites listeners to see through the lens of Jayli Wolf’s childhood which was filled with stories about the end of the world, death, and destruction of “non-believers.” She explains, “This song is about waking up from the lifetime of mental conditioning imposed on me, the painful exodus of being shunned by family and community, and facing my own mental and spiritual Armageddon.” Closers in this body of work include “Hell” and “Ride,” an intimate juxtaposition of Wolf’s mental anguish and desire for the answers beyond our human perspective. On “Hell” she admits, “I was surrendering to my depression when I wrote this song” while on the final track Wolf writes a plea from the perspective of Mother Earth, stating, “She is abundant and nurturing, but humanity has taken this for granted. Greed, corruption, and ignorance is poisoning her. We have become so disconnected. It is our responsibility to live as one with her and care for her as she has given us life.”
By sharing these vital messages of justice and rebirth, Jayli Wolf authentically connects with her community by-way-of her music and social media, including her viral TikTok video that has reached over half a million viewers and received countless comments from people whose Indigenous family members have had similar experiences.
“I finally have the courage to use my voice to tell these stories. I hope this project will be able to shed light on and raise awareness of these subject matters,” Jayli Wolf notes, “We can forgive for our own healing. The road ahead is long, and change takes time.”
