{"title":"Yaya Bey","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"bddnl301","title":"Yaya Bey - The Things I Can't Take With Me","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Things I Can’t Take With Me is the newest release from multidisciplinary artist and singer-songwriter Yaya Bey. The self-produced, six-track EP follows her last album, 2020’s intimate and political Madison Tapes, which received critical praise from Pitchfork (7.7), FADER, Afropunk, Noisey, and more. Following the same spirit of her previous projects, The Things I Can’t Take With Me searches the deeply personal and refreshingly honest truths of Black womanhood and love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe project’s first single “fxck it then” radiates as an affirmative anthem for rediscovering your shine, reminding everyone that Yaya Bey “ain’t average.” It’s accompanied by new collage work created by Yaya herself, and a music video directed by Morgan B. Powell. “The video was a true labor of love,” Bey said, describing the visuals as “an ode to hood joints.” The nostalgic super 8 film aesthetic features styling by Alexea Brown and glimpses into Bey’s polaroid photography.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn The Things I Can’t Take With Me, Bey works her way through a breakup that triggered the deepest of wounds: the childhood trauma that resurfaces in our relationships. “I never seen my daddy treat a woman good\/I don’t know what it’s like to be understood,” Bey sings over a fuzzy riff on the opening track “the root of a thing.” On “you up?,” she grapples with the duality of addictive passion and arguing all day: “This is hell but I’ve been waiting all my life for this\/Oh the lips that tell me lies but I can’t wait to kiss.”   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe new EP came together unexpectedly when Bey set out to record her next album. After her relationship ended, the direction of the project took a detour. “[The album] is going to be about the journey home to self,” Bey explained. “But on the way, there’s all this shit I gotta let go of, just the things I can’t take with me.” So, she allowed herself to make the music she needed to make, drawing on breakthroughs in therapy to process her grief and move forward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Things I Can’t Take With Me feels like a natural progression from last year’s Madison Tapes, both of which were recorded during the pandemic and what Bey describes as a “deep, deep depression.” But unlike the laid-back, collaborative vibe of the album, The Things I Can’t Take With Me flows like a solitary intention. Bey maneuvers effortlessly from heartbroken introspection towards a newfound security, denouncing the wack morals of an industry dude and embracing her own agency as a “bad bitch.” The EP culminates in the enthralling “protection spell,” empowering Bey in the mantra of returning to herself, whole. Her voice floats over watery guitars like a hymn: “No weapon\/Formed against me\/Not even you baby.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn and raised in Queens, New York, Bey considers herself mostly an “East Coast girl” because of the formative years she spent as an adult creating and protesting in the DMV area. It was D.C. producer Chucky Thompson (known for his work with Notorious B.I.G. and Diddy) who encouraged Bey to record her own songs after years of writing for others and performing spoken word poetry. Like her dad, the pioneering rapper Grand Daddy I.U., Bey made the most out of what she had as a self-taught musician with a penchant for storytelling and an ear for sampling. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYaya Bey’s 2016 debut, The Many Alter-Egos of Trill’eta Brown, was an ambitious project that included a dreamy, largely acoustic mixtape, book, and digital collage inspired by her front-line activism as a street medic in Ferguson. “You spend two years of your life protesting and getting assaulted and arrested—you got a lot of shit to say after that,” Bey said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince then, she’s sharpened her sound and honed her focus, using the same D.I.Y. ethos that drove Trill’eta Brown to move from the global struggle of Black liberation towards her own inner healing. Inspired by the warm, smooth soul of Donny Hathaway and the strength of musicians like Alice Smith, Mary J. Blige, and writer Toni Morrison, Bey aims to soundtrack the lives of Black women just like her. With her 404 and pen, she brings an electrifying insight to the seemingly mundane like corporate malaise, heartache, and social media anxieties.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBey has also developed her skills as a multidisciplinary artist, labeled “a force to be reckoned with in the art world” by Essence Magazine and acclaim from Solange’s Saint Heron agency. To date, she’s shown her collage work in galleries and has had two residencies at Brooklyn’s MoCADA Museum. She also creates her own merch and album artwork, including the visuals for her forthcoming EP.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":44934131777695,"sku":"BDCAS301","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/the-things-i-cant-take-with-me-main.jpg?v=1736247218"},{"product_id":"bddnl304","title":"Yaya Bey - Remember Your North Star","description":"\u003cp\u003eYaya Bey is one of R\u0026amp;B’s most exciting storytellers. Using a combination of ancestral forces and her own self-actualization, the singer\/songwriter seamlessly navigates life’s hardships and joyful moments through music. Bey’s new album, ‘Remember Your North Star’ (out June 17), captures this emotional rollercoaster with a fusion of soul, jazz, reggae, afrobeat and hip-hop that feeds the soul. The artist’s knack for storytelling is best displayed in the album’s lead single, “keisha”. It’s an anthemic embodiment of fed-up women everywhere who have given their all in a relationship, yet their physical body nor spiritual mind could never be enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBey’s ability to tap into the emotionally kaleidoscopic nature of women, specifically Black women, is the essence of the entire album. With themes of misogynoir, unpacking generational trauma, carefree romance, parental relationships, women empowerment and self-love, Remember Your North Star proves that the road to healing isn’t a linear one – there are many lessons to gather along the journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I saw a tweet that said, ‘Black women have never seen healthy love or have been loved in a healthy way.’ That's a deep wound for us. Then I started to think about our responses to that as Black women,” Bey says of ‘Remember Your North Star’s title inspiration, an entirely self-written project featuring key production from Bey herself, with assists from Phony Ppl’s Aja Grant and DJ Nativesun. “So this album is kind of my thesis. Even though we need to be all these different types of women, ultimately we do want love: love of self and love from our community. The album is a reminder of that goal.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe artist’s raw, unfiltered approach threads ‘Remember Your North Star’. “big daddy ya” finds the artist tapping into her inner rapper, channeling the too-cool and confident factor that artists like Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls are well-known for. “reprise” captures women’s exhaustion everywhere, with its lyrical tug-of-war of bettering oneself while trying to cut yourself off from toxic relationships. There’s also “alright” (co-produced by Aja Grant), a soothing, jazz-inspired ditty that showcases Bey’s love for the genre’s icons like Billie Holiday, while the carefree “pour up” highlights the artist’s friendship with DJ Nativesun (the song’s producer) and will immediately rush hips to the dancefloor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is no fakeness when it comes to Bey’s music, and her authenticity can be partly attributed to her upbringing in Jamaica, Queens. Early childhood memories included watching her father (pioneering ‘90s rapper Grand Daddy I.U) record in his studio – which also doubled as Bey’s bedroom – and listening to records by soul legends Donny Hathaway and Ohio Players around the house. Beginning at age nine, the artist’s father would leave space for her to write hooks to his beats, using her favorite artists like Mary J. Blige and JAY-Z as inspirations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBey quickly grew out of New York City and moved to D.C. at age 18. Calling it her second home, the city further ignited the artist’s creativity as she worked at museums and libraries, as well as tapping into poetry and attending protests. Her first release ‘The Many Alter - Egos of Trill’eta Brown’ in 2016 that  incorporated a digital collage and a book, was praised by FADER, Essence, and many more. Bey followed up with fellow critically acclaimed projects like 2020’s ‘Madison Tapes’ album and 2021’s ‘The Things I Can’t Take With Me’ EP – the first release on Big Dada’s relaunch as a label run by Black, POC and minority ethnic people for Black, POC and minority ethnic artists – that received support from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, NPR, Harper’s Bazaar, FADER, HotNewHipHop, Dazed, Clash, FACT, Crack Magazine, The Line of Best Fit and Mixmag. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2021, Bey was also profiled by Rolling Stone for their print magazine, contributed to the publication’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and curated a playlist for Document Journal. The artist’s “september 13th (DJ Nativesun Remix)” and “made this on the spot” singles received strong radio support from BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC 1 Xtra’s Jamz Supernova. Last May, Bey was interviewed on BBC 1Xtra and performed three tracks for Jamz Supernova’s “Festival Jamz” including The Things I Can’t Take With Me’s “fxck it then” and “september 13th” that December.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBey is also a critically acclaimed multidisciplinary artist and art curator, creating the artwork for her music through collages of intimate photos and self-portraits. In 2019, her work was featured  in the District of Columbia Arts Center’s “Reparations Realized” exhibit and Brooklyn’s Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)’s “Let the Circle Be Unbroken” exhibit. She also completed multiple fine art residencies with MoCADA, curating programs that reflect the same theme that drives her music: the Black woman's experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Remember Your North Star’ continues Bey’s personal and artistic evolution as she strives to be a soundboard for Black women everywhere. “I feel empowered in music because I can transform anything that happens to me into something that is valuable. Music helps me to see the value in what's going on in my life,” she explains. “There’s a spirit in music. It’s a culture and I'm in that community, contributing my story which keeps us connected.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":44934131810463,"sku":"BD304","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":44934131843231,"sku":"BDCAS304","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/remember-your-north-star-main.jpg?v=1736247217"},{"product_id":"bddnl314","title":"Yaya Bey - Ten Fold","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew York's Yaya Bey announces her forthcoming album Ten Fold due May 10th via Big Dada. Picking up where she left off with the powerful one-two punch of her 2022 album Remember Your North Star and 2023’s followup EP Exodus the North Star, Yaya’s new album is a free-spoken and flowing self-portrait defined by in-the-moment reflections on the past, present and future. Brimming with the nuances of Yaya’s identity and the various facets of her creative endeavors, Ten Fold turns her focus inward and meditates on her inner being while carving out spaces for the humor and cutting social commentary that’s been a defining characteristic of her work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlongside the Ten Fold announcement, Yaya shares the latest taste of her forthcoming full-length with new single, \"chasing the bus.” The single’s gentle falsetto and wistful prose point to the next iteration of the boundless sound Yaya has crafted for her new album and is paired with a new music video she directed and choreographed herself. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘chasing the bus’ has a double meaning,” Yaya says of her new single. “On the surface, it’s about being taken for granted in a romantic relationship. Being slept on and underestimated. But beyond the surface, it’s a metaphor for how I feel in so many spaces in the industry and it’s sort of an affirmation for myself or a reminder to let go of validation or the lack thereof. To exist regardless because I have to.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"Translucent Red LP","offer_id":44934132039839,"sku":"BD314X","price":29.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":44934132072607,"sku":"BD314","price":29.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/files\/0034915791_10.jpg?v=1736247210"}],"url":"https:\/\/merch.ninjatune.net\/collections\/yaya-bey.oembed","provider":"Ninja Tune","version":"1.0","type":"link"}