Last year, the Queens soul singer Yaya Bey released her album Ten Fold, contributed to the benefit compilation TRAИƧA, and dropped off of the SXSW lineup because of the US Army and defense contractor sponsorships that the festival has since renounced. Also, there was a great Beyoncé song called "Ya Ya," which probably messed with her search results. Now, Yaya Bey is gearing up to play her home borough's Governors Ball fest and, she's signed with a new label and dropped a single that celebrates her Bajan heritage.
Yaya Bey recently signed with drink sum wtr, the same New York label that's got artists like THEY. and Annahstasia on its roster. Today, she's shared the self-produced track "Merlot And Grigio," a floating soca track with ad-libs from the dancehall artist Father Philis. Yaya Bey directed the song's video herself, and she shot it in Barbados. Here's what she says about it:
I’ve been doing a lot of international touring and constantly in places where I’m the only Black person/ When I was in France most recently, I asked myself what it would look like to play to Black international audiences, and that sort of got my wheels turning. My dad [late Juice Crew rapper Grand Daddy I.U.] would always have at least one reggae song on his albums. Our family is from Barbados, and I continued that tradition with songs like "meet me in brooklyn." I decided I would dive even deeper with soca and reached out to Father Philis, whose music I’ve been really digging. This song feels like a dream come true. To dig deeper into my own roots and prioritize Black communities, especially in the Caribbean.
Check it out below.
