The Pop Corporation

As much as R&B is one of our favourite genres, it’d be remiss of us to not acknowledge that it falls for fashionable tropes a little too often.

This is one of the pitfalls for a genre that is so keen to innovate and stay on the cutting edge, as artists and producers indulge in an arms race to see who can jump on the latest tick that the genre throws out.

However, sometimes, an artist comes along with such a sense of confidence that they’re willing to create their own lane and see if everyone can catch on and keep up.

In the modern soul music era, Erykah Badu sidestepped a lot of the moves of the moment, so too T-Pain, Jazmine Sullivan, Dawn Richard and more. Instead of aiming squarely for chart hits (as nice as they are), they aimed to make something that was entirely them.

And so to Yaya Bey, who has been forging her own path for a while now, and her last two albums – ‘Remember Your North Star’ and ‘Ten Fold’ – showcasing a rare talent, a magpie eye, and a suite of songs that refused to be anything other than her best self.

With new album ‘Do It Afraid’, we see maybe her finest work yet, and a love letter to R&B, jazz, classic soul, and even Afrobeat and Zouk music.

From this album so far, we’ve had the magical ‘Dream Girl’, with its 80s synth work and production that reminds us of early We Are King cuts.

We’ve also had the mid-tempo bliss of ‘Raisins’ and tropical ‘Merlot And Grigio’, with ‘Wake Up B*tch’ showed a modern twist on her sound. As a run of releases, they’ve all pointed toward a very strong album.

The talent and variety on show is, in some ways, unsurprising given the quality of previous album releases – but it is still dazzling to hear an album this good.

The secrets to each song and metaphors are hers and hers alone, and sure we can try and guess, but one of the lines that leaps out is “I just want to dance before it all ends.” These are sinister times, and while we’re all trying to deal with it all, Yaya still wants to give us a shot at optimism. And that’s the thing with this album – there’s moments of conflict and confrontation, but it is all paired with charm, warmth and wit – this is not a one-dimensional cut of songs.

Maybe that’s the message that threads this whole thing together? It is often reductive to say what an artist is thinking or feeling across a whole album, and Yaya is clearly someone who contains multitudes. The personality – or rather the many facets of her personality – are what makes ‘Do It Afraid’ such a rich and rewarding listen.

Away from the songs that we heard in the run-up to this album, ‘Breakthrough’ is another highlight, slinky and tense, and ‘Real Yearners Unite’ is a lowlit, luxurious jam that’s up there with some of the best R&B in recent memory – a real salve for the soul.

The album is eclectic, smart, deep and the fact that her world-building is so complete, we can go from a jazzy groove to the hip-house of ‘In A Circle’ in the blink of an eye, and the project feels right and whole. If Yaya Bey had faith in what she’s been doing, then this album is proof that the same faith should be repaid back to her.

You might not hear a better soul record this year.