I was not so sure how to begin this review. Do It Afraid, Yaya Bey’s latest release, spans 18 tracks, and each one feels so distinct that any sweeping generalization—any tidy opener—seems bound to miss the point.

Also, the topics tackled in these songs are hard to summarize.
But let’s give it a try.

For starters, the fast vocal melodies in most of these tracks are unmistakably neo-soul coded.
Yeah, maybe we could call this a neo-soul album. Though that alone wouldn’t do it justice—it's tinged with hip-hop, flashes of city-pop, and the kind of playful studio looseness that warms the heart.

The whole experience is... funny. Funny in tone, funny in form. The music and lyrics both carry a sense of joy. It’s light on orchestration, sometimes sparse, but deeply satisfying. There’s a homemade feel to it all—a kind of ease and intimacy that’s hard to fake.

The songs are gloriously uncohesive. Some feel like they could’ve been lifted from a Robert Glasper session, while others resemble the half-finished spark of a laptop demo on a rainy Sunday.

The lyrical terrain is equally scattered—and gloriously so. One minute, you're hearing what could be a hushed confession from someone crushed by the weight of our failing system; the next, it’s a cheesy love song on a summer trip.

And then, suddenly:

“Yeah, I know my booty got big
Everyone’s triggered when I pass by
But it's you, you, you that I choose”

And—well—here we are, just in the third track.
It’s a wild trip to the eighteenth.

Threading through all of this, and holding together the technical demands of such a varied album, is Yaya’s voice: deep and strong, yet sweet and tender. It’s an elastic instrument, capable of slipping from lush falsettos to grounded declarations of defiance. Addictive, even.

If you don’t know what to search for today, I recommend this album.
It’s a lot—messy, sincere, playful—and full of moments that might just stop you in your tracks. Highly recommended for neo-soul enjoyers, but also for anyone chasing personality over polish, surprise over consistency.

Tracklist: 

wake up b*tch 01:52 

end of the world (feat. Nigel Hall & Butcher Brown) 04:30 

real yearners unite 02:56 

cindy rella 02:51 

raisins 02:41 

spin cycle 03:31 

dream girl 02:01 

merlot and grigio (Fear. Father Philis) 03:26 

breakthrough 02:17 

a surrender 02:27 

in a circle 02:25 

aye noche (feat. Rahrah Gabor and Exaktly) 02:26 

no for real, wtf? 03:14 

blicky 03:04 

ask the questions 01:52 

bella noches pt. 1 02:05 

a tiny thing that’s mine 00:43 

choice 01:53

Author: Martín Cacho

Martín is a video game composer, producer and writer from Sonora, México.