Will Yaya Bey manage to leave her insider tip status behind with her second album »Remember Your North Star«? Her sound certainly deserves it. This is because the US singer wrings something very unique out of her soul and R’n’B concept. Tracks like »Alright« are clearly reminiscent of Erykah Badu’s groove, but Yaya Bey makes a break in the middle, turns the song around in the opposite direction, throttles it down almost completely before the rhythm comes to the rescue and pushes the thing forward again. »If I just give it to the sky, I bet it might just be alright«. Yaya Bey sings about love, but not in the dreamy variety. Romanticism? Sometimes here, sometimes there. But rather, an artist tells her stories on »Remember Your North Star«. And for a long time, no one has summed up despair like Yaya Bey with: »And the pussy is so, so good and you still don’t love me.« Sure, it sets the mood for the bedroom, but don’t forget: the next moment of despair is already lurking in the next song. Yaya Bey locates herself in the emotional turmoil of the present. The fact that she places this in a pleasant but never pleasing soul sound, which is not only a surface for the lyrics, but merges more deeply with the words than on many other modern releases, is her great achievement. Tracks like »Street Fighter Blues« deserve all the airplay in the world. One of the most exciting releases in the genre this year.
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Big Dada