Yaya Bey – Raisins

Today, Yaya Bey shares new single and music video “raisins”.

The final offering ahead of her forthcoming new album do it afraid, out June 20th via drink sum wtr, this new single embodies the anchoring sentiment of the album. Produced by the Grammy-nominated DJ Harrison (Steve Arrington, Pink Siifu, Joyce Wrice), “raisins” expresses the bravery that it takes to dream, and succeed, in the face of the sobering realities of a career as an artist.

“It’s hard to sum up ‘raisins in a small burb but it’s the pursuit of love, joy and freedom with the full knowing that there will also be pain,” Yaya says of the song. “It’s a surrender. It’s me giving myself permission to dream. It might not happen. But maybe the real joy is not in the materialization but in the dreaming itself. The name is inspired by a Langston Hughes poem called Harlem where he says ‘What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?’”

Following a hometown set at Governor’s Ball Festival next month in NYC, Yaya will take the album on tour in September across the East & West Coasts, concluding on September 27th at the Lodge Room in LA.

Yaya Bey 2025 Live Dates

6/7 – New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball Festival

9/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts

9/11 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

9/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ 99 Scott

9/13 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage

9/16 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5

9/18 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

9/19 – Urbana, IL @ PYGMALION

9/23 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos

9/24 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

9/26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

9/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room

#yayabeybay