Yaya Bey‘s album, Do It Afraid, is now less than a month from release, and to celebrate that milestone, the singer shared the music video for its third single, “Raisins.” The new song was preceded by “Merlot And Grigio” in March, and “Dream Girl,” which accompanied the album announcement in April.
The video for “Raisins” is a blend of Black cultural traditions, from styling hair to line dancing at family reunions. Scenes of Yaya getting her hair curled and brushing a male companion’s hair are intercut with home video-like sequences of the family enjoying each other’s company in the front yard and relaxing on the porch. Each of the family members answers a question posed by the song: “Have you given up on that dream?”
As Yaya explains in a press release, “It’s hard to sum up ‘Raisins’ in a small blurb, but it’s the pursuit of love, joy and freedom with the full knowing that there will also be pain. 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?’”
Watch Yaya Bey’s “Raisins” video above.
Do It Afraid is out 6/20 via Drink Sum Wtr. Find more information here.
Yaya Bey’s 2025 Tour Dates
06/07 — New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball Festival09/10 — Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts09/11 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall09/12 — Brooklyn, NY @ 99 Scott09/13 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage09/16 — Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 509/18 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall09/19 — Urbana, IL @ PYGMALION09/23 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos09/24 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios09/26 — San Francisco, CA @ The Independent09/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room