“Suffering is promised to us all, but so is joy. You have

to find peace in that duality,” says Yaya Bey, who

commits to life’s delight — humor, love, the power of

human movement and connection — even if she has

to do it afraid. With her new album, which follows a

run of critically acclaimed releases and marks her

debut on art-forward indie label drink sum wtr, the

Queens, New York singer-songwriter thrives across

uplifting, effervescent material. A rejection of past

narratives projected onto her, ‘do it afraid’ finds Bey

reclaiming her story with resolutely fun, full-hearted,

and nuanced songs that pull from R&B, hip-hop, jazz,

soul, and dance music, including the soca stylings of

her family’s Bajan roots. do it afraid celebrates all sides

of Yaya as part of a collective lifeforce that doesn’t

subscribe to fear but to the moments that move us.