Brooklyn-bred R&B star Yaya Bey is the latest musician to take the Sound Check challenge, choosing her favorite songs from matchups between soul singers Erykah Badu and Frank Ocean, fellow Brooklynites Mos Def and Jay-Z, and breakout rappers BigXthaPlug and Doechii.
Here’s how it works: Jeremy plays two songs for the guest artist, who has to choose one and explain their choice, giving Jeremy a chance to learn their musical taste. Jeremy then has to guess the artist’s life anthem, the song they’d take to a desert island, which the guest wrote down earlier on a piece of paper. Our production team has also given him a decoy song, and Jeremy has to guess which is correct based on what he’s learned in the previous rounds.
Of one of her choices, Yaya says, “Erykah is an influence on everybody, whether it’s a little bit or a lotta bit.” She also has to “keep it in the family,” picking between two of her father Grand Daddy I.U.’s Golden Era classics. As she explains, her choice is a sentimental one, given her closeness to the late Juice Crew rap pioneer.
Watch Yaya Bey take on the Sound Check challenge above. New episodes of Sound Check drop every Wednesday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT on Uproxx’s YouTube.