Yaya Bey returns with Exodus the North Star EP, released March 24 on Big Dada. Watch the video for the title track below.

The EP — which across its six tracks features collaborations with Jay Daniel, Exaktly, and Nativesun — picks up where previous album Remember Your North Star left off, comprising an emotional rollercoaster that draws on elements of R&B, soul, jazz, reggae, afrobeat, hip-hop and house music, all underpinned by Bey’s intentionally hope-filed and ultimately joyful lyrics.

“Exodus the North Star is my most vulnerable work to date,” says Yaya. “This is how I see joy and love in the world and what I aspire to feel and be. I have become an expert at turning my pain and grief as a black woman into music. Black people have a masterful way of telling our stories and sharing pain, but we’re also masters of joy and imagination. We have always been in a global conversation about how to alchemize our experiences and reimagine our circumstances. From the ties between Lovers Rock and R&B to Gospel and House. Our joy is a collective effort.

“I rarely write about what I would like my existence to be in this world. This is a new level of vulnerability for me. Proclaiming my desires. What I’ve come to learn I deserve. This is my thank you to my people: my peers, the elders and the ancestors for being in this work with me. Cheers to the future.”