Yaz León honors her mother-daughter relationship | ‘IT’S ONLY TAKEOUT MA’ EP

It really took everything and a complete character development to finish.

Yaz León about her debut EP ‘It’s Only Takeout Ma‘.

‘It’s Only Takeout Ma‘, the new project from West London neo-soul artist and producer Yaz León is out.

Written and produced by Spanish-Iraqi singer-songwriter Yaz León herself, with additional production from Ess West, and live instrumentation from Luke Bachuss, Seun Folayan, Jack Oliver, and Starkey the Messenger, the 6-track EP sees the Spanish Iraqi native exploring her familial and romantic relationships, while also having conversations with herself about these emotional ties.

Sonically, she experiments with interesting production and soundscapes, weaving through and merging genres such as soul, funk, R&B, and pop music, to tell her stories, and explore topics like nostalgia, distrust, intimacy, and toxic masculinity.

In this EP Yaz León adress “the immigrant mother-daughter relationship” she had with her Ma, who was more protective than the English parents of her friends. A protection that Yaz now appreciates and cherish (Source).

Citing influences such as Childish Gambino, Erykah Badu, Paco de Lucia, George Benson, and Kendrick Lamar, Yaz León pushes her songwriting to new heights on this project, making use of multifaceted storytelling and lyrical narration to create a work of art that can truly speak to everyone – whether it’s ‘August’ where she reminisces about falling in love with a girl for the first time and comes out to her family, or ‘Spend Your Coins Here’, which pushes against fragile pride and selfishness, or the narrative ‘Dunya’ about maturing through life’s growing pains.

Speaking about the inspiration behind her It’s Only Takeout Ma EP, Yaz León says, “This project took over a year in the making. It really took everything and a complete character development to finish. I had hoped that where my voice could not carry, the songs would speak louder and reach further. Some family and friends blessed the tracks with love. The EP tells many stories and uses many voices so that it might resonate with more people. It’s less about relatability and more about the personal and the taboo. I hope people enjoy and start conversations”.