13 Incredible Songs That Make You Say YES!

Reading Time: 13 min read

13 Incredible Songs That Make You Say YES! features music courtesy of AJR, Ariana Grande, Jung Kook, Killer Mike, and Usher.

Ah, YES, there is nothing better than an affirming adverb! Cutting straight to the chase, this playlist, 13 Incredible Songs That Make You Say YES! is all about the word yes. And yes, YEAH is acceptable as well! Basically, the adverb MUST be featured in the song title. That’s the criteria, PERIOD. 13 Incredible Songs That Make You Say YES! features music courtesy of AJR, Ariana Grande, Jung Kook, Killer Mike, and Usher among others. So, without further ado, the only acceptable response is YES when it comes to this playlist!

1. Ariana Grande, “yes, and?”

💿 eternal sunshine • 🏷 Republic • 📅 2024

“Now, I’m so done with caring / What you think, no, I won’t hide.” WORD. Grammy-winning pop superstar Ariana Grande surprises with “yes and?”, the promo single for her 2024 studio album, eternal sunshine. While there are plenty of familiar aspects and moments, contrast comes into play in terms of style.  Rather than R&B-infused pop, “yes and” embraces more of a dance-pop vibe. It was written and produced by Grande, Ilya, and Max Martin. Ultimately, the results are positive.  Also, there is homage paid to pop icons and references to her relationship (“Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?”). Ooh-wee! Oh, snap!  

The sound of the record deserves a shout out. It begins with ample production gimmickry from the onset, followed by an infectious, danceable groove.  Beyond that beat, there are plenty of ear catching instrumental moments that complement the always brilliant vocals of Grande.  Even before Ariana establishes the narrative of the record in the verses, the introduction is prolonged, lasting nearly 50 seconds in duration. As always, Grande eats from a vocal perspective, singing with ease.  “Boy, come on, put your lipstick on / … Come on and walk this way through the fire,” she sings in the pre-chorus, embracing and promoting inclusivity. In the chorus, she drops a few swears for the sake of uplifting! “‘Yes, and?’ / Say that shit with your chest, and / Be your own fuckin’ best friend…” Woo! All in all, Grande brings the heat on the empowering, entertaining, and exuberant “yes, and?”.

Appears in 🔻:

Bops That Pop: January 2024

2. Usher, “Yeah!” (Ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris)

💿 Confessions • 🏷 LaFace • 📅 2004 

“Peace up, A-Town down!” YEAHHHH!!! On Confessions, the 2004 masterpiece LP by Usher, “Yeah!” is a surefire, attention-getter. “Yeah” serves as the banger – the club joint.  On the former, 12-week no. 1 single, the Grammy-winner receives some help from some of his southern friends: Lil Jon and Ludacris.  Both Lil Jon and Ludacris earned a Grammy courtesy of “Yeah!” winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. “Yeah!” continues to bangs two decades later. Sure, crunk has long fallen by the wayside, but “Yeah!” remains fresh. The beat! Those minor-key synths! Usher exemplifies swagger:  

“Yeah, shorty got down low said, come and get me 

Yeah, I got so caught up, I forgot she told me 

Yeah, her and my girl, they used to be the best of homies 

Yeah, next thing I knew she was all up on me screamin’…”  

Throw in Lil Jon’s exuberant shouts (“Yeah!”) and Ludacris’ nastiness (“If you hold the head steady, I’mma milk the cow…I won’t stop till I get ‘em in their birthday suit…”), and “Yeah!” showcases ultra-beast mode 💪. 

Appears in 🔻:

13 Y Songs: No Rhyme or Reason (2021)

3. AJR, “Yes I’m A Mess”

💿 The Maybe Man • 🏷 AJR Productions LLC / Mercury / Republic • 🗓 2023

“Yes, I’m a mess with an S on my chest / Got stress fillin’ up my head.” Yup, typical lyrics from the usual suspects, AJR.  The Gen-Z/millennial spirit runs rampant in the brother trio’s work. “Yes I’m a Mess”, a single from The Maybe Man is tried-and-true AJR. Also, undeniably catchy!  The sound of the recording is enjoyable.  “Yes I’m a Mess” is set in a minor key. Ryan Met concocts production work that is ornate but not too ornate.  It’s picturesque and rhythmic yet non troppo compared to some AJR productions.  Lyrically, the songwriting still explores those first-world problems typical of AJR – “I leave my house at three o’clock / With two hundred texts and two missed calls” – but that sort of goes with the territory, doesn’t it.  The chorus, excerpted above, is a bit schmaltzy, yet it gets easily stuck in the head.  That’s because it is so damn tuneful.  It’s one of those choruses you want to hate but you can’t stop singing!  It plays out like this: 

“Yes, I’m a mess with an S on my chest 

Got stress fillin’ up my head 

So, I spent last night blowin’ up my life 

Now you won’t see me again 

Cheers to the front and cheers to the back 

And cheers to the 2010s 

I could hate my guts when the sun comes up 

But I like myself like this 

I like myself like this.”  

There’s more, of course. In the second verse, we get a few s-bombs from Jack Met (“Why should I fix the shit I’ve done / When I could just pack my shit and run?”), as well as stinky shirts 😏. All in all, “Yes I’m a Mess” provides us some messy fun! 

Appears in 🔻:

11 Messy, Messy MESS Songs (2024)

4. The Pointer Sisters, “Yes We Can Can”

💿 The Pointer Sisters • 🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 1973

It is amazing the work that can be put in with a vamp.  Never underestimate the power of repetition because it can be the catalyst for a great, great song. Grammy winners The Pointer Sisters, one of the great girl groups of the 1970s/80s, struck gold on their 1973 album, The Pointer Sisters, with an Allen Toussaint (1938 – 2015) penned funk record, “Yes We Can.” Originally performed by Lee Dorsey, The Pointer Sisters made “Yes We Can Can” into a pop hit. “Yes We Can Can” peaked at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 12 on the R&B charts. Focusing on this cover (hard to believe 🤯), that fat bass line, emphasizing a C chord faithfully, riding a funky groove is EPIC (David Rubinson produces)! 

It’s not just the simple music that’s lit 🔥 – potent AF.  It’s also the vocals by The Pointer Sisters, led by Anita Pointer. The ladies ooze with musicianship, personality, and, what else, soul! That groove, which runs the course of six minutes, is plenty of fuel for the fire.  Anita’s lead – melody and riffs – are on autopilot. “Now’s the time for all good men / To get together with one another,” she sings, adding, “We got to iron out our problems / And iron out our quarrels / And try to live as brothers.” Preach, girl! Likewise, her sisters’ harmonized vocals are locked-in, adding to the sheer excellence of “Yes We Can Can”.  The centerpiece is the chorus, which is catchy, infectious, and memorable to the nth degree! 

“I know we can make it 

I know darn well we can work it out 

Oh yes we can, I know we can-can 

Yes we can can, why can’t we? 

If we wanna, yes we can-can.” 

Appears in 🔻:  

5. Hunxho, “Yes”

💿 For Her (Deluxe) • 🏷 300 Entertainment LLC • 📅 2023

“I’m the best and she know it / Sending me paragraphs, I done heard it before… so I ignore it” Oh my, Hunxho! He continues, “I’m knowin’ she just mine for the moment, so I’ll enjoy it / If I call her and tell her to come here, she jump like Jordan.” The Atlanta rapper is confident AF on “Yes” which appears as the second track on his 2023 EP, For Her. Here, Hunxho is accompanied by a lush, warm backdrop, led by keys. Furthermore, the instrumental is anchored by drums. Hunxho serves up a melodic rap performance characterized by a rhythmic flow, autotune, and also, legato lines. Even with his melodic flow, he still manages to bring a rough, tough vibe (“Yeah, huh, and I don’t love you for sex / I’ll bring you to my hood, shit, we can ride in my ‘Vette”). The best part of “Yes” is the memorable chorus, which, expectedly, highlights the adverb at hand! What more is there to say but, YES!

6. Jung Kook, “Yes or No”

💿 GOLDEN • 🏷 BIGHIT MUSIC • 📅 2023

Hot and talented K-pop musician Jung Kook keeps the good vibes flowing on “Yes or No,” the fifth track from his debut album, GOLDEN.  “This ain’t another love song, baby / It’s my way of putting feelers out,” he sings in the first verse of this brief but sweet joint. All in all, he brings it. Wins include quick melodic lines, a catchy chorus – “Are you feeling the rush? / If so, then I think I know what’s going on / And are we falling in love? / Say yes or no, yes or no, yes or no” – and idiomatic pop production (Cirkut and Blake Slatkin).  “Yes or No” isn’t a game changing moment from GOLDEN, but, it’s another rock solid one.

7. Beyoncé, “Yes”

💿 Dangerously in Love • 🏷 J / Sony Music Entertainment Inc. • 📅 2003

“Yes” appears as the seventh track off Dangerously in Love, the 2003 debut album by Beyoncé. The ballad was penned by Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Focus… Likewise, Beyoncé and Focus… produced the track. Following the introduction, the first section of the song we hear is the memorable chorus, filled with the titular adverb, as well as its rival adverb, ‘no.’ “I said, yes to your number, and yes to you dating me / ‘Yes we can be together, but you gotta wait for me,” she sings, continuing, “The first time I say ‘no,’ it’s like I never said, ‘yes’ / (It’s like I never said ‘yes’).” The gist of the song is Bey agreed to date him, but ‘pumps the break’ essentially – she isn’t aiming to rush things. This doesn’t sit well with him, hence that makes the relationship a NO for Bey as opposed to a yes. “You said I move too slow, I showed you door,” she sings in the second verse, continuing, “You said you’d call me later, I said, ‘Don’t call no more.’” Woo! All told, Beyoncé sings “Yes” well, while the sound of the record is a selling point too.

8. Joji, “YEAH RIGHT”

💿 BALLADS 1 • 🏷 88rising / Warner • 📅 2018 

“Yeah, you bet I go to see you when / I’m feeling like a drum without a beat / Yeah, you dance so good / And I think that’s kinda neat.” Joji kicks “Yeah Right” from BALLADS 1 off with a bang, asserting on the intro, “I’ma fuck up my life.”  As he sings, the supporting backdrop is moody – clearly embodying the alternative vein and modern R&B sound of the times. He continues to utter the profane, carefree phrase into the first verse, eventually expounding how this “fuck-up” is going down. “We gon’ party all night / She don’t care if I die / Yeah, right, yeah, right.” Clearly, he is reacting to trauma in his life, likely a breakup, hence he reacts by partying.  The first person that doesn’t care is his ex.  However, if the music video as well as a mental picture of the partying is considered, the strippers/exotic dancers don’t care either, right? The titular lyric recurs on the pre-chorus before more pain is unleashed on the chorus. 

“Yeah, you bet I know that she ain’t 

Never give a single fuck about me 

Yeah, you bet she know that we ain’t 

Never gonna be together…” 

Appears in 🔻:

9. Lil Baby & Drake, “Yes Indeed”

💿 Harder Than Ever • 🏷 Quality Control Music, LLC / UMG Recordings, Inc. • 📅 2018

“Brand new whip got no keys / Tailor my clothes, no starch, please / Soon as I nut, you can gon’ leave / Got M’s in the bank, like, ‘Yes, indeed’.” Grammy-winning rappers Lil Baby and Drake joined forces for a surefire rap banger, “Yes Indeed”. Despite a modest runtime – under two-and-a-half-minutes in duration – “Yes Indeed” ended up being a breakthrough hit for Lil Baby, reaching no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning multiplatinum certification from the RIAA. Besides elevating Lil Baby’s profile, the trap production by Wheezy and BRackz is a selling point. That beat goes hard, yet the keys – lighter, like a fluty mellotron – give “Yes Indeed” a smoother vibe. The contrast within the backdrop is awesome.

Shifting to the rappers, Lil Baby’s rhythmic, electrifying flow rides that instrumental like a champ. “They know I’m the truth, comin’ straight from the basement / I’m straight as the street, man I come from the pavement,” he raps in the second verse, continuing, “A million, all hundreds, it make ’em go crazy / Wham-wham-wham, bitch, I’m the baby.” YES, INDEED! Of course, Lil Baby also drops the lit chorus. Also, shout out Drake too, who drops the first verse!

“Young Money Records, the Army, the Navy

They ran me ten thousand, I threw it like Brady

The foreign is yellow like Tracee and K.D

I trusted my niggas, they never betrayed me.”

Again, “Yes Indeed”!

Appears in 🔻:

Lil Baby & Drake, Yes Indeed: Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 No. 10 (2024)

10. Lana Del Rey, “Say Yes To Heaven”

🎵 “Say Yes to Heaven” • 🏷 Polydor / Interscope• 📅 2023

“Say yes to heaven / Say yes to me / Say yes to heaven / Say yes to me.” Word. “Say Yes To Heaven” was released officially by Lana Del Rey in 2023, though dates back to 2016. This three-and-a-half-minute song commences with a lovely, rhythmic guitar intro. The production is comprised of guitars and keys, primarily, but also adds lush strings. The record features those beloved, signature Lana vocals. She sounds expressive and nuanced with a celestial, heavenly tone. Composed alongside producer, Rick Nowels, the songwriting is simple but accessible. “If you dance, I’ll dance / And if you don’t, I’ll dance anyways,” she sings in the first verse, continuing, “Give peace a chance / Let the fear you have fall away.” Unsurprisingly, the tuneful chorus (excerpted above) is the section to beat. During the chorus, I love how Del Rey showcases her upper register Notably, there is also a sped-up version of the single.

11. KYLE, “YES!” (Ft. Rich The Kid & K CAMP)

💿 See You When I am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!! • 🏷 independent. / Atlantic • 📅 2020 

“Yes / Shawty know she fuckin’ with the best / Logo shit, I feel like Jerry West / She gon’ blow this whistle like a ref.” Infectious rapper KYLE returned in 2020 with See You When I am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!!.  Among the highlights from that exclamatory album is the fun, totally ‘infectious’ single, “YES!”. KYLE is assisted by K CAMP and Rich the Kid. The biggest takeaway from “YES!” is that it is F-U-N to the nth degree.  This banger, produced by Naz is totally entertaining.  It starts with the lovable KYLE, who handles the bulk of the chorus (excerpted above).     

“Yes 

I got plenty tattoos on my flesh 

Drip on me, I tactical my vest 

Hunnids everywhere, I made a mess 

Let’s get it.”    

The verses are short throughout with rappers alternating and at times, splitting them. Rich the Kid arrives following the chorus, rapping about his drip, followed by a confident and cocky KYLE asserting, “Shawty now she fuckin’ with the man /… Yeah, they sleep ono me, they ought to name me Xans.” Rich returns, refencing his ‘bitch,’ Bali, the Bentley truck, and his Lambo.  KYLE splits a verse with K Camp, before another chorus, which is followed by more of the same.   

Appears in 🔻:

13 Y Songs: No Rhyme or Reason (2021)

12. Killer Mike, “YES!”

💿 MICHAEL • 🏷 VLNS, LLC / Loma Vista • 📅 2023

“You kick it like the benefactor’s benefactor (Yes!) / Well, truthfully, we know you never been a factor (Yes!).” Ooh-wee! “YES!” Appears as the 15th track from the deluxe version of MICHAEL, the 2023 album by Grammy-winning rapper, Killer Mike. “YES!” features banging production courtesy of Menace. Notably, Menace samples a soulful, spiritual, gospel gem: “Have You Been Tried in the Fire” courtesy of Florida Mass Choir. The yeses by the choir are filled with power, packing a mean punch, bolstering electrifying rhymes by Killer Mike.

“The truth a heavy burden and it’s weighin’ on me (Yes!)

Red doggies caught me slippin’, went to wailin’ on me

I went to callin’ out to Jesus like a reverend, homie (Yes!)

Chalked it up to sin, took it on my chin (Yes!)”

The call and response is everything 🙌. Besides those affirming yeses, the harmonized vocals of the choir also help to take us to chuuch! This rap joint may not full embrace church – Mike is dropping some profanity, after all – but this gospel-infused rap song is a must-hear. What I’m saying is, it’s giving a… YES!!!

13. Barbara Mason, “Yes, I’m Ready”

💿 Yes, I’m Ready • 🏷 Jamie Record Co. • 📅 1965

“(Are you ready?) Yes, I’m ready.” Oh, if only love were as innocent as it’s presented on the sweet 60s classic, “Yes, I’m Ready”. “Yes, I’m Ready”, fittingly, serves as the opener of… Yes I’m Ready, the 1965 album by Barbara Mason. Notably, Mason earned the biggest hit of her career with this record, which focuses on L-O-V-E. Also notable, Barbara a mere teenager when she recorded and released this gem. How successful was this song? Well, “Ready” peaked at no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the R&B charts, “Yes, I’m Ready” peaked at no. 2. “I don’t even know how to love / Just the way you want me to,” Mason sings in the first verse of “Yes, I’m Ready.” Despite her naivety regarding love, she adds, “But I’m ready (ready) to learn (to learn).” Sweet! The sentiment is similar in the second verse, where Barbara embraces learning what it means to fall in love. The concept of the song isn’t complicated, but, even as innocent as it is, it’s relatable – at least when you’re young, find yourself crushing hard, and ready for some action! Besides a solid vocals performance, including accentuating backing vocals, the music is sweet. “Yes, I’m Ready” gets off to a rousing start thanks to the lush sounds of the orchestra. This song has that vintage, 60s soul sound that never grows old – it’s refreshing to hear six decades later.

Appears in 🔻:

Barbara Mason, Yes, I’m Ready: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 15 (2024)

13 Incredible Songs That Make You Say YES! (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; 88rising, 300 Entertainment LLC, AJR Productions LLC, Atlantic, BIGHIT MUSIC, Interscope, independent., J, Jamie Record Co., LaFace, Loma Vista, Mercury, Polydor, Quality Control Music LLC, Republic, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., UMG Recordings Inc., VLNS, LLC, Warner; Lay Low from Pexels; TheDigitalArtist from Pixabay]

13 Incredible Songs That Make You Say YES! | Playlist 🎧

Published by the musical hype on February 23, 2024February 23, 2024