Ire Arogundade is a sophomore in the School of Communications and currently living in Evanston.

Her fro like the stunning bliss of the soul
Holds your breath as its taking control
She’s the beauty, her eyes say hello
Honeycomb holds more than you know
 
Curly girly singing on the dance floor
He’s makin’ music we’re all gonna stand for
Their breaking boundaries, leavin’ a future
A sweet fine delicacy
 
Gritty, golden, sun-kissed delicious
Harmonies from our honey’s existence
I know
 
I’ve got Black honey and it tastes so sweet
Honestly, we know our hearts are glowin’ 
With our bodies showin’
Melanin is a blessin’
Our honey’s flowin’ in our veins
It tastes so good
It's understood 
We’ve got Black honey
 
His flow reps the rhythm and he sets the tone
Vibin’ high off the culture alone
Pride in the sky and love on the phone
Star in the scene and in the zone
 
Our honey’s sweet not sour mixed with some power
Dressed with the rest in Sunday’s best
Our honey’s eminent 
Gives strength
Follows through
Our joy is evident
 
Our honey is such a rarity
Love to see that she a queen
The wannabes, tryna be the king
Our heredity’s lined with royalty
Recipe for sweet tea
Our honey’s powerful sweety
 
Gritty, golden, sun-kissed delicious
Harmonies from our honey’s existence
I know
I've got Black Honey

Get to know the poet

Q: When did you write this song?

A: I wrote the song in September a week or so before school started.

Q: What inspired you to write this song?

A: Every time I turned on the news, especially during the past year, there was a lot of pain. It was really hard to see and re-experience the images throughout all forms of media (news, online, social media, etc.). So I wanted to create something that represented strength and community, something that people could turn toward during hard times, (especially BIPOC and in particular Black people). I originally made a Spotify playlist that I randomly called “Black Honey” in June, which was inspired by the protests after George Floyd’s murder. Almost all of the songs on it came from a place of pain, and I struggled to find songs that celebrated the beauty of being Black. So, I decided to create one myself.

Q: What was the inspiration and goal for your music video and how did you pull sources together to achieve this?

A: I asked my friends from around the world to take part in the video. I said that they could do anything they wanted: If you have art, a dance, your own videos, poetry, rapping, you speaking at a protest, photography, aesthetic videos of you doing something (literally anything like walking into the sunset haha), videos of you doing what you love, literally anything—send them to me. I had over 20 people send in videos. I integrated them into clips that I had shot for the video to create the final product. I am a very amateur YouTuber, so I used my video editing software to put the clips together. For the music, I watched a ton of videos on how to use music digital audio workstations and created the music track on one of those. 

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

A: Here is a link to the Black Honey Artists’ Feature (it includes the full versions of the videos my friends sent in). I have a ton of songs that I hope to record once I improve my music production skills.