NEXT Album Review
topaz jones - don’t go tellin’ your momma
Topaz Jones released his independent sophomore studio album, Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma, on April 23rd, 2021. This follow up to his 2016 debut, Arcade, features Phonte, Gabriel Garzon-Montano, anaiis, Maxo, and Leven Kali across the 13 tracks.
To coincide with this long-awaited release, Topaz co-directed an eponymous short film for the album with Jason Sondock and Simon Davis, a duo better known as rubberband. The 42-minute visual companion received praise this year at SXSW for Visionary Storytelling and won in Sundance Film Festival’s Short Film Jury Award for Non-Fiction. If the music is as special as the movie then the five years Topaz Jones spent away was not wasted.
1) “Mirror” ft. Leven Kali (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
The opening is already conveying a largeness. The narrator sounds like he’s in the center of a stadium talking to a large crowd. “We have something real special for you tonight folks.” Topaz comes in with the line, “I think I’m finally finding me.” His vocals are delivered like a collage of thoughts. The funk-drenched bassline is soothing. Beautiful build up. The production moves, much like his rhymes, with the suave cool of an old school Thunderbird driving to church on a Sunday morning. I like how layered the musicality is.
“Mirror” establishes a rich contrast between funk and rap. Feel like I just walked into a family reunion. Pleasant beginning, but it’s pretty short, I don’t know how much I’ll come back to this one.
Going to say NEXT but it might change my mind in future listens.
2) “D.I.A.L” (prod. Alissia Benveniste)
The chords are almost as warm as his vocals. There’s a familial comfort to this. Topaz is like listening to your favorite cousin share stories on walks to the corner store. Good flow in this first verse. “Cycling through memories,” is exactly what his lyrics sound like. So much is happening beneath the vocals your ears have to choose where your attention will lie. Truly a sound bed to lay in. Liking this melodic delivery in the second verse. He’s got a weightless voice that doesn’t feel too elastic or stuck in a frigid form. Wish it had a little more bite. The message is timely, but it’d hit harder by punching up the frustration in his tone.
The saxophone riffs are a nice touch. I like the woman’s sentiment on the outro. “We don’t like to think of ourselves as having issues.”
3) “Herringbone” (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
I remember this one when it dropped as the first single. Gave me Sly and the Family Stone. Also reminiscent of Childish Gambino’s Awaken, My Love. Topaz leans on his funk forefathers to guide this one on a rhythm that screams summertime cookouts. This is “Family Business” by Kanye West modernized by a writer who doesn’t sound like he invented these relationships. There’s something very ancestral about how the music is tonally a throwback and lyrically centered on Black familyhood.
This is a good song. So far the album’s production remains a bright spot but there’s a chemistry between the sound and the substance. Music that compliments the vocalists. Can see this one going crazy in a skating rink.
4) “Black Tame” (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
The guitar wailing. Been loving how live instrumentation has been present in some of my favorite releases this year. Where Kenny Mason leaned into Rock, Topaz has attached Funk to his rap palette. He’s very much a throwback. Got a chuckle out the Charlie Brown line. I like this. Reminds me a bit of Earth, Wind, and Fire. Another song where I like the sentiment, Topaz sharing his point of view on love and monogamy, I’m not as engaged with the lyrics as the production. I could see Wale vibing to this one. It’s in line with his poetic style. The Rihanna forehead line, lol.
“Black Tame” is a NEXT for me. I’m glad the song exists in contrast to raps usually reflecting on relationships, but didn’t land with the force to make it really memorable.
5) “Baba 70S” (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
Now this is how to leave an impression. Very big build up. Felt like Flying Lotus a bit. Loving these drums. “This grown man talking,” yep, that’s what I’m talking about. This verse has a pimp stroll. He’s levitating. And that bassline! “God got a sense of humor, learned how to smile.” “Baba 70S” is shaping up to be an early favorite. Sharp lyricism and striking production. Really showcases the skill set that makes Topaz Jones an exciting star on the rise.
6) “Amphetamines” ft. anaiis (prod. Eli Evnen)
A change in pace. A groove that is more sing-song than straight rap. Interesting vocal pitching. It’s giving me Michael Jackson with a little Prince. Various ideas baked into this one. He doesn’t commit to any one style but goes in various directions. Here’s the rapping. I like how different this is. Catching plenty of coming-of-age lyricism. The line about being addicted to nostalgia speaks to how much the album looks backwards in sound and substance. He’s really multifaceted.
I’ll go back to this one.
7) “Sourbelts” (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
His rapping over this minimal chord progression is a good contrast to the larger soundscapes on the album. I like this. He’s catching the ghost. The singing vocals here also seem Prince-esque. You really get an idea of Topaz’s range on this album. The well-roundedness of his artistry works best when he leans into a vision that shows variety. “Sourbelts” is like sunbathing on a summer beach. Short but sweet.
8) “D.O.A.” ft. Angel White (prod. Angelo Mota)
Another tonal change. This is Topaz at his most urgent. The energy is kinetic. Feels like he’s about to lunge out of the headphones. The production has him turning the heat up. He can do it all. One of his strongest raps performances. The album is picking up the pace. This one was over quickly.
9) “Who?” ft. Maxo & Phonte (prod. Topaz Jones)
I like how the album moves. The songs are focused. Seamlessly creating scenes like an audio movie. Maxo! I can’t stress enough how Def Jam needs to open the budget and make this guy a star. I haven’t looked at their roster in some time but he’s one of the most talented newcomers to be under their umbrella since, man, I can’t name the last Def Jam artists I was excited about. He sounds much older on this than he did on his debut album, Lil Big Man. Topaz comes second. “They sent over a contract to own all my tracks.” Would love to speak with Topaz about his independence. This album doesn’t sound like an indie project. Major label resources without the major label conditions. Phonte. Hearing his voice instantly brought me joy. There’s a steadiness to his lyricism, he’s like a sage who raps between years of meditation. You have to absorb the lyrics, not just hear them. Oh my god, lol. That last line. He gave Topaz a No News Is Good News caliber verse.
Keeper.
10) “Gold” ft. Floyd Fuji (prod. Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
Thelonious Martin needs a radio show after this opening skit. I like how “Gold” leans back into the funky basslines. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t have much interest in males rapping about women. Not unless it’s more personal than metaphorical. This song sounds good, but I don’t see myself coming back. Certain themes just don’t resonate how they used to. There’s a breakdown happening on the backend that grabbed my ears. His vocals here remind me of Frank Ocean. I do like how it sounds.
Leaning toward a NEXT, but this one might grow on me.
11) “Rich” (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck & Topaz Jones)
I thought Brockhampton had a good production team, but Topaz Jones is really showing out. There’s a richness to how these songs are made that just feels like it’ll sound great in the years to come. Some honest lyricism. “The fame or the power, what are you after?” Ha, the line about the guys in coups that won’t recoup. I wonder how many rappers recoup every year? That’s a Forbes article I would read. “I be spending like I’m rich.” Love the soulfulness in the hook. Is there a Black sound he doesn’t touch on?
12) “Blue” ft. Gabriel Garzón-Montano (prod. Jacob Rochester & Topaz Jones)
Sequence wise Topaz Jones is going for an album that you can’t skip around. Each song slides into the next with such ease that it feels more like a transition rather than a new track. “Blue” is shaping up to be a late album standout. This one doesn’t seem to have the same mix as the other records. Feels a little dirtier. I like it. I’m coming back to this one.
13) “Buggin” (prod. Alissia Benveniste, Jack Hallenbeck, Topaz Jones & Thelonious Martin)
Great production. The storytelling is showing his pen off. He’s an abstract writer. The imagery gives his writing its flavor. Oh yes! These drums. This is hip-hop that takes you back to the 90s. Gotta love Thelonious Martin when he brings the heat. An easy keeper. Love the outro story from the older Black woman telling who said, “My mother always taught us, if you don’t know what to do, be a good listener.”
Message.
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is Topaz Jones exploring the versatility of his voice and how he fits in a lineage of eclectic Black musicians that aren’t beholden to genre norms. By stepping backward in time and allowing various influences to lead him toward a new nostalgia, the New Jersey-born artist creates an all-purpose album. Music that can be played at skating rinks and road trips, family reunions and cookouts, proms and pre-games, where ever Black life is coming of age, reflecting on the times, or just wanting to dance, he has a song for those moments.
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma doesn’t have the major label gloss to feel like a blockbuster, but the ideas are inventive with an unrestrained creativity. His style of genre-bending works against the way time ages albums that are made to be present-tense. Topaz Jones is more like an artist outside of time, living between the past and present, which may be the secret to being timeless. I’m excited to see how Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma will grow as the months and years go by.
Final Tally: 3 Skips (of 13)