India Slodki/The Broadside
Topaz Jones’ second album opens with “Mirror”, an off-beat soul-inspired rap track. The 2:10 minutes mock a conversation between Leven Kali and Jones–the narrator of Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma, Jones’ second full length album.
2016 found Jones in the mainstream with funky “Tropicana,” a single off his debut album, Arcade. If Arcade was Acid Rap adjacent, Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma parallels Childish Gambino’s Redbone.
The difference comes in Jones’ approach to the beautiful braggadocio. Jones leans into his desirer to prove something more. Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma brings funk face to face with a trippy confrontational rap facade.
The majority of the album relies on intoxicating drum beats and funky synths–bringing you into Topaz Jones’ bolder parts. On “Herringbone,” Jones weaves you through up-pitched vocals, crafting the illusion of our narrator reflecting on hindsight and hinting at generational wisdom.
“Black Tame” is the underdog of the album. Following already intoxicating Herringbone, Black Tame is a bouncing confession of unfaithfulness. We bounce to the confession, it’s especially seductive when accompanied by the gospel–like choir.
“Sourbelts” slithers through the mind, tripping through the ears, and back out into a wailing guitar riff, folding you into a madness of sorts. It melts through the air, landing in waves of saturated morality lesions on the ear.
