Topaz Jones’s “Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma” is Masterful in Every Way

Prolific rising artist Topaz Jones is changing the landscape of the industry with his latest release, Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma. The Montclair, New Jersey based artistic mogul follows his 2016 album release five years later with a culturally, sonically, visually genius masterpiece. Rooted in his own history in Montclair, Jones linked with production duo rubberband to create a 35 minute accompanying film sharing the same title. The film Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma provides a culturally relevant take on the Black ABCS (a stereotypical set of flashcards developed by educators in the 1970s), rendering beautiful artistic representations of each track on the album interwoven between powerful words from prolific Black educators, family members, activists, artists, and more throughout.

Sonically, Topaz Jones’s sound is rooted in hip hop, as his rapid flow and frequent use of trap beats meet a clear influence from 70s funk. Each track on the project oozes soul and truth in every way. Jones exemplifies mastery of not just performance and flow, but also of album composition, visual pairing, production, style, and more. Standouts from the tracklist include “Gold” featuring up and coming R&B vocalist Floyd Fuji, where Fuji’s layered, groovy voice croons the light hearted refrain “you were hotter as a blonde,” building on Jones’s harder hitting, solid verses, allowing the track to read simultaneously brutally honest and playfully cheeky.

Another notable moment comes from the album’s most widely streamed track “Herringbone,” a masterpiece that highlights Jones’s ability to diversify his own sound even within the confines of a single song. The song highlights all the best of Jones’s sound; a backing of soulful bassline, bright synths, and lively drums remains steady as Jones displays his chameleon-like ability to alter his voice, effortlessly transitioning from vocally sound melodic chorus to verses that display his expertise in lyricism and flow.

Although Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is only the second full length release from Jones, every aspect of the project displays the finesse and skill of only the most seasoned of artists. The visual album style film component of the project won Best Non-Fiction Short Film 2021 at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and the album itself has already received attention from major music publications including Pitchfork. Topaz Jones has proven to be a visionary rising in the music scene and beyond, making a name for himself and his collaborators as he creates music that will remain on my list of all time favorites for years to come. Be sure to check out Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma available everywhere now.