Back in April, New Jersey rapper Topaz Jones shared his album Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma, an LP that came with a very well-received short film of the same name. The film, co-directed Jones and rubberband, went on to win a Jury Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. I've been curious about it since it was first announced, and today the film was released in full via The New York Times.
The vivid short incorporates an updated version of the "Black ABCs," flashcards developed by Chicago teachers in the '70s in an attempt to counteract anti-Blackness in the education system, as Variety reported yesterday. Watch the film above, and read Jones's statement on it below via Variety.
“At the heart of Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is a desire for preservation. We found joy in uncovering new creative ways to archive moments in a single life that could speak to the spirit of many lives. We’re honored to partner with an historic institution like The Times to present this raw, unconventional exploration of thought and memory as a record of Black Americans’ complex relationship to identity in the early aughts. May it inspire and make others feel seen in their own self discovery for generations to come.”
