One of the biggest struggles that we face growing up is finding our own identities, figuring out who we are and who we want to be at the end of the day. All of those things can make our life journey so confusing and frustrating but sometimes, with the help of music, we are able to find the light at the end of the tunnel, one that leads us to our true purpose and selfhood.

This momentous event occurred for rising artist Topaz Jones who re-captured his lost identity by finding inspiration in funk music, ultimately leading to his successful album ARCADE.

REVOLT chatted with Topaz about his self-discovery process and musical influence.

Why did you feel the need to blend funk and hip-hop together for ARCADE?

I think, for me, it was less about what’s happening in music and trends in music; it was more about being honest to the person I am and trying to be more forthright about the person I am in my music. It’s really just more natural to me to make music like that because that’s the music that I grew up on and was raised on. So, when I started working on this album, I made that determination that this is going to be more honest, be the most “me” album that I can make. It was just second nature to me to incorporate that.

It appears that you grew up in a very educational and socially aware household as your mother is a Harvard scholar, holistic doctor and previously volunteered for the Black Panthers. How have you utilized the lessons that you’ve learned into your music?

Definitely as a kid my mom would never let me run around off somewhere. I might do a basketball camp or some fun stuff like hang out with friends, but she made sure that I had some educational things to do during the summer, as well. And whether it was her or people that she has having me learn from, they definitely passed me certain books. I remember my mom would read The Autobiography of Malcolm X early. I remember being told to read The Alchemist. She’s always passing me articles, newspapers. My whole family kept an eye on what was going on in the world; politics and all. I think inevitably when you are raised around people who give a shit, you have to give a shit as well. You kind of have to pay attention.

Your father played in funk bands Slave and Aurra in the 1970s and 1980s. Tell me about the first time that you sat down and really listened to that kind of music.

When it comes to seeing him play, he used to play in wedding bands and stuff when I was a kid. Sometimes he would take me along with him. And he would play all of the pop standards from Frank Sinatra to The Beatles. But his eyes would light up when he got to sing some Marvin Gaye or something a little more funk-based. And I noticed how much more energy was coming from him during those songs. So, that was my first experience noticing his connection to music. I watched him produce songs in his home studio setup. Seeing him play and connect with the music was really big for me and made me realize how much I wanted to also perform for people and give people the gift of live music.

Funk music is very Afro-centric. How did you utilize the pro-black perspective that came from that genre within your music?

I went to school and left my hometown which was very diverse and ended up at a place where I was more of a token. And it’s easy in a place like that to lose some of your identity and want to assimilate into the norm or what you are being told is standard. So I tried hard to hold onto my identity. But also, musically being surrounded by people who had different influences and grew up on different things were bleeding into what I was doing. It wasn’t a negative thing because I picked up a lot of great things. There’s so much to be said about different cultures sharing their knowledge and their influences with each other, but being so surrounded by other ideas that were more what you would call the norm, standard, or for some “white-washed,” it made me feel the need to cling to my own identity and re-capture my roots.

So, when I was making this album, I figured two years ago, I started to have the realization that the reason why I love funk so much wasn’t so much about embracing what I grew up on musically, but it was about embracing who I am as a person. Funk is so Afrocentric and Afrocentric is pro-black. It’s kind of embracing all of the things that are unique to the black culture specifically and it is so connected to all of my uncles, aunts, and family members. Partying at BBQs, cookouts and stuff, it feels like home to me. It felt like the right homebase to blossom. As far as going forward, I think now that I’ve recaptured my roots, it’s just about taking that lineage and heritage and seeing where to go next. It’s very easy to copy stuff that’s been done, but I rather be equal parts retro and futuristic.

Listen to Arcade below: