Mommies In The Dust

Audrey Nuna featuring Saba “Top Again”

The sound of “Top Again” feels very rooted in late 90s/early 00s aesthetics – think R&B songs featuring a Ja Rule guest verse but with the murkier vibes of classic RZA production, with a dash of Missy and Timbaland aesthetics – but with the new money optimism replaced with a casual nihilism. Audrey Nuna’s drowsy-yet-soulful phrasing is perfectly suited to her deadpan sense of humor, particularly when she’s contrasting images of a luxury lifestyle and immaculate high fashion with the muck and grime of actually being present in the world. (“Gabbana pants sag in the mosh pit” is a particularly great image.) The chorus is so strong and instantly familiar that I wonder if I’ve actually heard something just like it in a hit before and can’t quite place it. But everything about this song feels like it’s an act of fandom for other songs – when Saba shows up for his rap, it’s as if the song is smirking at you and doing that “whispering to date” joke format – “that’s the guest rapper verse.”

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