Gabriel Jacoby makes songs about communication that don’t sound like homework. “Let’s talk about it,” his new single on PULSE Records/BOURNE Records, is a sultry, funk-driven track with a slinky guitar, mechanized handclaps locking in an unshakable groove, and what Consequence’s Jonah Krueger accurately called “an absolutely nasty bass line” — all underneath a plea to handle a rough patch the old-fashioned way.

His own explanation, to Rated R&B: “‘let’s talk about it’ is basically saying before we walk away from each other, let’s come together and talk about what’s going on. I always felt most things can be fixed when we stop standing against each other and start standing eye to eye, cuz we’re only human.” He shifts between a raspy falsetto and smooth-as-butter rap to plead his case, and the instrumental palette keeps evolving under him — this is a producer’s song as much as a singer’s.

The résumé is the interesting part. South Carolina-born, raised between South Carolina and Tampa; picked up guitar, bass, drums, and production after moving to Tampa; poetry turned to rap (“Mr. Poet” on SoundCloud), then a voice finally showcased properly on 2022’s “reptile.” His November 2025 debut EP gutta child was an acclaimed, tight eight tracks — “dirty south sh*t,” as he called it — and a Gutta Child Dlx is expected before year’s end; the new video, which he co-directed with James Martin, even hides a disc labeled “Gutta Child d/x” in the opening scene as an Easter egg. Next up: Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival at Dodger Stadium on November 15th, alongside Steve Lacy, Syd, and Leon Thomas.

In a week stacked with guitars, this is the Ten’s R&B counterweight — danceable, elastic, and disarming. The song’s message is almost old-fashioned in its sincerity, but the delivery is all 2026: vulnerable over a bassline that could knock a wall down. Talk it out. Jacoby made it sound easy.

RATING: 4.4/5

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