On August 15, 2025, artist Dijon released his second album Baby, representing genres of alternative R&B, experimental soul, and pop. He released this record after having his baby with his wife Joanie Del Santo (otherwise referred to as Joanna, Joanne, or Annie), which serves as a recurring theme in almost every track. Baby features production from figures such as Mk.gee, BJ Burton, Henry Kwapis, Tommy King, and Tobias Jesso Jr.
Baby!
This is the opening track, and contains Dijon softly speaking, whilst accompanied with light drums. There’s a slight guitar, and as the song progresses, there are adlibs that hum in the background. Throughout the song, he talks about his experience with his wife Joanie when they were welcoming their son into the world. Ironically, they named their baby Baby, which I find amusing. The song is pretty heartfelt, and towards the end, it sort of sounded like a rejoice and to me, felt like a group hug. His soft spokenness is very admirable, and paints him as a gentle father.
Another Baby!
The song begins by repeating the same line, “Struggling to keep composure the way you keep it hot” four times. Something I really appreciate about this song is that everything is pretty abrupt and intentional. He samples Jazzy Jay & T La Rock’s “It’s Yours,” and the song overall includes electric guitar and drums. The topic of this song is about wanting another baby to expand his family with Joanna. Not only does he just talk about wanting another child, but he also repeats the admiration he has for his wife. Lastly, he also samples “Do I Love Her?” and “Table Interlude” by DJ Quik & Suga Free. He’s performed this song on Saturday Night Live, and while I think this song is well rounded
HIGHER!
I love this song a ton, wow. He begins the song with a groovy beat, accompanied with a piano and some drums. He doesn’t strain his voice in this song compared to the others, which is cool. Then, in the chorus, he stacks his voice. My favorite part about this song is how there’s no distinct chorus, but he does noticeably enunciate the word “higher” louder than everything else. This song too describes his love for his wife.
(Freak It)
The instrumental is definitely funky and not mellow. The voice is kind of calm, and the reverb is recognizable. There are some drums that play along in the background as well.
Yamaha
This is actually my favorite song of his, and ultimately what led me to listen to the entire album. He samples A Tribe Called Quest’s song, “What?” and follows up with nice drums. The chorus is definitely very joyful and catchy. You can hear his affection for Joanie through his passion in his voice. There’s some strong piano in some parts as well. Something that really stands out to me is that towards the end, he sings the chorus behind the ad-libs, instead of it typically being in front. He ends the song with A.T.C.Q.’s sample again, coming full circle.
Honestly, this track is the most special to me because of the lyrics. In particular, “Big loving—that’s my heart/ And you own it,” and “Write me in for Friday-Tuesday/ I am on call!” really paint the admiration he has for his wife. His love is apparent! On TikTok, I even saw a comment that observed that Dijon might’ve named the song “Yahama” as a way of saying “you-my-heart.” Whether it be right or wrong, I think it’s really sweet.
FIRE!
He begins the song with some sort of sampling—which he does in many of his songs. But, he contrasts it immediately with a mellow, somber piano and soft singing. But then, the beat picks up and there’s some sort of glitching. This may be unrelated, but the glitches kind of remind me of Miles Morales’ glitching in Spiderman, if that helps somewhat paint a picture. Plus, the beat reminds me of “Pray For Me” by the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar. The glitches continue, and there’s a scream to top it all off. He ends it off by sampling the audio, “like a ring of fire, baby!”
(Referee)
I adore this song! It starts off pretty calm, and adds electric guitar in the back. Something that really stood out to me was how he really sounds like Frank Ocean in the beginning. Anyway, the song begins to be energetic through the addition of chaotic drums. Plus, instead of his initial calm singing, he alternates to straining his voice, perhaps to show his gradual passion.
Rewind
This one is definitely a mellow song and sounds pretty sad. Instead of the addition of multiple instruments, it’s just Dijon’s voice and calm acoustic guitar strumming. He becomes more emotional towards the end, but it eventually turns into strained yelling. But then, he brings it back down to a calm tone in the last line. This is a constant theme: the normal to chaotic storyline. It doesn’t get boring, though, and really tells a narrative.
my man
This track starts off pretty calm, and something I enjoy about the instrumental is how it sounds like it’s playing in a different room. Everything is definitely emotional, especially when you consider that he’s talking about his father. Gradually, his voice gets more emotional as he yells. Lastly, he transfers from, “How can I leave?” to “I can’t leave!” which leaves an imprint on my heart.
loyal & marie
He begins the song by whispering in isolated vocals. Then, he adds in some guitar, but I appreciate how it doesn’t take over the singing. He repeats, “How come it’s so easy?” and I think that’s a really admirable line. Plus, I absolutely love the blending of the regular speaking & whisper vocals. This, once again, is a song that is about his wife. It’s a constant theme of this record, and I admire how he centralizes her. It’s a very calm song throughout, which defeats the “rise and fall” trope that I mentioned previously.
Automatic
This begins by sampling GZA and ODB of Wu Tang Clan’s freestyle on Video Music Box. To me, the sound is kind of indescribable. He sings normal, and then whispers when he sings, “Is it automatic?” He incorporates all sorts of sounds which highlights his artistic ability. He then plays synth piano, which is super cool, then the vibe of the song becomes more upbeat through the addition of drums. He samples “Roxanne’s Revenge” by Roxanne Shante, then later jumps up a key of some sort. He ends the song by going full circle as he samples the freestyle he used in the beginning.
Kindalove
In the beginning, it has a kind of nostalgic, distorted instrumental. It’s filled with echoed vocals and normal singing—no strain, no yelling, no whispering. It’s definitely a refreshing type of sound, and this is more enforced after he sings, “that [blank] kind of love.” During the middle of the song, his voice gets more echoed. There are humming and stacked vocals which I absolutely adore. Then, it fades into a more calm vibe, and repeats “good day, good night.” He ends the song with a mellow piano with random background noises. Truly, he chose the best track to end the record with. It leaves the listeners with a heartfelt emotion, which mirrors the entire album itself.
