Jean Dawson is whip-smart, something which can be both an asset and an obstacle. For years, the 29-year-old artist fought tooth and nail against his own mind, though that trial only made him stronger, wiser, and catapulted him into radical acceptance. Today, Jean Dawson embraces Jean Dawson, the creative force and the human — two things forever in flux. Whether you’ve heard his music or not, face to face, Dawson is admirable. Attentive, intentional, with an outlook on life that avoids conforming to any others’, remaining steadfastly his own. Following his gut, and leaning into growth, each project Dawson has delivered feels like a new chapter in the story of his artistic self-actualization.
Sonically, there are no descriptors apt to wrangle what Dawson does into a neatly packaged genre. “Ghetto pop” is the closest he’s gotten to labeling it himself. Like water, challenging lyrics seem to spill from him with ease, something seen through his discography — traversing topics like mental health, feeling like an outsider, spirituality, often drawing on his life experience as a Black and Mexican artist raised between San Diego and Tijuana. The throughline of it all is in how Dawson hacks away at life’s, and the industry’s, mess of brambles, instinctually forging his own path where there previously was none. Essentially, where the sound may eschew genre, the constant is an ever-present, honest Dawson, being entirely himself.
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This week, Dawson has given us the first page to his next chapter — with the title track to his forthcoming project, Rock A Bye Baby Glimmer of God. The single, “Rock A Bye Baby,” is replete with a buoyant, rich sound that, as expected, is a deviation of sorts from what we’ve heard before. Where Dawson’s early work offered notes of punk, trap, hip-hop, over time his references have changed, swerving through alt-rock, indie pop, glitch pop… This new track, however, finds Dawson edging further into the pop realm — though, true to form, he’s avidly rejecting any and all of its boundaries. There’s a nostalgic feeling to the song, which opens with a satisfying, bubbly guitar riff before diving headfirst into a funky, alt-pop-meets-R&B sound, echoing an almost Michael Jackson-esque sensibility in its fusion of emotion and technical precision, while using the vocals as an instrument to guide the fluid, groovy energy along.
Needless to say, Dawson’s unique work has not gone unnoticed — over the last few years, he has gotten co-signs, features, and tours along with some of the industry’s top talent, from SZA to Elton John. Currently, he’s out on the road with Linkin Park — who shouted him out during their AP cover interview. Catch him on his dates with Linkin Park, or at one of the headlining shows he has booked along the way.