American singer, songwriter, and producer Jean Dawson’s transformative vision plays with the idea of genres. His sound taps into his multicultural upbringing while pulling from music that ranges from hip-hop to rock. Leveraging introspective lyricism and experimental production, Dawson’s boundary pushing ability has landed him much praise and critical acclaim. Having released his third album Chaos Now last year, he continues to push forward fearlessly. For the latest entry in HYPEBEAST Diaries, Dawson shared a glimpse at his creative process, sources of inspiration and more.
As a ten year old boy, Dawson was always by himself, making life a “visual language,” one that required him to be observant. Having to wake up at 3am to commute to public school across the Mexico-United States border to make it to San Diego, his head stayed on a swivel, taking in his surroundings everywhere he went. Now, the observer has become the observed as his ascent in music has propelled him to center stage as one of contemporary music’s pioneers.
Referencing anime such as Mob Psycho 100, he shared his appreciation of falling in love with characters and the journeys they go through, something he seeks to replicate with his music. Further introspection leads to an exploration of his studio work, a hilltop where he used to write music and his electrifying stage presence.
“I looked in the mirror for like 20 minutes and tried not to look away,” Dawson mentioned when speaking to the development of Chaos Now. Citing it as difficult, “you start to notice the things that you don’t want to see.” It was important for him to recognize his flaws and the things he hid from himself because “you can lie to the whole world but you can’t lie to yourself.”
Check out the latest installment of HYPEBEAST Diaries above.
For more music news, Metro Boomin has sold a portion of his music catalog for approximately $70 million USD.
