Jean Dawson is a Mexican-American experimental pop rapper, who has already been turning heads with his complex production and jaw-dropping instrumentation. Critics have compared the 28-year-old artist to other genre-blending and envelope-pushing musicians such as Steve Lacy, Paris Texas, Teezo Touchdown, and Standing On The Corner. The artist presently enjoys a listenership of over 1.1 million monthly streamers on Spotify alone. Jean Dawson's latest release, a 3-pack EP by the name of Boohoo, dropped on March 7, and has already accumulated a great deal of recognition from fans.
Though the release only holds 3 tracks, running for a total of 8 minutes in length, the project has a lot to offer sonically. Despite the evident polish of these tracks, Jean Dawson has characterized the Boohoo 3-pack as an overture, indicating that it sets the stage for numerous upcoming releases from the up-and-comer in the future. Here's a brief look at what each track has to offer new and returning listeners, and a review of the material therein.
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"New Age Crisis"
Jean Dawson opens Boohoo with a shocking blend of R&B crooning and brash, almost heavy metal-inspired instrumentation, with the track "New Age Crisis." The track is guaranteed to lift listeners out of their seats, as the slow-strumming guitar chords drop into shouting rock & roll bridges, developing multiple layers of sounds and vibes. Moreover, BBC Radio 1 named this track the "Hottest Record Of The Week" when it first debuted ahead of Boohoo's release, and this sentiment still stands over a week later.
"Divino Desmadre"
The middle track, “Divino Desmadre” is Jean Dawson's first track performed entirely in Spanish, though a Duolingo subscription isn’t necessary to catch the song’s powerful vibe, or feel yourself possessed by the infectious grooves of the plucky Spanish guitar. The back half of the song offers ripping electric guitar riffs that would shake the roof off of a live venue, making Jean Dawson a bucket list live performer for many new listeners. Upon a further analysis of the track's English translation on Genius, viewers unearth little additional context beyond discerning the song as a love ballad, as the lyrics unfold in a cryptic, poetic fashion.
The track features such lyrics as "The next time you tell me you love me, say it without tongue or lips and get a tattoo. Let’s see if your mother breaks your mind. We leave at night, jump out of the window." Harkening back to Jean Dawson's tortured experience as a youth in Tijuana, Mexico.
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"Taste Like Metal"
The closing track on Boohoo, “Taste Like Metal” sounds like what the Imagine Dragons wish they could pull off, combined with Mr. Morale era Kendrick Lamar. The significantly moody track contains a combination of sonic flavors that leave you floating spiritually through the clouds and a powerful vocal range that simmers between shouting and soft-spoken poetry. Though Jean Dawson's lyrics can be esoteric and hard to parse through at times, the artistic vibe is he curates remains consistent.
Conclusion
Jean Dawson is a certifiable rock star, and his music is exploding with potential. At his current trajectory, it would be absolutely shocking if he isn’t a household name in five years. 3-pack EPs like Boohoo probably won’t do much to raise Jean Dawson's profile alone. Therefore, big things are surely coming when he gets into album mode. If this project indeed serves as merely an overture to introduce a new album soon, fans would be wise to stay vigilant and anticipate more music from the young performer.
