David Sanders (born December 22, 1995), better known by the stage nameJean Dawson, is a Mexican-Americanexperimental pop musician. Since 2018, he has released four albums and over a dozen singles via his own record label P+, and toured across the US and Europe with artists includingBrockhampton.
Dawson was born David Sanders[1][2] on December 22, 1995,[1][3] inSan Diego, California,[4] and grew up inTijuana, Mexico,[a] andSpring Valley, California.[4] He is of mixed heritage, with an African-American father fromLong Beach, California, and a Mexican mother fromSinaloa.[7][8] His mother learned English by listening toWest Coast hip hop.[7] He would cross the border to San Diego every day since he went toelementary school there,[9] requiring him to wake up at 3 a.m.[10] He would spend those long bus rides listening to a wide variety of music, includinggrunge,hip hop,Britpop,new wave, androck en español.[8] In an interview with MTV's Patrick Hosken, Dawson described himself in school as having never been "the popular kid in school", instead "the kid in the library with one friend. And we'd sit, we'd talk every day about the internet and what we saw on the internet."[11]
Dawson grew up in a musical family, with his parents' interest in each other's culture having been what connected them. This led him to deciding he wanted to make a career out of music at age 13. Growing up in poverty meant he couldn't afford his own instruments, so he would take the bus to a localGuitar Center every day after school and practice piano there.[12]
After finishinghigh school, Dawson moved toLos Angeles to study film atCalifornia State University, Los Angeles.[7] He would buy studio equipment with the money that he was given to buy books, which led to himdropping out to pursue a career in music. While still in college, he recordedBad Sports in his dorm room with his roommate, Lecx Stacy.[13]Essence interviewer Sydney Scott notes the project's influences as including "sonic and visual nods toOutkast,the Cure,Kid Cudi, andKanye West with the singer-songwriter's taste later being informed by groups likeDisturbed,N.E.R.D. and random CDs purchased from thrift stores."[14] The album had a vinyl run, with Dawson later finding a collection of unsold vinyls which he autographed and listed for sale atUS$1000, being met with criticism from fans for the high price.[15]
On October 23, 2020, he released his second studio album,Pixel Bath via his independent record label P+.[16]
On June 8, 2021, Dawson was announced as a support act for headlinerBrockhampton's US and Europe tour that ran from August 2021 through June 2022.[17] On June 16, Dawson released theApple Music-exclusive single "Ghost", as part of the music streamer'sJuneteenth-inspired Freedom Songs series. Dawson described the song as being "for the people who've felt unseen and unheard", and explained his personal perspective on the holiday, saying it "should never have needed to exist. My ancestors should have never been slaves and built a country that would show to be a curse to my Black skin. Nevertheless, I live in this version of reality where Black folk were and are seen as beasts, devils, and animals. So the day my beautiful Black ancestors were freed is the greatest cause for celebration and reflection."[18] "Ghost" was released on all streaming platforms on February 17, 2023.[19] The music video forPixel Bath track "Dummy" was also released June 8, 2021, directed by Mowgly Lee and Bradley J. Calder.[18]
In April 2022, Dawson performed atCoachella.[12] On August 19, he announced his third studio album,Chaos Now, and released lead single "Three Heads".[20]Chaos Now released October 7, via P+.[21] Also on August 19, he announced his first headlining US tour for October and November, supported by LA-based duo Junior Varsity.[22][20] The tour completely sold out,[23] and left Dawson feeling "like I made thousands of friends in the span of a month."[24] Reviews of the tour were positive, highlighting Dawson's stage presence and the audience's polite but high-energymoshing.[25][26][27]
On February 22, 2023, Dawson was announced as part of the lineup for that year's edition ofWhen We Were Young, set for October 21 and 22 in Las Vegas.[28] The next month,Lollapalooza announced their 2023 lineup including Dawson, with the festival held in Chicago August 3–6.[29]
On May 11, Dawson announced a new trilogy of singles, with the first released the same day. Those songs, "Youth+" and "Delusional World Champion", were collected as "Xcape Pt. 1", and feature Dawson assuming the character of Phoenix. Dawson also announced a headlining US tour for September and October.[30][31] The second set of the trilogy, now calledDestruction for Dummies, sees Dawson assuming the character of Nightmare on the songs "No Scope", "X-Ray", and "Vexed".[32] He was also set to supportTrippie Redd on select dates of his Take Me Away tour running from August through October[33] before that tour was cancelled.[34]
On September 17, Dawson announced a new single withSZA called "No Szns", which released on September 22.[35] Dawson first teased the song via TikTok in May.[35] The release came with cover art drawn by Josh Brizuela which was compared to art from the children's bookWhere the Wild Things Are.[35] The song came with a music video directed by Dawson and Calder.[36]
On March 6, Dawson released the single "New Age Crisis", one of three tracks from his EPBoohoo.[39] The full EP was released the following day.[40] One of the songs, "Divino Desmadre", is Dawson's first with lyrics entirely inSpanish.[41] The EP was intended as anoverture to an album planned for release later in the year.[1]
On April 19, the filmAbigail was released, featuring a new Dawson song called "Burn My Tongue" which plays over the end credits.[42][43] The film's soundtrack album, featuring "Burn My Tongue" and the film's original score byBrian Tyler, was released the same day.[43]
On August 16, 2024, Dawson announced his fourth studio album,Glimmer of God, released its lead single, aLil Yachty-featuring song called "Die for Me", and announced a headlining US tour for October through December.[44] The album was released on October 18.[45]
In 2021, Dawson launched his clothing and merchandise label Turbo Radio, including collections of face masks, shirts,sweatpants,crew necks, and sweaters that he designed.[46][47]
On February 25, 2021, Dawson released a seven minutedocumentary short about himself titledBurnout, which he directed himself. The film, featuring "Blade Runner-esque" visual effects and a music score by frequent collaborator Zach Fogarty, sees him discussing his personal life in an intimate, vulnerable way. Topics include his past, being "anti", and getting happier as he gets older.[48][49][50]
In an interview withDIY's Elly Watson, Dawson listed his influences as includingKanye West;The Smashing Pumpkins; "Warped Tour shit"; "anything fromManchester" such asthe Smiths;New Order; and "all the stuff that felt reallyBritpop-py", noting that when working onBad Sports single "Napster" he asked his British producers Hoskins to make the song "feel like Manchester andCompton had a baby", "like ifMorrissey wasBlack."[51] Dawson described his intent forPixel Bath to sound like "Rick Ross at a '90s rave" or "thePixies, but the Pixies are at the most trapped-out environment that the Pixies can be at."[11]
Dawson's lyrics cover topics including anxiety, depression, feeling like an outsider,fragile masculinity,[7] drug addiction, gang life, spirituality, and morality.[57]
Dawson has struggled withdepression, including a period of persistentsuicidal ideation when he was 21 which led him to start therapy and takingSSRIs.[1]
