Alternative rapper and singer Jean Dawson has been slowly creeping his way onto the music scene for some time now. He grew up on the internet and in a musical family. He was always bound to be creative, even with the obstacle of being in a low-income family. His disproportionate income hindered him from being able to buy instruments when he was younger, but he still found a way to express himself musically. Now, he has toured for big acts like Brockhampton and has released three albums so far. His latest album, “CHAOS NOW*” was released on October 7th, 2022, and features the single, “BAD FRUIT* with rapper Earl Sweatshirt.
SOUND
The track beings with light fingerpicking of an acoustic guitar, and Jean comes in sporting a slightly auto-tuned voice that is stacked, creating thrilling harmonies. The song evolves, adding other instrumental aspects, such as clapping percussion, but the star of the instrumental has to be the string section. The strings come in later in the track before Earl's verse and continue to compliment his voice well. The sound on this track receives an 8/10 on the Intersect grading scale.
LYRICS
In this track, Jean discusses his feelings about how others have impacted his self-worth. He compares himself to an apple, saying, “I'm just an apple, I’ll fall when I turn ripe”. He then goes on to say, “Hit the floor hard, I was never picked”. Jean comparing himself to this apple reflects his feelings of worthlessness based on how the world views him. He was “never picked”, which reflects how people may have not believed in him. Earl’s verse discusses his issues with his mental health. He raps, “workin overtime, fakin like were fine”. Earl frequently raps about his battles with mental health, and although this verse was meaningful, it did not have the complex rhyming that Earl usually delivers. Therefore the lyrics on this track receive a 7/10 on the Intersect Rating Scale.
ART BEHIND THE TRACK
With the release of this album, Jean Dawson went to Instagram to reveal some of his thoughts. He says that this project was a “love letter to all the children that will grow up to change fractions of the world for the result of a greater whole”. He also said, “music making has been the greatest gift” that he has ever been given. Dawson is extremely appreciative of the ability to make tracks as beautiful as this one. He stays true to his artistic intentions with every drop, adding meaning to the lyrics and artwork. His art grants him a 9/10 on the intersect scale.
Jean Dawson has already made some small waves and is slowly garnering more and more attention. It will be interesting to see how this song and album impact his success going forward.
All in all, this track gets a 7/10 on the Intersect Rating Scale.
Stream Jean Dawson's, “BAD FRUIT*” below.
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