jean dawson defies genre and expectations with “ooga booga”

Get used to seeing the name Jean Dawson. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, the bilingual experimental pop artist is making some of the most interesting genre-defiant music coming out of Southern California.

Dawson has worked with modern luminaries like Hudson Mohawke and earned the praise of people like Brockhampton’s Kevin Abstract with good reason. His new single “Ooga Booga” is a great example of his aptitude for blurring genres and conveying feeling. On “Ooga Booga” his vocals are distorted as he raps about his sexual prowess, state of being, and screams “RIP Nipsey Hu$$le!” only taking a breath to flow in Spanglish.

The track, produced by Dawson himself and Lecx Stacy, toggles between hip-hop, punk, electronica, and pop — it’s a sound so multifaceted that the track would be at home at a rave in London in the ’90s as it would be in a Bushwick basement party circa 2019. “Ooga Booga” is a three and a half minute demonstration of what pop music can be when an artist moves beyond boundaries.