2019–2022 After finishing
high school, Dawson moved to
Los Angeles to study film at
California State University, Los Angeles. He would buy studio equipment with the money that he was given to buy books, which led to him
dropping out to pursue a career in music. While still in college, he recorded
Bad Sports in his dorm room with his roommate, Lecx Stacy.
Essence interviewer Sydney Scott notes the project's influences as including "sonic and visual nods to
Outkast,
the Cure,
Kid Cudi, and
Kanye West with the singer-songwriter's taste later being informed by groups like
Disturbed,
N.E.R.D. and random CDs purchased from thrift stores." The album had a vinyl run, with Dawson later finding a collection of unsold vinyls which he autographed and listed for sale at
US$1000, being met with criticism from fans for the high price. On October 23, 2020, he released his second studio album,
Pixel Bath via his independent record label P+. On June 8, 2021, Dawson was announced as a support act for headliner
Brockhampton's US and Europe tour that ran from August 2021 through June 2022. On June 16, Dawson released the
Apple Music-exclusive single "Ghost", as part of the music streamer's
Juneteenth-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." The music video for
Pixel Bath track "Dummy" was also released June 8, 2021, directed by Mowgly Lee and Bradley J. Calder. In April 2022, Dawson performed at
Coachella. Also on August 19, he announced his first headlining US tour for October and November, supported by LA-based duo Junior Varsity. The tour completely sold out, and left Dawson feeling "like I made thousands of friends in the span of a month." Reviews of the tour were positive, highlighting Dawson's stage presence and the audience's polite but high-energy
moshing.
2023–present On February 22, 2023, Dawson was announced as part of the lineup for that year's edition of
When We Were Young, set for October 21 and 22 in Las Vegas. The next month,
Lollapalooza announced their 2023 lineup including Dawson, with the festival held in Chicago August 3–6. 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. The second set of the trilogy, now called
Destruction for Dummies, sees Dawson assuming the character of Nightmare on the songs "No Scope", "X-Ray", and "Vexed". He was also set to support
Trippie Redd on select dates of his Take Me Away tour running from August through October before that tour was cancelled. On September 17, Dawson announced a new single with
SZA called "No Szns", which released on September 22. On January 31, 2024, Dawson was announced as one of the 16 artists covering a song from
the Talking Heads album
Stop Making Sense for the 40th anniversary tribute album ''
Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense'', set to be released by
A24 Music on May 17. On March 6, Dawson released the single "New Age Crisis", one of three tracks from his EP
Boohoo. The full EP was released the following day. One of the songs, "Divino Desmadre", is Dawson's first with lyrics entirely in
Spanish. The EP was intended as an
overture to an album planned for release later in the year. On August 16, 2024, Dawson announced his fourth studio album,
Glimmer of God, released its lead single, a
Lil Yachty-featuring song called "Die for Me", and announced a headlining US tour for October through December. The album was released on October 18. On August 22, 2025, Dawson released "Rock a Bye Baby", the lead single to a forthcoming project called
Rock a Bye Baby Glimmer of God. On September 19, 2025, Dawson released "Blitz", a single for
the soundtrack to the 2025 film
Him.
Other ventures 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. On February 25, 2021, Dawson released a seven minute
documentary short about himself titled
Burnout, 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. == Style ==