Dijon may be the most transformative and redefining R&B vocalist in the modern spectrum. In fact, his music is so unique and experimental that even calling him R&B is a stretch. And that’s not because his vocalism isn’t up to par of the delineation or that his music doesn’t fit; he has easily been one of the most unique and emotion-evoking voices in music since he and Abhi started releasing in 2015, and his experimentation has inspired tectonic shifts across stylistic reaches for his fellow artists. But for a songwriter as introspective, an artist as unique as Dijon, squeezing him into any preconceived boundary seems unfit.  

 

His releases are rought with emotion, exploding with unexpected changes of pace, and instrumentally, productively diverse. His early 2019 project, Sci Fi 1 has been one of the most relentless pieces of musical indefinability to reach our ears this year. And in its wake, a trio of short singles, Magic Loop, Good Luck, and now CRYBABY :*( have continued an experimental look into Dijon’s most artistic and personal explorations.

 

To be cliché, it’s expectedly unexpected. To be not cliché, CRYBABY :*( is a compositional mosaic, piecemeal of soft acoustic chords, low-register poeticism, and deafening choral emotionality, held steady by an understated bit of production that ties it all together. In result, it’s another genial release from an artist that has long refused to be tied down; from an artist that has always made music in search for emotional clarity. And in that search, CRYBABY :*( doesn’t provide answers, but undoubtedly provides us three minutes with which to be inspired to look inwards ourselves.

 

That has always been Dijon’s most powerful ability and the reason why his music - CRYBABY :*( included – is not only one-of-a-kind, but entirely necessary for the music world and for the individual ear.