Jayden Yen Dumont (born February 24, 2006), known professionally as Jaydes (stylized in all lowercase), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and songwriter. He gained popularity in the underground hip-hop scene in the early 2020s from social media and streaming platforms such as TikTok and SoundCloud. He began writing music after he stopped attending high school and switched to online learning and soon started his music career on SoundCloud under the name Evvls. He is credited with the support of the popularization of the PluggnB genre in 2021. He would later release his debut studio album Ghetto Cupid (2023).
Dumont was born on February 24, 2006, in Pompano Beach, Florida,[1] to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican and Dominican mother.[1] His father was a rhythm and blues artist. As a child, Dumont recalled listening to artists such as Jodeci and Erykah Badu from his parents.[1] He had grown up with a passion for music, and started playing and writing music. He took piano lessons in elementary school and in his early teenage years, and he spent his free time playing soccer until he was 13.[1] Jaydes would start releasing music and gain popularity on SoundCloud.[2] At 16, he stopped attending high school and switched to online learning in favor of making music, and also due to controversies at school.[1]
Career
2019–2021: Career beginnings, "Evvls," Virality & !?
While in an interview with underground rap blog Masked Gorilla, Dumont stated that he began recording music in 2019, claiming he recorded his music in Audacity,[3] which he has since-then recorded, mixed, and produced his music in FL Studio.[3] In 2020, Jaydes began releasing music to SoundCloud under the name of "evvls".[4][5] His singles "Highschool," "Vivienne," "Trust Issues," "South," and "Clueless," would later gain traction online.[5][6] The releases under the name "evvls" is best known for his soft vocals, and the support of the popularization of the PluggnB genre in 2021.[1] On December 31, 2021, Jaydes would release his debut extended play (EP) !? (2021) which rise to prominence following the track "Scam Likely" going viral.[7]
On April 30, 2022, Jaydes released his 4-track studio EP, Romanticism. The project was met with positive criticism, with listeners praising the project for the angel-like vocals, acoustic guitar playing, and fusion of his PluggnB sound. Although, due to the EP's short runtime, listeners criticized the project over this, similar to his previous EP, !?. In August 2022,[6] Jaydes released his self-produced extended play (EP), Heartpacing,[8][9] which gained significant traction, and was considered a turning point in his career.[9] When working on the EP, he had explained that "I was just tryna' make music based on how I feel". The 9-track EP features fellow artists within the underground, Riovaz and Rich Amiri.
2023–present: Ghetto Cupid, Bipolar, Count Up Dracula, Panic
On August 16, 2023, Jaydes released his debut studio album, Ghetto Cupid,[10][11] with the introductory track "Rose," gaining traction,[11] which was met with mixed reviews. A critic from Pitchfork recalled "the project pulls together disparate strands, from plugg to shoegaze and emo balladry", "It's messy, but it works more often than not."[12] While a critic at The Summit Pinnacle woud write that "It's not perfect, but in an era of increasingly over-saturated, cookie cutter music, albums like "Ghetto Cupid" are a breath of fresh air."[13] On August of the same year, the first release under his "Mandy" allias was uploaded on SoundCloud, a 8 track EP called "girlypunk". In December 2023, his single belikeme? (released under Evvls) was listed by The New York Times as one of the best songs of 2023.[14]
Jaydes started releasing music consistently in 2024, focusing on mostly raw guitar playing, releasing and teasing such music on SoundCloud released under Mandy.[12] On April 13, Jaydes released the 6-track EP Bipolar on SoundCloud, and later uploading to streaming platforms on May 8. By summer of 2024, his production drastically changed to be primarily punk-focused.[15] On July 19, 2024, he released his second studio album, Count Up Dracula,[16][17] which debuted his new punk rock sound. On October 31, 2024, he released a follow-up EP, Panic,[16] which he claimed in an interview that he recorded this material live in-studio.[3]
Lyrical concerns
In the opening track of Count Up Dracula titled junkie, Dumont says, "Killed my girlfriend and it felt so good," [17] followed by the line, "I opened up her body and I ate her guts." These lyrics, which seemed like shock value initially, were questioned by fans and critics online after Dumont's arrest in 2024.[16][18][17]
On November 14, Dumont's attorney filed a written plea declaring the defendant not guilty.[16] As of December 12, 2024, Dumont's arrest charge of attempted murder was changed to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was then held on a bond of $10,000,[20] along with being placed on pre-trial release,[20] which includes wearing an ankle bracelet to monitor his location as part of his release up until his jury trial.[20][21] On January 24, 2025, Dumont was arrested in New Jersey after breaking his bond conditions. He was extradited back to Florida on February 8, 2025. He was deemed incompetent to stand trial due to mental health. Shortly after an assault in jail that left his jaw dislocated, Dumont was taken to a mental hospital, which he returned from in August.
Multiple critics had felt that Jaydes' music was a refreshing counterpoint to the "saturated" characteristic of trending internet rap.[6][13] His songs explores a wide variety of genres, including electronic, emo, trap, lo-fi, indie rock, punk rock, nu metal, and hip-hop. However, his genre is often classified as plugg music.[5][22] His influences included GG Allin, Black Kray, XXXTentacion, and Playboi Carti.[3] Jaydes is often known for his unique and soft vocal style usually compared to the likes of Lucki,[5] and XXXTentacion.[12][23] Alongside the "volatility" of his emotions when singing.[5] He would later switch from his original pluggnb sound to a more shoegazy sound.[15]
Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre had declared that Jaydes' music focuses more on vocal layering than auto-tune.[22] Pierre had commented on Jaydes' third extended play, Heartpacing, saying it "rejoined" plugg by pairing emo quavers with the luxurious production classical of [the style].[12] He also found Ghetto Cupid to be similar to the musical style of Lucki and felt that the album "pulls together disparate strands, from plugg to shoegaze and emo balladry. It's messy, but [it] works more often than not".[12]
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