New Music – Choose Your Peggy

The internet could either be mankind’s biggest enemy or his greatest ally, in JPEGMAFIA’s case; the latter exists. Through the technically “Online” version of his newest project LP!, there is a discrepancy between being a musical genius and an auditory push toward blurred lines of aggression.

Opening with “TRUST!,” there is a level of experimentalism that is immediately expected with JPEGMAFIA. He pulls the curtain back with a trademark “You think you know me” tag before the hypersensitive beeps and clicks create the instrumentation. While being a charismatic narrator in the past, JPEGMAFIA dawns more of a “normal” stance to his storytelling that describes more of the suburban mindset of the perfect life with the perfect background.

He describes, “These hoes is conniving, I won’t even try them. I won’t even lie, I’m looking good, I bought a new suit. I’m bout to go to work and praise God.” As the method of narration continues on, he hunkers down on the almost synthetic positivity. Describing, “I feel like celebrating, I ain’t been fucked up. Yeah, I been fucked over, I ain’t been fucked up.” The narration turns suddenly as he finishes the verse by saying, “I feel like celebrating, okay I’m fucked up. Yeah, I’ve been fucked over, still feeling nice.”

A short while later, “WHAT KIND OF RAPPIN’ IS THIS?” begins to highlight JPEGMAFIA’s beauty as a producer. LP! bleeds over the blurred lines previously and proves the orchestration that JPEGMAFIA can deliberately sculpt. His wordplay on “WHAT KIND OF RAPPIN’ IS THIS?” is not only incredibly illustrative but feels somehow personal even to a complete stranger.

He pushes forward describing, “Lil bitch I been rapping like this, covered in money they thinking I strip. My pop was a ghost and my partners ain’t shit, I rap like I’m one bar from slitting my wrist. You one bar away from me splitting your wig, say a few words, and jump back in the pit.”

The production ramps up to be buried in these warm synths that cover more ground than a surveillance team. Dropping higher pitched vocals to cover the low-tuned spread underneath, production is JPEGMAFIA’s key to the castle on LP!.

Pieces like “OG!” or “BMT!” are breakneck beats that immediately force the head to shake. The 808 on “OG!” is forceful but becomes this coalition effort to JPEGMAFIA as his flow contorts almost this 90s stance and throwback style. The track is quick, but the minute-and-a-half is warranted as later pieces like “BMT!” give a similar notion to destruction.

The one-two march of the production begins with seemingly sampled army chants while the beat builds tension without ever trying to. The tension comes from the audience that waits in awe as JPEGMAFIA becomes this constricting force on the microphone.

Quickly becoming a personal favorite from LP!, “BMT!” is aggressive but like a stick of dynamite, doesn’t last long. The two-minute track is buried with a chorus that describes, “How I got these niggas running in place, mute spitta when that gun in your face. Packing the MAC in the back of the gate.”

He then moves on to say “Everything you hear I actually made, you witty on Twitter but bitch is you actually paid? No bodyguards can keep you safe, I tell the wolves I don’t need no plate.”

For someone that genuinely puts their true self forward, JPEGMAFIA is a joy to watch and to see the progression from his earliest work to now LP!. Free from the clutches of a contract, the future gets brighter for JPEGMAFIA without feeling forced in any way.

Listen To LP! Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/iTunes