By John Faussemagne
After years of being the darling of the underground rap scene, JPEGMAFIA released his new album EXPERIMENTAL RAP this past Thursday to “claim the throne of experimental rap.”
Since the release of LP, JPEGMAFIA (a.k.a. Peggy) went from smaller, but respected force within the rap world to an extremely well known musician who has collaborated with the likes of BTS and Ye. But, as he has gotten bigger, has he stayed grounded in his music, and continued to push boundaries… Not really. He started beefs with numerous other rappers and called out fans who questioned his collaborations with Ye. Musically, he slowly lost the spark and innovativeness that drew people to him in the first place.
When EXPERIMENTAL RAP was announced, it was brought into this world alongside two things. First, a single titled “babygirl” which fans believe sounded very similar to something from his last album I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU. Sonically, and lyrically it felt like a space the rapper had already visited and for someone known for having very defined albums, didn’t seem to impress. Secondly, the new era was announced alongside JPEGMAFIA calling out Earl Sweatshirt. Peggy called Earl out for his collaboration with Alchemist stating they continue making the same song over and over again. This felt ironic with the release of “Babygirl,” a song that didn’t feel new at all, but now feels especially ironic given the fact Peggy uses the exact same flow, over and over again, for the entirety of Experimental Rap.
The best example of this is on the fifth track of the album “Pop this Heat.” This track doesn’t feature an abrasive or experimental instrumental like the album name would suggest, but I don’t believe this to be to its detriment. The beat is largely simple with a sweet soul sample playing in the background. The beat doesn’t do anything innovative, but it doesn’t need to. The track isn’t trying to show off Peggy’s producing abilities, but moreso allow him to show off his rapping capabilities on a beat that is simpler. The song puts his lyrics and flow front and center, and he does a pretty bad job. The slower piano sample here lets Peggy change pace, so why is he doing the exact same lyrical miracle late-era Eminem rap that he does on every other song on this album. Listen to past JPEGMAFIA songs like “The 27 Club” or “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot.” In earlier albums Peggy was able to seamlessly transition between rapping and singing. He was able to switch up flows, but also didn’t focus on the speed of his rapping which allowed for him to experiment with his delivery. JPEGMAFIA was so interesting as an artist because while he did experiment with the production, he had a wide range of deliveries that helped him bring songs to life. Half of hip hop is the beat, but the other half is the rapping, and JPEGMAFIA fails to experiment with his delivery on an album ironically titled Experimental Rap.
Listen below:
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