💽 I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU by JPEGMAFIA

Rapper-producer JPEGMAFIA harnesses the dissonance of the physical  and digital world with raw perfection. His new album I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, expands his palette of curated chaos and his penchant for the petty. JPEGMAFIA–Peggy to fans–has used conflict as ammunition in his long climb from the Baltimore underground towards rap’s center stage–without smoothing out his sound, mind you. Exorcizing or indulging his personal issues in the spotlight, he still bears grudges and malice, his role as sympathetic hero be damned. It’s more obvious than ever that Peggy may just be a hater, but he can still render hate’s acrid turbulence appealing. 

This time around, JPEG‘s signature twitchy, glitchy production incorporates live guitar and drums, lending the album a punk jaggedness and metallic thrash. Fittingly, he’s pushing his vocals to new unhinged and guttural registers, while still landing as many locked in bars as he feels like. Whether rhyming with military precision, or literally barking, he’s  in full command of his biliousness. His targets span  “weak men,” and “bitches,” and he colors in the spectrum with undeniably hilarious bars like,“ I put creativity back on the mapI be spittin' that dope like it's eighties crackFuck you, you ain't gettin' no cash backHe see Daddy Daycare, he get flashbacksYou keep yappin', I'll open my Cash App”. on  “I’ll be right there.”

Exciting features from Vince Staples and Denzel Curry hit like WWE wrestlers tapping in for a round of deft flexing.Clear from his huge array of samples, and the track list which borrows titles from influences as varied as Pantera and DMX, music itself is the balm to JPEG’s inner turmoil. His vast pantheon is a dense and eclectic constellation of reference and reverence, where he’s enshrining his spot with a fractured narcissism. Rare mentions of both God and his exes offer glinting shards of Peggy’s preoccupations these days.He spends most of the record building himself up over others, to finally gesture towards  vulnerability and accountability on the more calmer, reflective closing tracks, culminating in, “i recovered from this”“Look, my bitch never got taken from me, I lost her myselfMy bitch never got comfort from me, I needed too much helpI can't do one hour a week, I think I need more helpI don't think I need no more fixin', I'll just heal myself,” He raps pensively.Titling the record, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU is a bit of cheeky subterfuge: hell no is he dying for anybody. But in laying his life down on these tracks, he’s offering himself up blades and scars alike. 

One More Thing

How have I managed to miss out on Big Star? This cult status band played good-times rock’n’roll as well as any of their 70’s peers, but albums like Number 1 Record and Radio City ache with a yearning tenderness that feels just right for the brink of autumn. 

Up Next

I’m excited to be curating a show of the delightfully grotesque sculptures of Jordan Segal at apartment gallery, Bob’s, Running September 7th-29th.