JPEGMAFIA’s I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU – A Review

JPEGMAFIA’s I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU album is explosive! It zaps you before coddling you in a blanket of firm, strict affection before sending you back into a battlefield dirtied with raw, burning reflections behind the persona that makes up JPEGMAFIA.

This project is conventionally unconventional. It does not shake free of the signature grime, grit and glitchiness associated with Peggy’s production but is strategically translated into instrumentals of more familiar genres. The record experiments with known genres from hardcore dubstep, metal and varied rap styles, all of which harmonize in ways that complement the versatility of Peggy’s line deliveries and vocal warping throughout the record. The track “i scream this into the mirror before i interact with anyone” launches the record with booming, distorted guitar riffs before transitioning into electronic thumping that charges the rest of the record with a similarly electrifying quality in organized chaos. Though less esoteric in comparison to previous projects, it makes for a smooth listening gateway into the artist’s discography while retaining the ear-perking quirks that appeal to fans of older projects like Veteran or All My Heroes Are Cornballs and fans of experimental genres.

JPEGMAFIA puts controversy at the forefront. Each project is a protest. A reflection. A callout. This record fires at industries behind underground and mainstream music to the military-industrial complex in a contemporary, artistic form of exposé journalism in tracks like “Exmilitary” and “Don’t Put Anything On the Bible”. Other tracks like either on or off the drugs offer a solemn reflection of the relationship between sobriety, maturity and growth. This record is Peggy’s newspaper and personal anecdote — and it is real, raw and absolutely brilliant.

Outside of the sweat-drenched, steaming, primal-like moshpits that bubble and boil in the venues of JPEGMAFIA’s I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU tour (which I am so blessed to have experienced!) this record still stands as one of his most cathartic, freeing and brutally produced projects to date.

Damn, Peggy!