There has been a long and keen wait for JPEGMAFIA’s latest album. Currently, he is at his peak of popularity following 2023’s SCARING THE HOES a collab album with Danny Brown. Fans have known that this album was coming and each of its many delays have only intensified the desire to hear it. With each successive and groundbreaking album, JPEGMAFIA crosses off one more direction he could take his next work because he never repeats sonic styles; the only consistent stylistic trait is his eclectic samples, outrageous beats and song structures, and the fact that all his music appears to be littered with space debris from the depths of the internet cosmos. I LAY DOWN MY LIFE is definitely a Peggy album, although even so it’s a surprising listen from start to finish.
Peggy brings much of what is familiar with a verbal assault on “SIN MIEDO”, previously released as a single for the album. When this song was released, it played out as the quintessential JPEG song; a vocal sample back-boning the beat and a straight assault through the bars.
“it’s dark and hell is hot” serves as a DMX reference and another verbal assault, although this time over a beat prominently sampling UPA UPA POCOTO X 170BPM by Brazilian DJ RaMeMes. The wildness here begins with the sample but is only amplified by Peggy’s intense flows and the twists which Peggy effortlessly skitters atop of. The idea of turning to faith is also introduced in the chorus: “On my knees in front of God, but I’m not even faithful”.
The album takes a darker twist in the following, “New Black History” featuring Vince Staples who drops a cold verse, combining violence with rap prowess; “I’m the God MC, I’m the tried and true/Try me and you dream in the ICU”. Not only is the song incredibly menacing but laid over a rough and synth-fuelled beat it appears a more intense attack than previous tracks.
Peggy’s perverted mindstate is unveiled in “vulgar display of power”. His mental clarity is in shambles, as he “take[s] Klonopin and mix it with the Nodoz”, combining a sedative with a stimulant showing a conflicted and drugged-out disconnection from his surroundings. Resultingly, Peggy begins revealing his true self, “Shorty wanna kick it with a masochist/Showed her who I am and now she kickin’ with an activist”. Peggy’s self-perception appears to be dissolving, as what he sees in himself as a sort of aggressive political icon, appears far more disdainful than that. The hook repeats, “I bring the pain, I bring the pain”, sampled from Method Man’s 1994 hit “Bring the Pain”.
“Exmilitary” amplifies the effect of military service on oneself, stemming from JPEG’s previous military service. Built on the same sample as Wu-Tang Clan’s “Tearz” – “After Laughter (Comes Tears) by Wendy Rene – Peggy drops haunting bars from the perspective of a Veteran’s violent self-annihilation. This song is an escalation of the tragedies on “Tearz”. Having had his “famo discourage [him]” and “[his] exes thr[ow] dirt on” him, he resorts to violence as the only method of confrontation he is aware of. His violence is that of war crimes, “Blowing up like I’m IDF, Netty warrants ain’t stoppin’ shit”, and already decided such he can no longer be stopped.
The dissolution of self has only amplified his drug addiction, “They say sobriety gives you a lens, but all I see is n***** playing pretend”. But most tragically, as an ex-military, his “country encourages [him]” to utilise this kind of violence. The Wendy Rene sample builds until it hits a string-based climax, occasionally bubbling over into manic outbursts on its way there.
“JPEGULTRA!” enlists Denzel Curry who brings a much suaver kind of arrogance, complimenting Peggy’s more unhinged confidence. He challenges the notion again of praying to God as an act of saving himself, revelling in his self-assumed glory; “On my knees for a God who can hear/I can’t pray to no God I can’t fear/I think I should have ran me a cult.”
The final stretch of the album begins with “either on or off the drugs”, an intimate opening for Peggy as he outlines his depression, stresses and feelings, over an AI-generated “Turn on the Lights” a pastiche of 70’s soul. It’s like a Kanye soul-sampled beat, sucked through an internet vacuum and updated for modern times.
“Don’t Put Anything On the Bible” enlists Buzzy Lee who gives a lengthy singer-songwriter first part to the song, accessing a channel of emotional delicacy Peggy’s usual style otherwise wouldn’t be able to access. Just as tragically as his descent into violence, the line “I’m a loner, I’m a loser” helps open up the conversation which comes after the beat switches at halfway. Peggy takes over on a smooth and relatively calming rap beat, opening up about repressed struggles for him and others alike; “Everyday people pushin’ past the limit/Men only know suppressin’ what they feeling”.
For years Peggy has been forging a musical path littered with everything from industrial insanity to chopped-up soul samples. And whilst he can often be heard bragging about anything and everything, now is the time for him to use his impressively personal connection with his fans to open up a new discussion. The constant grind which has become synonymous with Peggy’s style is catching up to him. And when he ends this album with him saying “Finally, I’ve been workin’ on this s*** for a long time”, you get the feeling he’s talking more about the emotions than the music.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU is out now. JPEGMAFIA will be touring Australia in February and March 2025. Head HERE for all the ticketing information.
