Written by: Oliver Heffron
Score: 9.5/10
JPEGMAFIA makes music that isn’t for everyone. Since his breakout LP VETERAN in 2019, the Baltimore-based producer/rapper built a sound for himself with his unique, frequency-bursting glitch-pop, sample-bending production, and old-school delivery of witty, often political punchlines (The Black Ben Carson) and finding mainstream recognition since his breakout 2019.
Danny Brown isn’t everyone. Since the release of XXX in 2012, the Detroit MC and Bruiser Brigade member has spearheaded experimental hip-hop by emphasizing his idiosyncrasies instead of fitting in with the crowd. Despite a decade since his breakout onto the scene, Brown’s patented flow and spit-take-inducing bars maintain his stature as a living alt-rap icon.
In other words, Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA are two distinct hip-hop artists cut from a similar, strange, and abrasive artistic cloth. Their collaboration brings out the best in each other like a deep-fried Watch The Throne. In a musical landscape where listenability and mass appeal dominate what rises to the top, the fittingly-titled SCARING THE HOES is a refreshing dose of unrestrained irreverence, talent, and innovation.
Photo Courtesy of JPEGMAFIA
Utilizing just an SP-404, JPEGMAFIA delivers a masterclass in production with layers of endorphins-firing beat switches, frequency-bending samples, and intense percussion. Somehow leaving room for the vocals, the innovative production creates a nostalgic yet completely new sound and lays a grand foundation for both artists to flex their unique personalities. Both Peggy and Brown step up to the plate and match the music’s frenetic pace with chest-puffing lyrical displays emphasizing the importance of strangeness in the rap game.
“Lean Beef Patty” opens with a glitzy sample chop undercut by dark synth melodies and a pounding beat as JPEGMAFIA introduces the unapologetic tone of the album, shouting, “This ain’t what you want!” “Steppa Pig” sees Danny Brown bounce over a dusty drumline before suplexing a soulful synth and bass breakdown. The titular “SCARING THE HOES” combines dense claps with crispy saxophones as JPEGMAFIA delivers animated criticisms of the album from the point of view of the industry (“How the fuck we supposed to make money off this shit?”) before Brown searingly refuses to conform: “Give a fuck about the fake.”
“Garbage Pale Kids” incredibly flips an 80s Nintendo commercial into a banger. Danny Brown leads the listener through a chaotic maze of tactile production with his unique, off-kilter confidence before the track breaks down into dense, saturated guitar riffs. Peggy and Brown take the album to church with the gospel samples of “God Loves You,” tearing off the roof with show-stopping bars over an immaculate bassline. Ascending Maryland MC red veil does the most with the album’s only feature on “Kingdom Hearts Key,” sounding fiery on verses that open and close the track.
While JPEGMAFIA’s production style is anything but “easy-listening,” SCARING THE HOES balances its unforgiving experimentation with moments of catchiness and more recognizable beats–like the breezy vocal samples pairing with Danny Brown’s effortless flow on “Orange Juice Jones,” or the braggadocious horns and 808s of “Burfict!” laying a grand red carpet of trap production. The hilariously titled “Jack Harlow Combo Meal” is a slice of lofi jazz rap perfection, with both MCs sliding with outrageous bars over velvety pianos.
Time and time again, JPEGMAFIA’s production sets the scene perfectly for Danny Brown to find his best form once again, albeit for only short bursts. While the Detroit legend makes the album truly special, it’s clear that JPEG is comfortably in control of the entire runtime. Being a collaboration between one artist entering his self-proclaimed “Uncle Danny” phase and the other just entering his prime,
SCARING THE HOES sees JPEGMAFIA bring the best out of Danny Brown and vice-versa, making it much more than an excellent collab album but a cornerstone in both the legendary artists’ respective catalogs.