Coming off of a successful 2023, JPEGMAFIA is back again with yet another album, this one titled “I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU.” The record, much like every project prior, attempts to bend the hip hop genre, this time by adding elements of rock in a variety of tracks. In this review, we’ll be going over the artist’s performance, see how each of the featured artists did on the album, take a look at the production and see how replayable the record is even after many listens.

Starting things off, how did JPEG do vocally on this project?

Personally, while it’s not quite his best, it is still a testament to what he can do. As always, he has an easy time of morphing his vocals to instantly match whatever track he lands himself on. Want a more gritty vocal performance? Listen to the rock-infused tracks. Want to relax a bit with his soft vocals? Listen to a track like “i recovered from this” with the just as soft instrumental. When shaping his voice, JPEG often does a phenomenal job of finding the exact tone of the track and backing that up with his vocals almost perfectly. 

Now in terms of lyrics, you won’t be finding anything up to Kendrick Lamar’s caliber whatsoever. JPEG even makes this known in the very first line of the album. He’s back with his usual trolling when saying, “If I was an NBA player, I’d be Dillon Brooks, but worse.” Brooks has a reputation for getting under other players’ skin. JPEG claims to set out to do the same, not caring much about his content matter on various tracks, as long as he gets to take jabs at surrounding artists. A prime example of this is when JPEG addresses the recent Drake controversy with the line “…’specially when y’all cashing out for PDFs and rapers (No Drizzy).” Like I said, you often will not enjoy JPEGMAFIA for his intricate lyrics, but for the way he can shape his vocals on each song.

Next, we have the features of the record. Right off the bat, we have Vince Staples off of “New Black History” with his short and simple verse that easily transitions into JPEG’s verse. He doesn’t attempt to overstay his welcome, which is much appreciated. Especially in this new age of hip hop where every album always has that one song with a long feature for no good reason. 

Then, we have my favorite feature from this album, Denzel Curry, who’s featured on the tenth track, “JPEGULTRA!” Denzel shows off with his usual flow that always gets the work done, all while layering entendres throughout his lyrics. 

Lastly, we have Buzzy Lee on the laid back “Don’t Put Anything On the Bible.” The song is made up of two halves, one of which allows Buzzy Lee to entrance the listener with her soft vocals. This is how featured artists should be brought onto albums. They should be used as a means of adding to an album’s themes, ideas and sound. They shouldn’t be tossed onto the tracklist just as a celebrity cameo, like we often see nowadays.

Now for the most important part of music in my opinion: the production. Personally, if an album doesn’t sound good or offer an interesting instrumental, I’m going to be turned away rather quickly. This is far from the case for this album. As per usual, JPEG does an excellent job at keeping the listener intrigued with the way each track sounds sonically all throughout the record. 

This time around, JPEG uses a lot of sounds you’d typically hear in rock music, the main attraction being the electric guitar. There has been a recent resurgence in the use of electric guitars with the likes of Playboi Carti, so it makes sense for JPEG to go down this route. With the standout tracks of “Exmilitary,” “i scream this in the mirror…” and “vulgar display of power,” it’s simple to see that while it’s new to him, JPEG nearly mastered the use of the sounds of rock when merging them into hip-hop. When needed, he takes a backseat with his vocals and lets the instruments do the talking themselves to convey his emotions. 

On the other hand, the last few tracks on the project are more melodic and easy-going than usual in terms of JPEG’s recent catalog. The BMPs get considerably slower, and yet again gain control when JPEG wants the listener to take the instrumental for what it is instead of always rapping over it. Much like his other work, if you fancy great production, this JPEGMAFIA album is the way to go.

When talking in terms of replayability, JPEGMAFIA albums are often rated highly. This is because of the astounding production. Each of my listens of the album has led me to notice something new in each instrumental that I haven’t found before. On top of this, each track is layered with so many different styles of sounds. From the rock-inspired tracks like “i scream this in the mirror…” to “vulgar display of power” to sleepy tracks in comparison with the last four songs of the album, the soundscape found across the board varies greatly. There aren’t many rap albums today that you’ll see do this successfully. 

Overall, this project is amazing. If you’re an avid fan of experimental hip-hop, you’ll be sure to fall in love with this record. My favorite tracks off of this album are “vulgar display of power,” “either on or off the drugs” and “i recovered from this.” To me, “I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU” is a 9 out of 10.