JPEGMAFIA - EXPERIMENTAL RAP
My main issue with JPEGMAFIA has always been that I think he's a great producer, who shows off his abilities as an experimental artist 100 times better when he produces for other people, compared to when he produces his own stuff. Unfortunately this new album is also part of that trend. I do not think the very direct title of "EXPIREMENTAL RAP" matches the energy of the music itself, which isn't that experimental to be honest. The main thing that's experimental about this album are the instrumentals, which are somewhere between rock, metal, and hyperpop, which makes for an interesting combination, but isn't really new to the experimental hip-hop genre. This is not to say the music isn't done well, but I would personally expect more from an album with such a definitive title as this one. Looking past the title these instrumentals provide a very oppressive atmosphere that makes for a great basis for the lyrical style of this album. Unlike most albums of his before JPEGMAFIA raps very fast on this project, which is obviously not super interesting on its own, but it works very well in combination with the instrumentals without compromising his unique lyrical identity. Unfortunately this same stability also exists for the lyrics textually, meaning the themes are the same, some of the text is the same, and that this project doesn't try to do anything new from a writing perspective, which means some of the most stylistically interesting songs on this album are made boring because in terms of content they're just more of the same. You're not getting anything new from this album in terms of writing than you would from listening to SCARING THE HOES or I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, including all of the flaws in the writing of those albums, and I think that's another major issue with this album.
Overall I'm feeling a 6/10 on this one.