I Lay Down My Life For You, is the fifth album from Baltimore-area rapper, JPEGMafia. He had a very rough childhood as he experienced sexual, verbal, and physical abuse. He also faced racism when he moved to Alabama at age 13. When he became an adult, he served in the United States Air Force, and did a tour of duty of four years in Iraq. Him joining the military, was in his own words, an escape from the racism, poverty and abuse that plagued his early life. He adds, “I have no other option, I can either die here or…at least this will get me out of my situation. I’m not some patriot. I didn’t have some yearning to defend my country or anything. I was poor. And I was taken advantage of, really.” After he was honorably discharged, he moved to Baltimore, and began making music under the name of JPEGMafia. He was always interested in music, and made tons of beats while he was overseas in the military, and when he played his first beats, nobody wanted them, as he said, “When I was first making beats, no one liked the beats. To this day I give people beats and they’re just confused. I started rapping because no one liked my beats.” 

   JPEGMafia’s sound is intentionally very abrasive and aggressive, and as a result he has a very distinctive sound, he produced the entire album’s beats. His rapping style is antagonistic, and he clearly doesn’t give a shit if he outrages people, or makes them stop listening. Peggy wants to do his music his way, and I highly admire that. His sound definitely isn’t for everyone, as it’s completely different than any other hip hop I’ve heard. Tracks like “I scream this in the mirror before I interact with anyone,” have a mixture of electronic drums and heavily distorted guitars, paired instrumentals like that his schizophrenic vocals and you’ve got a recipe for chaos that somehow works. “SIN MIEDO,” is probably my favorite track off of the entire album, as those guitar solos and the heavy flooding of synths create a truly surreal experience. Peggy’s flow is angry and hedonistic, and as a result it sounds unlike anything I’ve ever heard. “I’ll Be Right There,” has glistening keys in the instrumental, and utilizes a drum set in the track’s percussion. I like JPEGMafia’s rhyme schemes as well on the track, as they’re very concise, and the calmer production suits him just as much as a more experimental/industrial beat does. The Brazilian funk elements on “it’s dark and hell is hot,” are completely out of left field, and throughout the album I was excited to hear what wild sounds I would hear in the next track. The features on the album are solid, but I didn’t like the track featuring Vince Staples as much as I thought I would, “New Black History,” has some elements that I really like, but some of the sounds just kinda irritated me. I get that Peggy’s sound is abrasive, and in many tracks I like the brash nature, but it’s just not one of my favorites. “Don’t Rely on Other Men,” featuring Freaky, “Exmilitary,” “JPEGUltra!,” featuring Denzel Curry, and “Vulgar Displays of Power,” are all phenomenal tracks as well.

   Overall, this album has gotten me into JPEGMafia’s music, as I like the industrial, innovative sound of the production, mainly the heavy usage of heavy synths and guitars. Peggy also has a vocal presence that’s very captivating and commanding, and while he isn’t a the most lyrical rapper, he’s an amazing producer and performer. I like the elements of punk rap and industrial rap incorporated into this record, and there's a variety of different styles besides those ones. I’m incredibly excited to hear more from this guy.

Overall Score: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: “SIN MIEDO,” “Don’t Rely on Other Men,” “I scream this in the mirror before I interact with anyone,” “Vulgar Displays of Power,” “Exmilitary,”

Least Favorite Tracks: “New Black History,”

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpH83KzVKDc

Genres: Industrial Hip Hop/Punk Rap/Experimental Hip Hop