Released on Aug 1, the 14-track, 41-minute album “I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU” continues the influential musical career of controversial artist and military veteran JPEGMAFIA.
The album starts with the song, “i scream this in the mirror before i interact with anyone.” Using a beat reliant on rock riffs and bass, this track introduces the audience to a new rock oriented style that is carried throughout the project.
The following song in the record, “Sin Miedo,” shows new listeners of JPEGMAFIA his skills in mixing and sampling. Being rolled out before the album along with the track “don’t rely on other men,” this song creates a catchy club style along with diving into the rock reliant style mentioned earlier.
Similar to past JPEGMAFIA projects, this album is far from undiverse, combining older and younger musical genres in a fluid way.
With the song “it’s dark and hell is hot,” JPEGMAFIA collaborates with DJ RaMeMEs to mix rap with the young and growing genre of Brazilian phonk. A style which combines traditional Brazilian music, Memphis rap, and newer styles of production.
Another genre included in the record is traditional hip hop. This is shown with the song, “Exmilitary,” which samples Wendy Renee’s “After Laughter.” This same sample was previously used on the track “Tearz” from the debut album of the Wu Tang Clan, “Enter the Wu-Tang(36 Chambers).” This is a nod from JPEGMAFIA to one of the most influential rap groups in history while proving that he doesn’t need groundbreaking styles to stay relevant.
Collaboration with acclaimed artist Denzel Curry on the song “JPEGULTRA!” shows the lyrical abilities of both artists. With bars from JPEGMAFIA such as “This is my fight, I woke up as a child of the light, jumped on the beat, had to tell it, Goodnight.” Comparing his violent style of rapping to physically attacking the beat.
This lyrical ability is continued with Denzel Curry’s verses, “When I fall off, b****, I’m yellin’ out ‘Timber,’ You couldn’t f*** with me if I had Tinder.” Curry compares the song “Timber” by Pitbull and pop star Kesha to his eventual fall off, referencing its use of the lyrics “its going down, I’m yellin’ timber,” visualizing the downfall of his career as literally falling down.
With the fourth to last song of the album, “either on or off the drugs,” the mood of the project is changed. With a slow sample and lyrics such as “I don’t have a base, it’s not a secret, ain’t no happy house, we talking beatings,” listeners are presented a vulnerable side of JPEGMAFIA unseen in his previous projects. In the song, JPEGMAFIA opens up about past trauma and relationship issues clouding his mind despite his success in the music industry.
These themes of self reflection are continued throughout the ending moments of the record with the contrast in sound making the final stage of the project feel almost like a new album. The newly expressed trauma experienced by JPEGMAFIA during his childhood and military career leaves listeners with a better understanding of the emotions which shape his art.
Overall, this album does a great deal in proving JPEGMAFIA’s continued skills and diversity in musical genres. With a change in the tone of the album creating a sort of musical gradient and new styles by JPEGMAFIA emerging, it is no doubt that this project will become influential in the evolution of rap music.
