Release Date: 21 May 2026
Song Count: 25
Duration: 52 minutes, 18 seconds
Rating: 8.1/10
Description:
Song Count: 25
Duration: 52 minutes, 18 seconds
Rating: 8.1/10
Description:
Look who has returned for a redemption today! Revered alternative rapper JPEGMAFIA has released a big and shiny new album with 25 tracks, where he amps his usual musical experimentation and antics up to an unseen level, as the title suggests. Throwing in influences and wacky sound profiles of all kinds into his rap music, the Brooklyn artist has a reputation for having one of the most unique discographies within his genre whilst also keeping a wide enough appeal for success, and EXPERIMENTAL RAP follows right into these footsteps. The build-up to the release of the album came with controversy in the media due to comments he has made regarding being an artist doing his own thing in a sea of other rap musicians "pretending and try to be cool" by making music going in a replicating direction towards others' styles, but it seems the initial reactions to his new endeavour seems to have cooled down that spat a bit.
From traditional Middle Eastern or South Asian drums to brostep / modern dubstep mixing, anything and everything can and does get mixed into the highly variating instrumental compositions; however there seems to be an intangible sense of flow and semi-consistency amongst each track when they follow each other directly. The disjointedness and lack of general aim that could easily pose as a pitfall for an album with such a swinging soundscape is side-stepped in this case as a result and lets the positives of tapping into its wide creativity outwardly shine. JPEGMAFIA's rapping appears smooth and almost seamless, consistently matching the whole musical construction around it, paradoxically without having to actually change much in nature or delivery at all.
In a way, in spite of being a step of artistic evolution, EXPERIMENTAL RAP is the most representative album for its mastermind's specific style of experimental hip-hop music, with its abrasive and chaos-driven ways that are used to their absolute maximum potential and limit. The line is towed between self-expression and preservation of fundamental qualities that make rap music in general worthwhile to listen to for many, and the record is like a gymnast in the way it balances itself whilst also seemingly doing the equivalent of backflips on it. JPEGMAFIA really brought out his A-game with this one to back up his divisive claims of being at the top of toying with the confines of the genre, and it shows in the way it sounds - one is almost never not captivated during the experience. A pleasant surprise, and an album I enjoyed plenty overall.