The FADER's weekly column What Rules highlights one of our office's new obsessions.
Who are they?
Name: JPEGMAFIA a.k.a JPEG a.k.a Peggy
Style: A constantly evolving hip-hop project juggling noise and SoundCloud rap's punk reclamation like they were live grenades, with a generous serving of the deep-fried anarcho-libertarian humor from the strangest Black Twitter circles. Comparisons to Death Grips and B L A C K I E are easy and inaccurate.
Location Formerly Baltimore, MD currently Los Angeles, CA.
Why should I listen?
What does it mean to be provocative in 2018? JPEGMAFIA has been answering that question for years, draped in a confederate flag. This year's breakout project Veteran is just the latest installment in JPEG's impressive catalogue.
Stylistically diverse, JPEG's projects are united by his rage at the forces of oppression, contempt at the hypocrisy of those who claim to be in opposition, and a compulsion to alienate as many casual listeners as possible. Rednecks, the alt-right, and the forces of imperialism JPEG served under during a tour of Iraq are lined up against the same wall as Brooklyn gentrifiers and the diet-woke allies who wear struggle like an accessory.
Truthfully, the latter targets are the most compelling ones, thanks to a cultural climate that encourages totally blinkered #resistance to fascism's rising tide. But I don't think the artist who made the song "I Might Vote For Donald Trump" wants to watch the world's future burn. Just its past.
Where should I start?
From The Collection:
What Rules Right Now
