on 2xLPs

The fifth official studio album by JPEGMAFIA appeared more than a year after Scaring the Hoes, his long-promised and extraordinarily well-received collaboration with Danny Brown. I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU shares a lot of the sonic hallmarks common to Peggy's work, from abrasive, disjointed production to troll-ish lyrics and song titles. He leans a lot more into rock influences on this album, with metal guitars blaring on several tracks, usually popping up in well-timed bursts and providing a welcome release. "SIN MIEDO" mashes up several different styles -- ghetto house, blog-house, indie sleaze (thanks to recurring chords which clearly resemble Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll"), Jersey club, blown-out metal -- resulting in one of the rapper's most hyped-up, exciting tracks. Brazilian funk producer DJ RaMeMes co-produced the exhilarating "it's dark and hell is hot," which is tightly wound and has a high-BPM bounce to it. "New Black History" has synthy, industrial-tinged beats co-produced by Flume and effortless guest raps by Vince Staples. Denzel Curry cracks loads of hilarious, foul-mouthed insults and boasts on "JPEGULTRA!," a whirlwind of brash, psychedelic energy which ends up with a surprisingly lush final section. The remainder of the album contains some of Peggy's most introspective material since 2013's infamous The Ghost~Pop Tape. Singer/songwriter Buzzy Lee, a previous collaborator, returns on "Don't Put Anything on the Bible," nearly getting the song to herself, and the drumless closing track "i recovered from this" features direct, confessional lyrics over gentle acoustic guitars, strings, and vocal harmonies. JPEGMAFIA's confrontational personality can be overbearing at times, especially to listeners who don't consider themselves to be chronically online, but his production is always stellar, and his sheer creativity is unparalleled. I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU is up there with LP! as the artist's most accessible work to date.

I Scream This In The Mirror Before I Interact With Anyone    1:48
Sin Miedo    2:47
I'll Be Right There    2:48
It's Dark And Hell Is Hot    2:30
New Black History    2:16
Don't Rely On Other Men (Album)    2:51
Vulgar Display Of Power    2:52
Exmilitary    5:01
Jihad Joe    2:14
Jpegultra!    4:51
Either On Or Off The Drugs    2:20
Loop It And Leave It    2:00
Don't Put Anything On The Bible    4:04
I Recovered From This    2:55