Written by guest author Jake Chisholm – @_jakechisholm on social media

As the calendar year 2023 comes to a close, one of the most exceptional projects in music, let alone rap music, was the album titled “SCARING THE HOES”. JPEGMAFIA returns to reclaim his title as heavyweight champion of the internet and of the Bandcamp hip-hop scene. However, this time he has a tag team partner, a legend himself within the field of experimental hip-hop music, Danny Brown. If you possess some familiarity with the works of these two already, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown don’t thrive off of accessibility. The instrumentals present on this album are rough around the edges at times, the mixes muddy and the rhythms chaotic. The rhythm on the track HOE (Heaven On Earth) in particular features a very discombobulated and unpredictable rhythm that doesn’t provide the listener with a concrete beat to follow. That being said, these traditional setbacks do not subtract from the production of this album, as the uneven and imbalanced sound of this record enhances its rawness and authenticity. It is clear, through the evidence of past works, that JPEGMAFIA directed and dictated a large portion of the production choices. After all, JPEGMAFIA did himself produce every beat present on this album. Nevertheless, it does not dampen the electric chemistry between the two rappers, nor does it prevent Danny Brown from feeling at home in general.

The production on the album is highly eclectic, ranging from the grandiose vibes of 1980s gospel on God Loves You, to crushing, heavily compressed, overblown samples of legendary rock outfit Deep Purple on “Where Ya Get ya Coke From?”, to jungle and drum & bass fused grooves on “Jack Harlow Combo Meal”, to the sample present on Garbage Pale Kids, a sequence of a 1980s Japanese commercial for a meat packing company; out there to say the least. Despite the wide range of sounds brought forth on this project, under the umbrella of fat hits of bass, crunchy drums, and high-energy performances they are tied together not only cohesively but seamlessly, in such a way that doesn’t make the listener feel like
they’re making big genre jumps, if even at all. Though the beats on here certainly deviate from the norm, there are beats on here more suited to accessibility, such as Burfict! and Kingdom Hearts Key, the latter of which has one of the best beats you’ll come across in this year of music. It’s got trap-tinged hi-hat patterns laced with an anime sample that features lush guitar chords and ethereal Japanese female vocals, it’s impossible to not see the vision JPEGMAFIA is trying to reach. Though the beats on the album are fantastic, it’s undeniable that the performances delivered by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown are equally as impressive. In general, their performances seek to contain the chaos of the instrumentals with flows and cadences more familiar in the rap medium. In addition, the bars are chock full of references harkening back to the lyrical aesthetics of underground rap in the late 90s and 00s. You’ll hear references ranging from WWE wrestlers, infamous politician Budd Dwyer, 1970s gangster Frank Lucas, and plenty of references to old-school rappers.

A personal highlight for me is Danny Brown’s verse on God Loves You, where he in clever yet ridiculous fashion, spits a multitude of bars revolving around religious references, where the punchlines reference something not so holy. JPEGMAFIA injects some humor into his bars in pockets as well, with one hilarious bar being that “Ah, fuck y’all (a word I’m not going to use, look up the song), I feel like Papa John” on the first track Lean Beef Patty.

In terms of negative aspects, the album does have some flaws. Though only minor, they shouldn’t be ignored. A small handful of the tracks are slightly half-baked, with the greatest offender being the track Run The Jewels. This particular example is a shame too, because JPEGMAFIA’s performance over the beat to LL Cool J’s classic hit ‘Going Back To Cali’ is stellar and really rejuvenates the track, yet it lasts hardly any time at all. The track Orange Juice Jones features a good performance from the duo, but the instrumental on the track is slightly skeletal, featuring no other components than a looped Michael Jackson sample. Without any sort of beat drop, it leaves the track feeling like it’s going nowhere fast.
Finally, the message on the title track SCARING THE HOES leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. The notion that women would turn their nose at music that does not fit the norm is a recurring piece of rhetoric seen on many corners of the internet. Though the message of the song is likely lighthearted at the core and is also oddly fitting of today’s internet counterculture, the merit in promoting a gender-based superiority complex via the means of faux individualism and intellectualism is hard to find.

Ultimately though, these issues are small, and every track on this project is at least good.
To conclude, you’ll be hard-pressed to not at least find something you like about this album,
through its captivating but sometimes off-putting charm. I would award SCARING THE HOES 9/10.