by JPEGMAFIA
Released October 22, 2021 via Republic Records / EQT Recordings
Reviewed November 1, 2021
Top tracks (based on community voting), OFFLINE!
HAZARD DUTY PAY! (73%), TIRED, NERVOUS & BROKE (33%), REBOUND! (31%)
Top tracks (based on community voting), ONLINE!
REBOUND! (47%), SICK, NERVOUS & BROKE! (39%), WHAT KINDA RAPPIN’ IS THIS? (34%)
LP! is JPEGMAFIA’s most experimental release to date, but it doesn’t come without a few missteps. This album nearly knocks it out of the park, but some moments simply fall flat compared to his previous work. Majority of the runtime is his most creative, eccentric, and intriguing work to date; but don’t bother with the online version, as the offline version shows the true chameleon-like nature that Peggy has been presenting for years. Certain ideas shouldn’t work together on this record, but they do so effortlessly, showing that you can make anything work if you’re talented enough. – Jared (8.5/10)
JPEGMAFIA's menagerie of sonic dwellings continue to further grow and successfully envelope over time. Peggy's final album under the thumb of a music label, LP!, creates two distinct versions for consumption. Both show a similar, but very different side of the artist. The quality of JPEGMAFIA’s experimentations breed new and necessary thoughts. Questions of whether particular sounds and scenes belong together being futile; you just need the right person, place and time. This person has been JPEGMAFIA, the artist, visionary, and music melder we are all in thrall of. LP! shows a master at work, with his tools at their sharpest and ready to rhythmically strike forth. There isn't a more interesting and well-rounded artist on the hip-hop front at this moment in time. – Peter (8.5/10)
For one of the most intriguing faces in the underground hip hop scene, JPEGMAFIA’s latest release, LP!,only goes as far as his proclaimed industry shackles could allow. With both an “Online” and “Offline” version of the record, JPEGMAFIA’s efforts sound almost neutered on the former. There are still moments of supreme intrigue and energy, but compared to its offline counterpart, LP! lives in a shadow of its vastly more interesting and compelling twin. JPEGMAFIA’s previous work has felt constantly and incredibly visceral; every moment commands your attention. This is especially true for All My Heroes Are Cornballs, but Veteran and Black Ben Carson also fit under this description. LP! sounds like a shell of what one of the best artists working right now is truly capable of. That isn’t to say LP! is a bad project; it’s just that JPEGMAFIA’s past work surmounted an incredible precedent that it doesn’t reach. Hopefully, without the limitations that being on a label provide, a subsequent release can exceed that standard he’s so consistently been able to soar beyond. – Ben (Synth) (7/10)
OFFLINE!
Pablo: 9/10 | Dominick: 8.5/10 | Hadley: 8.5/10 | Jared: 8.5/10 | Peter: 8.5/10
Ben (Synth): 8/10 | Cam: 7.8/10 | Daniel: 7.1/10
ONLINE!
Pablo: 9/10 | Cam: 8.5/10 | Hadley: 8.5/10 | DeVán: 8/10 | Dominick: 8/10
Jared: 8/10 | Peter: 7.5/10 | Daniel: 7.1/10 | Ben (Synth): 7/10
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