Baltimore producer, rapper, vocalist, and experimental hip hop artist JPEGMAFIA’s work first came to my attention upon the release of his 2016 LP black ben carson, a dark, two plus hour experimental hip hop record chock full of political commentary and aggression. And while I appreciated that record for what it was, it’s sheer length prevented it from being a super compelling listen for me.
Fast forward to 2019, and the release of All My Heroes Are Cornballs brought one of my favorite hip-hop records of all time. Raw, creative, a perfect balance of experimental, catchy, aggressive, and relaxed, this LP is one that I still return to on an almost weekly basis.
Needless to say, the release of 2020’s EP! was super exciting to me, and while I enjoyed a lot of the ideas brought forward on this release, the “it” factor of his previous record just wasn’t there. There was a lot to love about EP!, but it wasn’t as compelling or addictive as 2020’s full length LP.
But EP2!, the sequel to a project that I saw simply as pretty solid, has both successfully contextualized last year’s release and captured what was so intoxicating about All My Heroes Are Cornballs.
EP2! is more stylistically monolithic than previous releases from Jpeg, but it never gets old or monotonous; owing both to the fact that the ideas presented are fresh and interesting, and it’s 17 minute, seven track runtime. This record sounds like a JPEGMAFIA EP. It carries the same almost ironic energy, the same complex song structures, the same industrial drums and stuttering production.
But this record is nowhere near as aggressive as his previous releases. Sonically, this project is dreary, smooth, pretty, and sleepy. There are some legitimately soothing vocal runs on this record, and the monotone, rapid fire rapping that peppers this record manages to be lyrical, clever, and punctual without breaking the stupor of the instrumentals. Speaking of lyrics, they’re at their best on this project, especially on tracks 3, 4 and 5, where JPEG covers a myriad of concepts without missing a beat.
While this album isn’t the conceptual, fleshed out body of work that All My Heroes Are Cornballs was; it isn’t trying to be. It’s a 17-minute experimental hip hop EP, and it nails that. It’s fun, it’s interesting, it’s clever, and it maintains its aesthetic well. It functions well as a sequel to EP!, contextualizing some of the sonic choices on that record that I initially wasn’t a fan of, and it’s overall a joy to listen to.
9/10
MOOSE PRINTS 