Spectreview: JPEGMAFIA – All My Heroes Are Cornballs

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JPEGMAFIA’s trademark production tag, “You think you know me”, acts as a direct challenge to the listener: try to box me in, you can’t. Just when the listener thinks they have sure a footing in All My Heroes Are Cornballs, Peggy pulls the rug out with a Cheshire grin and a knowing wink. In his unapologetic embrace of the unpredictable, JPEGMAFIA remarkably encapsulates this particular moment in American culture with this album.

The album opener, “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot” — a gleefully absurd title that outright rebuffs analysis — sets the tone. It begins with sounds of chaos: crashing and yelling melded in glitched production. The skies clear, and he begins his performance, rapping over a loping instrumental. The listener is lulled into a sense of security — like they may have a grasp of the track. Then, out goes the rug. The beat pivots on a dime, blowing out to complement Peggy’s now hyper-aggressive delivery. The whiplash continues: he makes another hard turn into the chorus, in which he strains and croons about ASMR and keeping his “pussy closed” over a soaring instrumental. It… works. 

This opening track exemplifies the most exciting aspects of JPEGMAFIA’s music. He is the mad ringleader. His music pulses with a manic energy, but, paradoxically, his vision is unified in this aesthetic.

“Kenan vs. Kel” confidently carries on the momentum of the first track, with Peggy nimbly rapping and singing over a twitchy instrumental. The initially low-key track mutates into something much more ominous and droning toward the end of its run time. The beat for “Beta Male Strategies” seems to snap into focus, as its delicate sample juxtaposes the wall of noise that precedes it. Other highlights include “Grimy Waifu”, which has some genuinely gorgeous moments on it; “PRONE!”, perhaps the most full-throttled track on the album; and “BasicBitchTearGas”, because how am I not going to shout out Peggy’s out-of-left-field TLC cover.

 All My Heroes Are Cornballs feels like a cohesive body of work, more so than 2017’s Veteran. The borders defining each individual song are loose and porous, which allows the album to flow. This does occasionally work to its detriment, however, as some tracks lose definition deeper in the tracklist. 

Lyrically, this album runs the gamut — his wordplay is both hilarious and violent, poignant and absurd. Peggy’s wit and dynamic personality unifies what might be irreconcilable in lesser hands. “Rap Grow Old & Die x No Child Left Behind” exemplifies JPEGMAFIA’s versatility as a lyricist, as he references cyclical problems in the American educational system in one breath, and name-drops Kevin James and Herman Cain in the other.

Few artists are as skilled at weaponizing expectations as JPEGMAFIA is. His post-genre style is a thrill to listen to. This is not to say that less predictable music is inherently superior, but Peggy’s embrace of chaos, unorthodox production choices, and a keen Internet savvy sets him far apart from many of his contemporaries. All My Heroes Are Cornballs is an impressive statement from one of hip-hop’s most unique and refreshing artists.

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