Within a few verses of their collaborative album Scaring The Hoes, Vol. 1, it’s clear that JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown are living up to their project’s audacious name.
Released on Friday (March 24), Peggy and Brown’s unabashed chemistry is at the forefront of their record’s allure. Holding 14 tracks and a single feature from redveil — who shared a new single “giftbag” earlier this week — the erratic vibes that seep through the record make us (and Danny Brown) scream in excitement.
The anticipation SCARING THE HOES, VOL. 1’ garnered on social media this past month was hard to ignore, as the conceptual nature behind this project practically read like a hip-hop head’s wet dream. Thankfully, both JPEG and Brown are keenly aware of this, doubling down on their dual-wielded appeal with an eclectic effort all around.
Further fleshing out the project with its title track “SCARING THE HOES” on Tuesday (March 21), its JPEG-produced lead single “LEAN BEEF PATTY” plays itself like an eerie and irreverent midnight rave led by two of hip-hop’s most characteristic emcees — all while feeling like the perfect prelude to the laced insanity that follow.
The emphatic bass lines and ferocious anarchy nestled within “LEAN BEEF PATTY” gives them a loose path to spit freely and with reckless abandon, which is a rare feat that makes this musical fusion between the two all the more exciting. It’s as impressive as it is hilarious to see satirical jabs that JPEG fits into his scorching, culturally poignant verse where he references everything from the WWE’s controversial history to his own past work. “F*ck a bar / I don’t f*ck with you n****s like I’m Hulk Hogan (Wait),” JPEG raps.
On “SCARING THE HOES,” quirky violin strings and ceaseless claps hover beneath their verses. A lively crash drum break and rumbling 808s scratch the surface of the duo’s eclectic sound. “Stop scaring the hoes,” Peggy and Brown echo over one another, as the track’s high velocity yet droning melody inject an energy perfect for summertime festival moshes.
The initial reactions to the pair of singles leading into the album may appear hard to match, but that was just the tip of the album’s alluring iceberg. From the erratic, sample-infused presence of everything from the song titles to their satisfying sonic execution, SCARING THE HOES is a tour de force in experimental irreverence. No idea goes unexplored here, as the inspirations behind JPEG and Danny’s project gleefully shine through every facet of their collaborative creativity.
Acting as more of an interlude for both of these adults who are both in comfortable spots in their career, it’s refreshing to see artists who are one with themselves and their craft, having nothing to prove to anyone but each other. There is no artistic sparring here though, as JPEG takes the reigns on the symphonic end through means of producing the entirety of the project — a marker that’s being paraded across social media following the album’s release.
It’s hard not to take a second look at each track on the album — much less a second listen — with each and every song’s meticulously packaged production only matched by the vocal thrashes that the two throw with purpose.
Contrasting itself with poise and jest for 36 minutes, SCARING THE HOES indulges in presentation and spectacle, but not in typical rap fashion. Recognizable producer tags and celebratory bars are abandoned in favor of head-scratching samples and a variety of instruments — both are supremely implemented. It’s “Fear and Loathing” for the underground, laced with zany cultural references and even zanier wordplay encompassing everything from Tom Holland to Andy Kaufman (in the same bar).
Each track can rightfully be dissected both compositionally and lyrically, but some do stand out. A redveil feature levels up the young star, aligning him with contemporary greats within the chorus of bells and hymns on “Kingdom Hearts Key.” “Fentanyl Tester” makes a dark, drum-and-bass club anthem out of chopped up Kelis verses from her classic “Milkshake.” The grimacing “Garbage Pale Kids” partakes in some deep-sea diving when it comes to finding and procuring samples, with a 1980’s local Japanese advertisement finding its way onto JPEG’s creative cutting board. This is the kind of sentence I can only imagine drumming up when discussing one of two figures: JPEGMAFIA or Danny Brown. With SCARING THE HOES, I just find myself wanting to write more and more.
Fittingly, the pair officially announced their joint album on episode 43 of The Danny Brown Show, with the comment section littered with fans’ reactions to “LEAN BEEF PATTY.” The playful and vulnerable bond that the two share on this podcast was inherently translated on LP’s two lead tracks.
The anticipation SCARING THE HOES, VOL. 1’ garnered on social media this past month was hard to ignore, as the conceptual nature behind this project practically read like a hip-hop head’s wet dream. Thankfully, both JPEG and Brown are keenly aware of this, doubling down on their dual-wielded appeal with an eclectic effort all around.
Listen to “SCARING THE HOES, VOL. 1” below!
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