With JPEGMAFIA leaving listeners waiting for a new album for two years, his new collaboration album with Danny Brown, “SCARING THE H** S” doesn’t disappoint. This album experiments with many different rap and almost industrial sounds, which makes some of the tracks really unique and creative. Almost every track on this album feels unique and doesn’t reuse any of its previous beats. If you’re looking for a mainstream top 100 album, this won’t be for you.

A perfect example of a unique beat on this album is, “Steppa Pig.” It starts off with a light baseline that transitions with a keytar line into a rough and scratchy base, followed by an electronic subbase. This is all held together with Danny Brown’s loud and eccentric voice, talking about being sober and not wanting to disappoint his ancestors. Halfway through, JPEG hops on the track and still manages to flow with this unique beat whilst also being able to tone it back a little bit.  But still being able to bring back that rolling base from the beginning.  The only problem with this track is that it seems to end halfway through and restart the song, with JPEG singing instead of Danny. This would fit better as a bonus track or something similar.

Arguably the best track on this album is “Fentanyl Tester”  — a creative and intense remix of Kelis’s hit song, “Milkshake,” which was popular in the early 2000s. JPEG does an amazing job at remaking this beat into his own, basically flipping the original into a very experimental and non-mainstream beat, making it the opposite of what it originally was. There are a lot of smooth break beat switches and Danny really shines through on this track, being able to match these transitions and still being able to excel in his lyrical performance. One line that sticks out to me with Danny is, “Let me tell you what I’m gon’ do … Tell no lies, just tell your truth … I’m a big dog like Marmaduke.”  

The only feature on this album is from the upcoming soul and rap artist Redveil. Redveil is known for his catchy and phenomenal beats, most prevalent on his recent album, “learn 2 swim.” Redveil is also really young — at 18 he already has three albums under his belt. Redveil appears on the song, “Kingdom Hearts Key,” which does a great job at showing that JPEG is still able to produce other types of sounds that aren’t just hardcore experimental rap. JPEG is also shown to be able to match his own style with Redveil’s and produce one of the best songs on this album. The only problem on this song is that Redveil’s verse is over too soon. This is a big problem because the song is constantly building to a climax, all while teasing the upcoming feature. Redveil brings a lot to this track but because it’s so short, it stops its potential for being the best song on this album.  

Out of all of the songs on this album, the only one that is not enjoyable is “Jack Harlow Combo Meal.” The beat on this track is abysmal, not because it’s poorly produced, but because it mixes two genres that don’t go well together. This track tries to mix a classical piano with underground experimental rap, and while the creativity is there, it just ends up sounding unpleasant. This track wouldn’t be so bad if the lyrics were interesting to listen to, but unfortunately it feels like Danny and JPEG weren’t giving their all on this track — which leaves this track forgettable and uninteresting.  

“SCARING THE HOES” is a benchmark for both JPEG and Danny. This album shows growth and creativity in both artists, and this project is something that can be looked back on as a landmark for both artists. Other than two tracks on this album, it’s perfect and excels on what it’s trying to achieve. If you like underground and experimental rap or if you’re a fan of either artist, this is definitely a project that is worth checking out.

Best tracks: Steppa Pig, Fentanyl Tester, HOE (Heaven on Earth)

Worst tracks: God Loves You, Jack Harlow Combo Meal

“SCARING THE H**S:” ★★★★☆