By Dave Soto
In his most commercially successful effort to date, veteran turned rapper, JPEGMAFIA, has reached a new audience with his abrasive beats and unapologetic lyrics. Peggy, who will be performing at the Pygmalion Festival September 28th, uses his new album, Veteran, to target everyone from the alt-right to The Smiths’ vocalist, Morrissey. On the album’s first released single, “Baby I’m Bleeding,” Peggy even takes a shot at the president.
It’s the overall attitude of Veteran that will likely divide audiences. Peggy is not one to compromise to the whims of the music critic crowd or even fans who think some lines may have went too far. While Veteran may not be as edgy as his first solo effort, Black Ben Carson, (Which sampled an audio recording of a police officer’s death on the track “I Just Killed A Cop Now I’m Horny,”) Peggy still delivers some bold material.
Whether one likes him or not, it’s important to acknowledge JPEGMAFIA as a critical figure in the hip hop scene. To call Peggy a conscious rapper in the same vein as figures like Kendrick Lamar or Logic would be a stretch. Peggy deals with less musically publicized issues, grimy topics like the rise of white nationalism in the U.S, as well as toxic masculinity. These are issues of great relevance which are rarely discussed in modern hip-hop. With his upcoming performance at Urbana-Champaign rolling around the corner, Peggy is bound to stir the pot. Veteran, along with the rest of Peggy’s discography, is an essential listen for any die-hard hip-hop listeners trying to fall into the rabbit hole of glitch-hop.
The Spread 