Background

Experimental/alternative hip hop is a subgenre that has existed since the early 1980s, but is rapidly gaining more popularity in today’s world. Artists within the category typically create their own beats that do not subscribe to typical rap subgenres. They incorporate characteristics of experimental, rock, jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk music, while rapping about charged topics such as politics and race. 

Pioneers of the genre are well-known and respected within the hip hop community, including acts like Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and plenty of others. Over time, the sounds of this genre have become harsher, more abrasive and more industrial. Key acts of the present scene include Death Grips, Earl Sweatshirt, Injury Reserve, and, most notably, Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA, who are arguably the most mainstream and accessible experimental hip-hop artists. Boasting approximately 1.5 million monthly listeners each on Spotify, they’ve both been on the scene since around 2007, and have since continued to build loyal fan bases that highly overlap.

JPEGMAFIA’s most critically acclaimed works include his 2018 album Veteran, 2019 album All My Heroes Are Cornballs, and, most recently, 2021 album LP. All three received high praise by music critics and fans, and LP is the second highest rated album of 2021 on website rateyourmusic.com, where users log their listening habits and give scores to projects. Some of Danny Brown’s most well-known works include 2011’s XXX, 2019’s uknowhatimsayin¿, and 2016’s Atrocity Exhibition. Like JPEGMAFIA, these albums also received high critical acclaim, and on rateyourmusic.com, Atrocity Exhibition is rated as the 56th best album of all time – an impressive standing, as there are currently millions of releases cataloged on the website and more are added everyday.

Brownpegmafia’s Origins

The first and, as of now, only instance of JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown collaborating in the past is on a track called “[N****] spiritual” off the aforementioned album uknowhatimsayin¿. But, in March 2022, on online radio station “NTS Radio,” the pair did a show together in which they announced plans to create a collaborative album. A couple months later, Danny Brown brought JPEGMAFIA onto the stage at his Smoker’s Club festival set and stated, “So yeah, Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA album. Y’all just heard the first song, coming soon. [Motherf******] get ready for Peggy and Danny, [b****].”

Ever since, JPEGMAFIA has teased the collab in a series of tweets with pictures of him and Danny Brown in a home studio together, the most notable of which being his January 15th “BROWNPEGMAFIA 2023” tweet, which fans latched onto as the name of the album, despite another tweet saying “this is not an album title.”

Tweet Timeline

January 15th- “BROWNPEGMAFIA 2023”

January 16th- “FINAL MIXES”

January 30th- “SCARING THE HOES”

February 9th- “if it ain’t scaring the hoes i don’t want it.”

February 10th- “THE DANNY COLLAB IS FINISHED”

Album On The Way

Since the tweet stating the collab album is finished, JPEGMAFIA has tweeted about working on a solo album and Kenny Beats’ Tiny Desk concert (which he was part of), but fans are still waiting for a release date. 

However, this album should not just be highly anticipated by already existing fans of the artists. If you are a fan of any type of music that influences the alternative hip hop subgenre, this album seems like it will be a great entry point into this unique classification of music, as Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA are arguably the two most accessible artists within experimental hip hop and are certain to make one of the best recent projects within the genre.

Expect a review when the album finally releases!