JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown, two underground American hip-hop artists, teamed up for their highly-anticipated debut collaboration, “SCARING THE HOES.” This album had fans on the edge of their seats as its release date came marching forward.
In this record, listeners are in for an experience that pushes the boundaries of what’s considered “normal” in hip-hop. JPEGMAFIA’s distinctive production choices, characterized by their avant-garde nature and unapologetic intensity, are complemented by Danny Brown’s unexpected vocal inflections and raunchy lyrical content matter.
Together, they have crafted an album that goes beyond the mainstream, delivering an audacious sound. The two made sure to push the boundaries of the genre to ensure that it leaves a lasting impression.
The album hits the ground running with “Lean Beef Patty.” The listener is immediately greeted with weird production choices as the instrumental comes from a hyper-speed version of a 2002 Diddy track, setting the tone for what’s to follow. On top of this, the thunderous bass and drum patterns accompany the rapping from JPEG and Danny greatly. As the two show off their chemistry, it’s already obvious why so many fans are in love with this album.
“Steppa Pig” starts with Danny as soon as the song begins. Per usual, he does great. However, JPEG easily steals the show here. For whatever reason, I love JPEG’s performance here, even over Danny’s, especially if you include his production skills being used here. Personally, this track is slightly forgetful, but everytime I come back to it, I’m reminded of its greatness.
The title track, “SCARING THE HOES,” is a standout of the album. This is because of the immense use of brass instruments and the overly graininess of the soundscape. When both artists are rapping, you can hear the grain that was layered onto their voices. Danny has an excellent verse, while JPEG takes a step back and takes on the chorus, which is also great.
My favorite track is undoubtedly “Garbage Pale Kids.” The sample used here is nothing less than weird, as it calls back to a Japanese ramen commercial from the mid-90s. The duo shines brightly here as it’s easily their best rap performance on this record. The rappers glide effortlessly on the quirky and catchy beat. JPEG’s unique production and Danny’s raw lyrical talent combine without fail.
“Fentanyl Tester” is the fifth track on the album. The track samples a popular song from 2003, this being “Milkshake” by Kelis. The iconic line, “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,” is chopped up and used throughout the whole song. Apart from this sample, I absolutely love the way JPEG and Danny rap over the instrumental. The song ends with an outro of just the instrumental with “Milkshake” being chopped over and over again.
The fan favorite is “Burfict!” As the song begins, the listener is greeted with a grand introduction as Roman Colosseum-like horns start to blast into their ears. As the song progresses, JPEG unfolds this fusion of hip-hop and orchestral production. While the rapping does take a back seat to the production, it still adds to the overall track.
“Shut Yo Bitch Ass Up/Muddy Waters” is divided into two different sections. The first being Danny’s portion, while the second is JPEG’s. I like JPEG’s a little bit more just because of the instrumental. While it’s pretty similar to the beat used before it, something about it just hits me right. Both artist performances here are pretty great overall as well.
“Orange Juice Jones” is named after the R&B singer of the 1980s, Oran “Juice” Jones, and pays homage to his certain style. To capture his sound, the instrumental is sampled from Michael Jackson’s “Dear Michael.” Both artists tone down their vocals to match the track’s atmosphere, and they do it quite well. This exhibits their sheer amount of versatility as they easily rap over any obstacle thrown their way.
The track, “Kingdom Hearts Key,” is a standout from the rest, yielding the only feature on this album, redveil. For those not aware of him, he created his breakout song “pg baby” in 2022, which was loved by the masses. The instrumental stands out as it uses sampled voices from an anime and offers intricate drum patterns. The track shifts into redveil’s verse as the instrumental tones down, offering a fresh breath of air for the listener.
“God Loves You” instantly starts off with a gospel-like soundscape with a choir singing in the background. Danny’s whole verse contains constant references to the Bible, such as Noah’s Ark, Moses, the Twelve Disciples and Adam and Eve. All of the lyrics here are funny and witty. Nothing is added here content wise by JPEG, but I still enjoy his performance here quite a bit. Yet again, I love the overproduction as it ties the track all together.
“Run The Jewels” is the shortest track on the record, clocking in at a minute and change. In comparison to the other songs on the album, the vocal inflections and overall production are somewhat calm. Think of it as a break from the album. While it’s not bad by any means, it is the worst on the album.
Another personal favorite is “Jack Harlow Combo Meal,” which, despite its odd name, stands out as a unique track. This song features this elegant piano chord progression that’s constantly in the background, which makes this track stand out even among the other anomalies on the album. Throughout the song, both rappers maintain the theme of refusing to compromise their artistic integrity. They take shots at people in the music industry, American hip-hop artist Jack Harlow in particular for his endorsement with KFC in 2022.
Yet another one of my favorite tracks is “HOE (Heaven on Earth).” The song takes obvious inspiration from gospel music as it incorporates certain elements from it, such as an organ and choir-like vocals into its instrumental. Towards the end of the track, the vocals take a backseat as they’re cut from the track while the instrumental shifts to a different approach. This allows listeners to appreciate the amazing production of this song and the album as a whole.
The last track, “Where Ya Get Ya Coke From?” undoubtedly offers an interesting experience sonically with a booming instrumental per usual. However, the previous track would have acted as a much better send-off for the listener rather than this song, lowering my overall likeliness of the track.
I deeply admire the approach this album has taken as it pushed the boundaries of hip-hop and music as a whole. Since the initial release of the album, fans have been treated to an EP titled “SCARING THE HOES: DLC PACK.” News has been released from JPEG and Danny that tells fans they’re working on another album. I’m eagerly looking forward to how they further push the boundaries of music.