On Friday, May 21, 2026, experimental rapper JPEGMAFIA dropped his sixth studio album, EXPERIMENTAL RAP, featuring 25 tracks and spanning 52 minutes. EXPERIMENTAL RAP is JPEGMAFIA’s most self-aware album yet, with the album’s title pointing to the genre his music is grouped under, rather than the album’s key themes of pushing rap to its limits. JPEGMAFIA dropped four singles off the album preceding its release, building hype among fans.

Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks, better known as JPEGMAFIA, has been creating music since 2010, collaborating with big names in the rap industry such as Denzel Curry, Vince Staples, and Danny Brown. Since JPEGMAFIA first started making music in the early 2010s under the name Devon Hendryx, he’s been creating experimental music. This new album has broken barriers as to what rap can be and shows the wide range of what rap is classified as. One thing that stuck out when the album was first announced was its song titles. Songs like “No Strippers In Heaven” and “The Ghost Of Emmett Till” are some of the titles that fans believed to be controversial, due to their audacious nature.

The album’s intro, “投影の芸術’” (Japenese for “The Art of Projection”), acts as a strong opener to the album. “投影の芸術” captures the vibe of the album EXPERIMENTAL RAP in a mere fifty-seven seconds, featuring stripped-back instrumentals, no lyrics, and a melodic energy. Songs such as track four, titled “$ (Money),” showcase the extremes of this album’s production, using EDM-centered sound effects and Jersey Club drums to create a compelling backdrop for his lyrics. The lyricism in this song is simpler to combat the complex instrumentation. In general, JPEGMAFIA raps about getting money, as the title suggests, “I like the twenties, but fifties feel better, now I like them fifties but a hundreds forever (Gettin’ money)” JPEGMAFIA sings during the song’s outro.
Track seven, titled “head,” has an extremely experimental beat to say the least. It features a voice repeating an unintelligible sound for the first half of the song, and it repeats over and over up until the second half, where drums come in strong as ever, as JPEGMAFIA’s energy increases. “Cease and desist, I get low with the iron, this metal you seek is the weapons I keep. It’s staring me back in the face like a mirror, Medusa, I see,” JPEGMAFIA raps, exclaiming his boldness through his lyrics.

Track 12, titled “GYBB,” is a breath of fresh air from the extremely high-paced tracks such as “head,” “$ (Money),” and “Meet the Dealers.” While these tracks are great in their own right, a quick refresher is needed to keep the album’s flow. “GYBB” is calming, with the song’s beat being a soothing sample with a simple bassline and basic drums. 

Track 16, titled “Lights,” samples Kanye West’s song “All of the Lights,” released in 2010. This track takes a creative approach to this melody by using modern drums on a beat from over a decade ago. Kanye’s influence on JPEGMAFIA’s album is evident, considering how he not only named a song after him, but also sampled his older work.

Track 24, titled “The 1st Amendment,” is another high-energy song that feels like you’re in a mosh pit. It has very simple yet unique drums with nothing special going on production-wise. As the title suggests, JPEGMAFIA expresses himself freely purely because he can. He claims, “All of this white on white violence too real, I guess now you know how it feels.” This track felt more political than the rest, with him sharing his takes on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as mentions of Charlie Kirk.

JPEGMAFIA’s EXPERIMENTAL RAP is a very strong album and is deserving of a listen. JPEGMAFIA has found the formula for his music to keep people listening, and while some say it’s not his best work, it still surpassed expectations. This album is a great example of how far rap has come as a genre over the years, deserving four out of five feathers.