Rating: 5/5 stars

“SCARING THE H**S,” alternatively referred to as “Scaring The H**s, Vol. 1,” is the debut collaboration album from two established names in the underground, Detroit-born and raised Danny Brown (“Twitch”) and Brooklyn native JPEGMAFIA (“Veteran”). 

When two rappers known for being outsiders decide to come together and collaborate on a single project, but then also decide to just blow out the eardrums of everyone listening, this album is the result.

For those familiar with their solo output, the term “wild” does not even begin to scratch the surface of how “out there” these two are in regard to their respective styles. Brown’s trademark high-pitched delivery mixed with his tales of debauchery and absurd, borderline-insane situations he has found himself in over the years have made him a household name. Critics lauded 2016’s “Atrocity Exhibition” as one of the greatest experimental hip hop albums of all time and one of the best albums to come out of that decade in general. 

Then we have JPEGMAFIA, affectionately referred to as Peggy by his fanbase, whose abrasive delivery has made him stand out in a major way since his breakthrough into notoriety back in 2018. A nickname that JPEGMAFIA also gave himself is “Buttermilk Jesus.”

“Scaring the H**s” combines everything mentioned. The project was produced by Peggy, and every beat comes through with its own brand of lunacy, especially when it comes to the sampling choices he makes. These range from the gospel sample spread throughout the appropriately titled “God Loves You” to a short clip of an obscure 1980s Japanese ramen commercial on “Garbage Pale Kids.” He probably came across the latter while stationed in Japan during his stint in the military, but still, some of these are ridiculous. 

For example, when listening to a song called “Kingdom Hearts Key,” one might expect it to have musical elements borrowed from the popular video game series. Well no, that is not what happened. Instead, Peggy chooses to pull from an anime that came out in 1996. A nice vocal feature appeared on the track from Redveil (“learn 2 swim”). 

Brown deserves some love from his listeners because, to put it simply, he brought everything he needed to the table. He brought the energy, the absurdity and the raunchiness. On the aforementioned “God Loves You,” Danny makes several hilarious allusions to sexual activity, while keeping it “biblical,” for lack of a better term. There is not a single thing holy about the lyrical content within the song. 

With the title track, which also acted as the second and final single off this album along with the previously released “Lean Beef Patty,” Brown vents his frustration with the notion that music is supposed to be able to fit the norms set by modern pop radio. This is shown in the lines “Boy, f*** that hip-hop and that old man flow.” The sarcasm continues with him facetiously questioning, “Where the autotune at?” 

Anyone with a working set of ears and a basic understanding of popular music trends can easily tell that Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA could not care less about writing a top 40 hit. Although this album may not end up containing a single one, it is still primed to be one of the best projects to be released this year. Remember though, be careful who you play this around.

Image from Rolling Stone via Twitter