Album Review: Scaring The Hoes
By: Jamison Brown
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown first linked up for “Negro Spiritual” on Danny’s 2019 LP uknowhatimsayin. From there, fans could see that the two had a spark. After hinting at a joint album for the past few years, Peggy and Danny finally dropped SCARING THE HOES last month. This project took the best of both artist’s worlds, combined them, and spit out madness.
The opening track, “Lean Beef Patty,” was released on March 13 as the first single from the album. It has a booming bass that transitions into a techno-pop-ish sound with Danny’s vocals over it. The following cut is “Steppa Pig,” where Danny starts off this time with a few calm bars, which are followed by typical Peggy punchlines like, “boy, you aint Kai, one twitch and you’re banned.” The title track, “SCARING THE HOES,” is one of the loudest on the album. The insane violin riff at the start of the track, with just JPEG and Danny spitting, lures the listener in before hardcore drums catch you off guard. The song is the epitome of full metal mayhem. After that comes “Garbage Pale Kids,” which is a bit of an odd cut. The sample is almost like a chant that tries to possess the listener. Over the hypnotizing beat, Danny incorporates an unconventional flow in which he uses a robotic cadence, while Peggy doesn’t hold back, going full speed ahead like a track runner while still delivering some outlandish bars.
The next crop of songs is really where the album starts to feel like a manic episode: beats switching, cutting in and out, and obscene lyrics. “Fentanyl Tester,” is a bit more of a techno-like cut that has no shortage of energy. Both Danny and JPEG trade bars beautifully, reminiscent of Wade and Lebron in the Heat hay days. Then “Burfict!” features a recognizable sample that’s prominent within black history called “Procession of the Levites.” I myself remember hearing this sample song during an elementary play. The track also has some bars from Danny and JPEG that will make you double back to comprehend them. The last track of this mania state is “Shut Yo B*tch Ass Up/ Muddy Waters.” Danny in the first half is spitting on rappers who rap for satire. We transition into the beat switch with JPEG handling the second half asking for forgiveness as he speaks the truth of his messy life, comparing it to muddy waters.
Track 8 & 9 are some of the tamer songs on the tracklist. “Orange Juice Jones'' is a breath of fresh air that gives your ears a break with fewer bells and whistles. Danny and Peggy then create a gorgeous soundscape on“Kingdom Hearts,” where the two employ an angelic sample that really helps build a dreamy vibe. The cut also features an outstanding redveil feature. Then “God Loves You,” despite the ample amount of biblical references, is far from a holy song. Bars like “Make her squirt that holy water” make the song one you don’t turn on around your grandma on the way to church. There’s an ode to Ski Mask The Slump God towards the end of the track with a snippet from Babywipe being used; of course being the “water the ***** like baptist” part.
The following two tracks didn't blow me away, but I forgot that quickly with the home stretch of the LP. Track 11, “Run The Jewels," is a short song that only runs for about a minute. It’s nothing too crazy but does set up the last few songs better. Track 12, “Jack Harlow Combo Meal,” is the most underwhelming song on the album, and I could have gone without hearing this track. It’s with “HOE,” the second-to-last track on the project, that the action picks back up. The cut feels like a continuation of "God Loves You” with choral voices in the background. It also adopts a bit of a “Negro Spiritual” sound that many fans (such as myself) are used to from their first song together. SCARING THE HOES ends with “Where Ya Get Ya Coke From?” The appropriately titled track had a kind of western feel to it. On this last track both artist lines can be heard better over maracas. For an ending track, it gets the job done. The cadence in which JPEG and Danny adopt for this track is unorthodox as it was for the majority of the album.
In summary, this album was a bit underwhelming for me. The project has a few tracks that were unnecessary which makes the LP feel a bit too drawn out towards the end. Admittedly, the way the record is mixed makes it a bit hard to focus on the lyrics due to the flagrant loudness of the beats. But even after going back after multiple listens I found myself having to break it down in parts just to enjoy and comprehend the bars. If you listen to it on max volume, you might just have to get your ears checked. Nonetheless, this album had some great lines from Danny with the usual hate of politicians from JPEG. A theme that I found common throughout the album is Danny and Peggy framing lyrics to match with the title of the track itself. The sole intent of this album is to scare the hoes and everyone in the room, and I think it fulfilled that goal.