Contextual Analysis: JPEGMAFIA – I Cannot Fucking Wait till Morrissey Dies
In this blog post I will contextually analyze the song, I Cannot Fucking Wait till Morrissey Dies off JPEGMAFIA’s 2018 breakout album, Veteran.
JPEGMAFIA is an experimental hip-hop artist, with a strong far-left agenda. Being an extremely provocative artist, [1]Peggy often calls out popular public figures (Morrissey, Ben Carson) for their racist, conservative agendas, ignored by the mainstream for years. His harsh and no-nonsense tone is not only present in his vocal delivery but his instrumentals as well. Being a completely self-produced rapper (with a few exceptions), JPEGMAFIA has pushed the boundaries of experimental hip-hop, his music often being very inaccessible to mainstream audiences.
The Veteran Album Cover (Courtesy of JPEGMAFIA)
We can better understand Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks’ (JPEGMAFIA) music if we look deeper into his origins. [2] JPEGMAFIA’s music is strongly influenced by his adolescent years in the conservative state of Alabama where he experienced intense racism as well as years serving in the US Military. In a 2020 Cambridge Union interview [3], Peggy calls his colleagues in the military “psychopaths” and reflects on being honourably discharged after reporting a senior officers alleged abuse.
On I Cannot Fucking Wait Till Morrissey Dies, JPEGMAFIA expresses his anger and hatred towards The Smith’s lead singer Morrissey due to his [4] racist comments towards African-American and Asian people. [5] Peggy exclaims, “Tom (Tom), Varg (Varg), Morrissey (Yeah)
Bunch of timid white **** who can’t fuck with me (Okay), My daddy told me these white **** can’t keep a key (Woo!)” over a booming bassline and a whimsical, childish melody.
He goes onto express his hatred for Caucasian artists who appropriate African-American culture and their fans, specifically mentioning Lil Peep; “Pull up on a cracker, bumpin’ Lil Peep”. Peggy references his adolescent years in Alabama, exclaiming that this kind of racism is not new to him and he is not fazed by it; “We show you exactly how we do it down in the country, baby This Alabama though, huh”.
Conclusion
Not only is JPEGMAFIA’s unwavering stance against racism conveyed through his track, but also his enjoyment in angering the racist demographic in hip-hop as he trolls them with a ludacris title as well as his unserious momentary vocal inflections and catchy whimsical melodies.
References
- Balfour, J. (2018) JPEGMAFIA: ‘Macaulay Culkin’, Pitchfork. Available at: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/jpegmafia-macaulay-culkin/ (Accessed: 04 December 2023).
- Who is Jpegmafia? | Pigeons and planes (2018) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPFB0GIePvw (Accessed: 04 December 2023).
- JPEGMAFIA | interview | cambridge union (2020) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UjNTHSIqU8 (Accessed: 04 December 2023).
- Staff, T.W. (2018) Morrissey’s most controversial quotes, theweek. Available at: https://theweek.com/92990/morrissey-interview-five-most-controversial-comments-by-the-smiths-singer (Accessed: 04 December 2023).
- JPEGMAFIA – I cannot fucking wait til Morrissey dies (no date) Genius. Available at: https://genius.com/Jpegmafia-i-cannot-fucking-wait-til-morrissey-dies-lyrics (Accessed: 04 December 2023).