Roo AOTD #86 JPEGMafia

By Daniel Karasek | April 29, 2025

All aboard the hype train for Bonnaroo 2025! Only 44 days until we are all on the Farm again, can you believe it? It’s coming up fast and we can’t wait to be dancing with all of you at Bonnaroo! Today’s Artist of the Day is the one and only JPEGMafia. Learn more about the artist below. Don’t forget to check out all of our artist spotlights! Thank you for reading these posts!

Artist Biography

JPEGMafia, born Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks on October 22, 1989, has made a name for himself as one of the most innovative and unpredictable forces in modern hip-hop. Raised across multiple locations—ranging from Brooklyn to Alabama, Louisiana, Japan, and beyond—his eclectic upbringing serves as a backdrop for his genre-bending, boundary-pushing sound. The artist’s experiences, both in life and through his service in the United States Air Force, have shaped a music career that is anything but conventional. Whether performing in Iraq, Kuwait, or Japan, Hendricks’ view of the world is complex, multifaceted, and woven into every track he drops.

JPEGMafia’s sonic journey began in earnest with the release of Black Ben Carson in 2016, a debut that immediately set him apart from the pack with its chaotic energy and scathing commentary. His next few projects, Veteran (2018) and All My Heroes Are Cornballs (2019), further solidified his position in hip-hop’s experimental fringe. Both albums received widespread acclaim for their unrelenting originality, with a sound that defies traditional hip-hop structures, embracing abrasive textures, glitchy beats, and politically charged lyrics. This was no safe zone for conventional rap, but a place where Hendricks could break free from the rules and experiment without limits.

Not one to sit still, JPEGMafia expanded his artistic reach in 2023 with Scaring the Hoes, a collaborative album with the iconic Danny Brown that brought together two of the genre’s most unorthodox figures. As if to prove he wasn’t slowing down, in 2024, he dropped I Lay Down My Life for You, his fifth studio album, continuing his streak of projects that refuse to be pigeonholed into any one style.

Known for his confrontational live performances, JPEGMafia brings the same raw energy that defines his recorded output to the stage. His shows are a unique experience, filled with unpredictability and a blend of high-intensity sounds that reflect his unflinching approach to life and music.