March began with a bang for us, as JPEGMafia made Manchester Academy 2 his home for the night.
After destroying a curry and exploring the city for the day, it was time to see Peggy himself take the stage after months of anticipation following his excellent recent releases.
Rumours floated about the crowd...would Vegyn be supporting? Was that Peggy or the sound guy? Will he perform The 27 Club?
Immeditately causing a riot with his presence, Peggy wrapped 3 albums worth of material into a tight 75 minute set, barely giving the audience time to recover. He even made time for underrated experimental cuts like Rainbow Six, and fan favourite loosies like Puff Daddy (which had the crowd chanting Kenny for a solid minute).
Hendricks strolled on stage casually to set up his laptop and the crowd went crazy, it was a little anticlimactic of an entrance for the punk influenced MC, but all was forgiven when we realised it was a one man show, and he quickly turned the crowd violent with Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot - a standout from his newest record.
Songs from Veteran took on a whole darker, more sinister tone on stage, especially when fighting for air in the mosh. Peggy may attract a lot of Reddit fanboys, but at least his crowds know how to have fun - and so does JPEG, continuously launching him self into the crowd.
JPEGMafia's catalogue boasts a lot of weird, messy, off-beat tracks that may sound strange in a live setting - but his stage presence and crowd control was unrivalled. It was almost cult like as the crowd held on to every word he rapped.
Peggy even ramped up the autotune for fan favourites like Free The Frail - and everything seemed to work... His confidence and hectic arrogance made every song perfect.
A highlight of the night was getting to hear BALD!, as well as a recent unreleased track which was booming with 808s - when we asked him when it would be out after the show he simply gave us a cheeky 'shush', with a smile.
We waited out in the freezing cold to meet Peggy after copping some slightly overpriced merch, but it was all worth it... He was clearly very appreciative of everyone that came to see him, and was more than happy to talk.
JPEGMafia made an intense, lasting impression on us that night after a set list full of iconic belters like Grimy Waifu and 1539 N. Calvert, and closing off the night with the insane Veteran highlight Real Nega.
Manchester Academy 2 was the perfect setting for Peggy's glitchy, psychotic music. He transformed the crowd and bravely had the whole venue screaming 'FUCK MORRISSEY' in his own home city. We can't wait to hear what he's got stored up for the future, and hope he comes back to the UK sooner rather than later.
WRITTEN BY JAY FULLARTON