Live Review: JPEGMAFIA - Roundhouse, London 04/02/2025
The Roundhouse became JPEGMAFIA country for a night – over an hour long queues stretching all the way back to Camden Market is a rarity here; and Brooklyn’s finest more than delivered – he’s a tight rapper who has earned his loyal fandom, and with his brush with the metal genre on his latest album I Lay Down My Life For You, which celebrated its deluxe edition release the same week as the London tour, you know you’re in for a good time. The large Colosseum-like venue of the Roundhouse pretty much became a mosh pit in its entirety long before the Scaring the Hoes segment of the set – as; no support, no guest-stars, it was all about Peggy for the night – as it should be.
13 years gives an artist like JPEGMAFIA plenty of time to hone his craft and opening with no support allowed the lengthy, prompt crowd not to miss any of the set – Jesus Forgive Me, I Am a Thot made it clear that he did not need anyone to hype himself up – Peggy was his own hypeman – Lean Beaf Patty and HAZARD DUTY PAY acted as his own support; battle cries for what was to come. Moshes started from the word go; tops were thrown – people were holding shoes up above their heads by the time the first song came to an end – and people that I spoke to after the show had lost their shirts in the mosh so had to buy merch to ensure they had something to wear going home. It was a chaotic, lively night – and one thing’s for certain, with as much crowd interaction that JPEGMAFIA uses during his songs – you’re never going to have a bad time. The Roundhouse has become a watchword for good time lately – it’s one of the best, most well-curated and well-known venues in Camden, and you know you’re never going to have a bad night there no matter what you see. Here was less of a lively night and more of a battleground – bodies moved and nobody stood still; even those at the back were wilder than I ever saw them.
He was able to play off his fans really well – “fuck you peggy!” the crowd roared in affection and chanted for his nickname when he stopped for air. When he opened up the pit; the crowd obliged – and to make sure they, and him – had time to breathe from a hectic set, he paused to come up for air and threw water bottles into the crowd. People looked hot, sweaty, they were moving loud and riotous. No bite was lost no matter what the set list – stopping early on to make a wild leftfield curve to Call Me Maybe, his originality and inventiveness put his own spin on the Carly Rae Jepsen classic – and dare I say it? Made it his own. The crowd were up for it once the phones went down after the intro – most of the audience were engaged and switched on throughout; which really helped create a unique buzz, and engaged and switched on throughout is an understatement if anything. His fan-favourite tracks like BALD! – praising all the bald men in the audience before launching into second gear, showed an artist at the top of his game – capable of calling back to the classics at the same time as showing his ability to genre-shift like the inventive chameleon he is.
I scream this in the mirror before I interact with anyone hyped up the crowd, taking potshots at Jake Paul along the way for a largely gen-z audience and God Loves You showcased his ability to graft gospel into disco for a zany chorus. Much of his collaborations were played with a heartfelt love for Danny Brown, Denzel Curry (who he tricked the crowd into thinking would make an appearance, only to remind them that he’s not here), and Vince Staples, who’s played at the Roundhouse before. New Black History took the roof off – Staples’ vocals on I Lay Down My Life For You feel cold and ruthless in the best way possible. The sound quality was excellent tonight for these segments of the set, JPEGMAFIA owning his stage with craft and care, ever the experimentalist, never afraid to try something new and own it, creating his own unconventional sound and making it his own, richly authentic music – firing away at awards chasers; telling the crowd that nobody wants to hear that best new music shit. He made it all about the music and the lyrics on his night and could have easily done multiple nights in London – but is off to Brighton and Bristol on future legs of the tour.
You never know what you’re going to get from a JPEGMAFIA show and his beats were well timed with precision, craft and wickedly daring in style. The Roundhouse was made to feel a lot more intimate than it was as a result of this night – playing right up until curfew at eleven, he left the crowd only wanting more – Baby I’m Bleeding was a grandstanding triumph following a string of Protect the Cross, Exmilitary, where he made reference to his time in the US Air Force, and with lyrics in parts that almost feel like they would be jokes under any other artist you have to remind yourself that Peggy is no other artist – never running out of energy and never slowing down – able to maximise the lyrics for their ultimate impact at every turn. Given Musk’s prevalence as an unelected politician, his energy to deploy Lean Beef Patty early on feels more like a statement piece than ever – “fuck Elon Musk!” the Roundhouse roars loud and triumphant.
In short – one of the best early Tuesday nights on a cold February evening that anyone could’ve asked for.
Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies
Photography by Harry Wassell
