The Only One Who Can See Me Is Me

JPEGMAFIA “Either On or Off the Drugs”

There’s countless rap songs in which rappers tell you how great they are, how they’re built different, that they have a vision that can’t be held back. It’s a central trope of the genre, and a lot of the time it’s just innocuous shit-talking and self-mythologizing, making themselves into superheroes or supervillains. But sometimes, as in the case of “Either On or Off the Drugs,” it can come across more like a self-directed pep talk, or trying to understand one’s own artistic drive and motivations. JPEGMAFIA’s voice sounds warm and vulnerable, his cadence isn’t aggressive even when he’s venting frustrations. There’s a casual feel to the song that in some ways makes the boasts land more convincingly – he sounds like he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone but himself. There’s one part towards the middle of the song where he says as much, but presents it more like an affirmation necessary for the act of creation: “I’m Michael Jackson, I’m dancing in the mirror / the only one who can see me is me / the only one who can believe is me.”

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