In an article on Bandcamp, he said "I wanted to show I'm not just a one-trick pony. In January 2018, he released his second studio album Veteran. Īfter less than 3 years living there, Hendricks moved from Baltimore to Los Angeles for his next studio album. Four months later, he released a collaborative EP with fellow Baltimore-based rapper Freaky titled The 2nd Amendment. įollowing a number of mixtapes, Hendricks released his debut studio album, Black Ben Carson, in February 2016 via Deathbomb Arc featuring a much harsher, distorted sound than his other projects. Only a month later, he released his mixtape Darkskin Manson which was inspired by the Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore that were happening right as he had moved there. In 2015, he moved to Baltimore, where he began to make music under his moniker JPEGMafia, under which he released his mixtape Communist Slow Jams in April 2015. ĭuring his military stay in Japan, he was producing and writing music under the name Devon Hendryx. He has cited Kanye West, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Throbbing Gristle, MF DOOM, Lil B, Chief Keef, Hanson, Ice Cube, Rick Rubin, Cam'Ron, Björk, Janelle Monáe, Radiohead, The Backstreet Boys and Arca as influences.
Hendricks developed an interest in music production at the age of 15, and he began producing after he learned how to sample. In April 2021, Hendricks revealed through social media that he had "a sexually, verbally, and physically abusive childhood." Career Though he previously claimed to have a master's degree in journalism, Hendricks has since clarified that, though having studied the subject while deployed, he was not officially awarded a degree. He served a tour of duty in Iraq and also spent time in Kuwait, Germany, Japan, and North Africa, before being honorably discharged. Hendricks moved to Louisiana and enlisted in the United States Air Force at age 18. He spent the majority of his childhood in Flatbush, before moving to Alabama at age 13, where he says he experienced a significant amount of racism which later had a great effect on his music. Hendricks was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to Jamaican parents.