All My Heroes Are Cornballs by JPEGMAFIA Lyrics Meaning – Decrypting the Enigma of an Artistic Maverick
Lyrics
JPEG, because I like JPEGs (say)
Um, for the resolution of color, the size
(You think you know me) everything about JPEGs I like
It’s yours, alright
Oh nigga, nigga, nigga, I’m stayin’ (yeah, huh)
Aw, nigga, nigga, I’m just playin’ (playin’, playin’, playin’, yeah)
Walked in the crib with crib with the Glock .19 and the dirty cup
Snuck up in Coachella with the bald lil’ buddy, I ain’t Jaden Smith (no)
Her main nigga off cuff, I’m flagrant (facts)
I can’t keep no job, I can’t commit
Hate goes into these bars, some niggas ain’t built for it
I made rap my job, it’s sacred
You don’t wanna get them guns involved
‘Cause your wifey gon’ be callin’ the law
Boys (boys)
Alright
Fuck (motherfucking man)
Fuck, fuck
These niggas out here, man (gnarly, gnarly)
Fuck, fuck
Fuck, fuck
Gnarly
Uh, damn, guess who had a big year (yeah)
No whips, no chains, just a few tears
Pop filter, bump it and you get the stock
When I hit the stage, I’m hope that my enemies watchin’
Damn, I’m wonderin’ where they’re drive went
Why these wiggas always showin’ up when niggas be poppin’?
Bruh, don’t turn yourself into a target
‘Cause we can take this shit from beef to somethin’ exhaustin’
Glock .43 x with the sticky holes
Pistol whip ’em, I can’t waste a bullet on a poser
Incels gettin’ cross, ’cause I crossed over
How to go from Anne Hathaway to Anne Coulter
All this shootin’ in the air is for posin’ (posin’)
Fast break, we jammin’ it, nigga no floaters
Lames gettin’ bolder, straps on the shoulder
They gon’ have to get the cat to get sober
You know everybody wanna’ say I do this (don’t play), I do that
Everyone wanna act like they hard and shit
But just stop, real shit
Let me, let me get, uh, uh
Let me get a double bacon, a double bacon
Nah, not a double bacon, a, uh, uh
a bacon, a bacon smokehouse meal with no cheese
Yeah, with no cheese on the thang, and uh
Okay, would you like the meal large?
The meal is gon’ be large, the meal is (and what’s to drink?)
Uh, the meal is, uh, is gonna come with a
In an era where musical norms are routinely challenged, JPEGMAFIA stands as a radical voice resounding from the fringes. With ‘All My Heroes Are Cornballs,’ the artist also known as Peggy delves deep into his psyche, presenting a medley of introspective thoughts, all while critiquing the very industry he’s part of.
This track, much like the artist’s broader oeuvre, is a chaotic tapestry woven with irony, non-sequitur references, and internal conflict. It explores the complexity of his reality versus public perception, the nature of his idols, and the societal pressures that shape artistic integrity.
JPEG’s Resolution: A Pixelated Image of Modern Heroism
JPEGMAFIA’s candid opening places us directly into the artist’s realm of preferences, both technologically (JPEG images) and symbolically. Here, he seems to imply a connection between the JPEG format’s compression of reality and his own distillation of what a hero represents. Much like a compressed image, heroes once held in high regard may now appear distorted—cornballed—when exposed to the harsh light of truth.
Within these lines, Peggy questions the validity of the heroes he’s held dear, in light of both personal and societal developments. The ‘resolution of color’ could signify the many shades of morality and the complexities of role models who, upon closer inspection, show their flaws as much as their virtues.
The Stage: A Battlefield for Authenticity
The song’s middle verses portray JPEGMAFIA’s ascent and the subsequent target it places on his back. He juxtaposes vulnerability with aggression, symbolizing the precarious balance artists maintain in the limelight. The ‘stage’ is not just a performance platform but a space where Peggy anticipates the gaze of naysayers and ‘enemies,’ who are as much a part of his career as his supporters.
Through his ‘no whips, no chains, just a few tears’ line, JPEGMAFIA alludes to a different kind of success—one not measured by the usual hip-hop tropes of wealth and materialism but marked by emotional catharsis and survival in an industry prone to hollow idolization.
The Paradox of Violence and Performance
Violence is rampant in the lyrics, though not without self-aware critique. JPEGMAFIA spits bars laden with firearm references and threats, yet they feel more reflexive than menacing. The artist deconstructs the trope of violence in hip-hop, exposing it as a form of posturing—a performance of toughness that conceals insecurity.
Peggy chastises those who indiscriminately ‘shoot in the air for posin’,’ implying actions without substance. He confounds the listener further by juxtaposing this façade of aggression with a seemingly mundane and humorously human request for a ‘bacon smokehouse meal’—a reminder of the person behind the persona.
An Encounter With The Fast Food Complex
The song concludes in a seemingly trivial fast-food order, a stark antithesis to the imagery of opulence that pervades hip-hop. This reference is key; JPEGMAFIA points to the facade of ‘hardeness’ as something as easily consumable and disposable as a fast-food meal, while also highlighting the alterity of his own conspicuous consumption consumers.
By ending the song with these humdrum details, Peggy dismisses the grandiosity often sought in his field. This concluding vignette is a callback to life’s banalities, suggesting that beneath the bravado of his ‘cornballed’ heroes, there is a grounding in the ordinary, in shared human experiences.
The Hidden Meaning: Deconstructing JPEGMAFIA’s Labyrinth
All My Heroes Are Cornballs’ is an intricate puzzle of commentary on the state of hip-hop, heroism, and the self. JPEGMAFIA employs a stream-of-consciousness approach to narrate an artist’s struggle with identity, industry pressures, and the search for genuineness amidst a culture littered with posturing.
Throughout the track, JPEGMAFIA plays with the dualities of his public image and private self, the revered and the ridiculed, the profound and the prosaic. It’s this juggling act that renders the song a profound statement on modern artistry—a manifesto declaring that sometimes, heroes aren’t just cornballed, they’re human.
