You're scrolling through a Reddit thread or deep-diving into a niche music archive, and you see the name. Devon Hendryx.
The covers look weird. The titles are long and aggressive. The sound? It's like a dream melting into a nightmare. Then you see a comment: "Wait, isn't this Peggy?"
Yes. Honestly, it is.
Is Devon Hendryx JPEGMAFIA? Simple answer: they are the same person, Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks. But the complex answer—the one that actually matters if you care about the music—is that Devon Hendryx isn't just an "old name." It’s a ghost. It’s a specific, painful era of an artist who was literally at the edge before he became the industrial rap powerhouse we know today.
The Birth of Devon Hendryx in the Military
Barrington Hendricks didn't start out as a superstar. Far from it.
He joined the Air Force at 18. It wasn't because of some deep-seated desire for service; he was just broke and needed a way out of Baltimore. He ended up stationed in places like Japan, Kuwait, and Iraq. Imagine being a teenager in Japan, feeling totally isolated, and channeling all that frustration into a laptop.
That’s where Devon Hendryx was born.
The music from this era, roughly 2009 to 2014, is distinct. While JPEGMAFIA is known for being loud, confrontational, and glitchy, Devon Hendryx was more "cloud rap" and "vaporwave." It was hazy. It felt like digital nostalgia.
Key Releases You Should Know:
- JOECHILLWORLD (2010): A raw, jagged project where you can hear him still figuring out his voice.
- DREAMCAST SUMMER SONGS (2012): This one is pure atmosphere. It sounds like a humid afternoon in a foreign country where you don't speak the language.
- The Ghost~Pop Tape (2013): Most fans consider this his "Devon Hendryx" masterpiece. It’s also incredibly dark.
Why Did He Change His Name to JPEGMAFIA?
The transition wasn't just a marketing move. It was a survival tactic.
By 2013, Hendricks was in a bad place. He’s been open about how The Ghost~Pop Tape was written when he was extremely close to death—mentally and emotionally. He even posted on his Bandcamp at one point that the page was a "gravestone for a dead musician."
He needed to kill Devon to let Peggy live.
When he moved back to Baltimore in 2015, the energy shifted. The city was on fire with the Freddie Gray protests. Hendricks took that external chaos and matched it with his internal rage. He dropped the "Devon Hendryx" persona and became JPEGMAFIA.
The first big statement under the new name was Communist Slow Jams. If Devon was the sound of a lonely room, JPEGMAFIA was the sound of a riot.
The "Remastered" Era and Streaming Struggles
For years, if you wanted to hear the Devon Hendryx catalog, you had to be a digital crate-digger. You’d find weird zip files on Mediafire or unofficial YouTube uploads.
Peggy was hesitant to bring them back. He’s said in interviews and on Twitter that some of that old material is "hard to hear" because of the headspace he was in. But the fans wouldn't let it go.
Fast forward to late 2023 and 2024. Peggy finally started reclaiming the ghost. He officially remastered and re-released The Ghost~Pop Tape on streaming services. He even dropped physical copies—vinyl and CDs—of JOECHILLWORLD.
It’s a weird full-circle moment. The artist who wanted to bury his past is now curate-ing it.
Spotting the Differences: Devon vs. Peggy
If you're a casual listener, you might wonder if there's really a difference. There is.
Devon Hendryx is characterized by:
- Vulnerability over Violence: The lyrics are much more about personal failure and loneliness.
- Misty Production: Lots of reverb, slow tempos, and 80s/90s pop samples that feel "warped."
- Low-Fi Aesthetic: It sounds like it was recorded on a headset mic in a barracks room—because it often was.
JPEGMAFIA is characterized by:
- Confrontation: He’s coming for your favorite rapper, the government, and the "woke" internet.
- High-Octane Glitch: The production is crisp, loud, and intentionally jarring.
- Experimental Mastery: It’s "industrial," "noise," and "trap" all smashed together.
What This Means for New Fans
Don't just stick to SCARING THE HOES or LP!. If you really want to understand the DNA of the music, you have to go back.
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Start with The Ghost~Pop Tape. It bridges the gap. You’ll hear the beginnings of his obsession with weird samples (like "Call Me Maybe") and his ability to make a beat feel like it's falling apart.
Actionable Steps for Your Listen:
- Listen to "Sakura": It’s the final track of the Devon era. It feels like a goodbye.
- Check the Bandcamp Bios: Peggy still leaves little Easter eggs in his old descriptions.
- Look for "The Rockwood Escape Plan": This was another alias he used within the Devon Hendryx era. It’s some of his most experimental early work.
The story of Devon Hendryx and JPEGMAFIA is a story of evolution. It’s proof that an artist doesn't have to be one thing forever. You can be a ghost, and then you can be a giant.
Go find a copy of DREAMCAST SUMMER SONGS and just let it play. You'll hear the foundation of a legend.