Let me just preface this double feature with a little warning. The music that this band produces is very graphic, offensive, and downright frightening at points... So be wary.
That being said; Death Grips is a alternative rap trio from Sacramento California. The group is comprised of rapper Mc Ride, drummer Zach Hill, and beat maker Flatlander. And let me tell you, these guys are doing something utterly amazing and altogether terrifying with the music they create.
But allow me to explain what makes Death Grips such a captivating, yet polarizing group in the world of underground music. First off, the vocals... Good God, the vocals. Mc Ride, at first, seems less like a rapper and more like a crazed hobo who hijacked a studio to scream his utterly insane rants. Ride is equal parts over-the-top and poignant, with his lyrics detailing the exploits of an unlikeable, villain esq person, who is bent on being as cruel as possible and teetering on the brink of insanity. Which is a great concept in this day and age, where gangster rappers like Lil' Wayne and Wakka Flocka are praised for glorifying greed and violence. However, the character that Mc Ride portrays in his songs, is so extreme that nobody could possibly find any reason to praise or idolize him... which to me is utterly brilliant.
Next we have Zach Hill ( of Hella fame ) and Flatlander, the two music makers in the group. And really, they add just as much, if not more chaos to the mix. With Hills's jittery, off-kilter drumming and Flatlander's penchant for creating some of the noisiest beats you'll ever hear, these guys set the apocalyptic stage on which Mc Ride preaches his dark sermon.
But beneath all of the noise and screaming, Death Grips manages to make music that is surprisingly catchy and, as I've said before, captivating. Especially on their major label debut The Money Store, the first of two albums they released this year under their record label Epic.
The album starts with the track "Get Got", a song about police paranoia with an infectious hook. It also is one of the rare moments when you'll find Ride rapping in a calmer tone of voice. The following track however ( "The Fever") ramps up the intensity tenfold, with a beat that sounds like a siren, and Mc Ride screaming in your face. Tracks like "System Blower" and "The Cage" hark en back to the band's first mix tape Exmilitary, and the track "Double Helix" is another track where Mc Ride is being relatively low-key.
But the two tracks that really stand out on The Money Store are "I've Seen Footage" and "Hacker". The Former sounds eerily similar to Salt N Peppa's "Push it" though with a lot more police brutality and critiques on the Internet age. While "Hacker" is a very jittery song that apparently Lady Gaga can't handle.
Simply put, The Money Store is brilliant. It combines so many different sounds and images together and does it exquisitely. It also happens to be my favorite album of the year... so far.
10/10
Now on to the band's second and far more controversial release, NO LOVE DEEP WEB.
But why all the talk? Well, it was released for free months before the record label was allegedly going to release it, and upon it hitting the Internet on October 1st, the band slapped on a rather graphic album cover; a man's erect penis with the album title written on it in black sharpie... yeah.
But I don't want to linger too long on the context, you have Google for that. Instead, let me tell you about what to expect from this album.
Unlike The Money Store where the beats are noisy and the hooks rather prominent. NLDW is a more subdued album musically, save for moments like the track "No Love" and "Whammy" Zach and Flatlander seem to let Mc Ride take over this album, which is a great move when the lyrics are on point.
That is my only real complaint however; Rides' lyrics on a couple of tracks here are a little shaky. Like the track "Deep Web" or the hook on "World of Dogs". Whereas The Money Store managed to obscure any lyrical flubs with an infectious hook or subtle production move, NLDW puts Mc Ride front-and-center, revealing some inconsistency. But when he's on, HE'S ON. Like my favorite track from the album, the hellish "No Love" or the ear worm "Bass rattle stars out the sky".
NLDW may not be as strong as TMS, but it still has the same appeal and shows how versatile Death Grips is.
8.5/10
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