For those unfamiliar, Death Grips are a Sacramento based hip hop trio consisting of MC Ride on the vocals and Zach Hill and Flatlander combining to make the instrumentals. I'm on record for enjoying their debut mixtape Exmilitary, which has only grown on me since I last wrote on these guys. While I can only speak for myself, I can assume that one of the main reasons Exmilitary achieved so much critical success was because of its innovation and forward thinking. I'm not saying it changed the game, far from it, but they took every aspect of hip hop and raised it to such an extreme that it made for an entertaining album.
Most of the conversation surrounding their debut was whether or not these guys are actually hip hop. Its obvious that a majority of the music sounds foreign to most people, but you can also see the hip hop influences among the album. A lot of the beats can best be compared to some of the early work of Ice Cube and Public Enemy, whose beats were composed by The Bomb Squad. (Ill fight anyone who doesn't agree they are criminally overrated) And to an even higher extent, the intensity can be compared to the wu tang clan when they first appeared.
A year later, the group signed with Epic Records following the massive momentum created by their debut. They released two albums in 2012, the first being The Money Store, which was praised even more than Exmilitary. Regardless of the polarizing feel this album gives off, it was able to make its way onto countless album of the year list and proclaimed by many as the best album released all year. If you couldn't tell, I'm dying to hear this so ill get this review started immediately.
1. Get Got
Wow, nothing about this even resembles anything on their first project. First, instead of his normal deafening screaming, MC Ride sounds like he is about an inch away from the microphone, but speaking in a very quiet tone. This is also a step up lyrically, as Ride is imagining being chased by cops that aren't really there. Reminded me of "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" by the Geto Boys. The instrumental is also more relaxed in contrast to their last effort, with the synthesizer paving the way for a great instrumental.
2. The Fever (Aye Aye)
Totally contrasting the previous song, "The Fever" sounds just like something you'd hear on Exmilitary. Its as violent as anything they've made, showing their fans they hadn't forgotten why they had fans in the first place. As with most of the songs, the hook on this thing is so damn catchy. You have to recognize how impressive it is that Death Grips can make such intense and violent song, but also have them stuck in your head all day. Loved this song.
3. Lost Boys
Building upon the improved lyricism, "Lost Boys" is a tribute to people have lost themselves and are living a homeless lifestyle, whether it be from drugs, alcohol, or anything else. They also continue to make every song sound different from the last one while still keeping the same overall feel for the entire album, which I must admit is impressive. The beat is more eerie and atmospheric than anything we've heard from the group up to this point.
4. Blackjack
The next song manages to share some of the same qualities as "Lost Boys" while still sounding different. The beat is playing these instruments backward and replaying some of the vocal. I'm going to hurt myself if I keep trying to explain this, so I'll just tell you to check it out. This probably isn't something you're going to be bumping in your car, though. Unless MC Ride is in the car next to you. In that case you do whatever the hell he asks you to do.
5. Hustle Bones
I can't even describe my love for the hook on this song. I don't understand anything about it. Its backed by the happiest beats you'll ever here from the group while MC Ride repeatedly yells "hustle bones coming out my mouth". The rest of the song didn't do too much for me though. Wasn't bad or anything but that hook is so damn distracting.
6. I've Seen Footage
In another lyrical gem of the album, Ride talks about the police brutality that he's apparently seen footage of. As a plus, this is easily the most traditional hip hop song they've ever recorded. Minus the guitar, the drum line on this thing couldn't get any more hip-hopy. If you're paying any attention to the flow of an artist, its impossible to ignore the resemble of MC Rides flow to those of a golden age rapper. This song is so good that it hurts my face.
7. Double Helix
MC Ride makes use of a more modern rap flow. The lyrics actually fly by fairly fast, while not sounding like complete nonsensical bullshit. Not only this song, but the mix of blazing fast lyrics, traditional sounding hip hop songs, and the intense yelling that they are known for give this project a large variety that separates the album from a majority of albums.
8. System Blower
One of the more intense cuts of the album, Ride is screaming louder than usual about blowing your system. Obviously there is reference to the speakers of ones car, but I've also read that this is a jab at the constructive system of society. But, I could be reading too much into this.
9. Cage
Since this post has been flooded with "most of" comments, its essential to note that this is the most intense, noisiest track of the album. Its easily comparable to "Takyon" from their last album. Unfortunately, I was left feeling indifferent toward this song. Probably my least favorite song on the album, which says something since I was only indifferent.
10. Punk Weight
With the tenth track of the album, we learn about MC Rides ventures as a bare knuckle brawler. There not too much plot to this, but that's just the general sense of the lyrics. The beat happens to be more notable than any of the lyrics though. Its dominated by the static sounds for the most part but those drums are just crazy.
11. Fuck That
Another song that has a different feel from the rest of the album. But oddly enough, it still sounds like it belongs in the album. The music sounds a lot like "Lost Boys" in the sense that its just weird and atmospheric in every way imaginable. Wasn't the most memorable track but its decent enough.
12. Bitch Please
I see this as further development of the insane character MC Ride has been portraying throughout. Most notably the hook, but the entire song just shows Ride as a trashy, over the top maniac that found his way into a recording studio. Think of Waka Flacka, but one that can rap better and is actually scary. And likable, definitely likable.
13. Hacker
The most out-there and experimental track on the whole damn album, which is an incredible accomplishment. As the name of the track indicates, everything from the flow, pop culture references, to the instrumental feels glitchy. Furthermore, the whole feel of the track is similar to a dance track.
Rating: 4.5/5
Just like their last release, I know a lot of people will hate this, which depresses me but I understand where that distaste would come from. Everything from the cover to the beats are just disturbing and twisted. If you can get past the initial shock value, and that's a big if, I'm sure that you can see how much detail went into every second of each song. These details are so minute that it would take around fifteen listens to really understand what is going on. They do this while not giving up their signature style that got them known. Above all, this is fun and thought provoking music. Finally, the element that makes this such a superb album is the absurd variation in each song, while keeping the same general sound for the entire album. This was far and away the easiest review I've ever written, just because I could go on and on about each track. Buy it. Please go and to the store and buy every copy the store has.