Death Grips - The Powers That B ALBUM REVIEW
If you’re into experimental/abstract rap, you definitely know who Death Grips are. If you don’t, let me sum them up for you. Death Grips is a band that consists of one rapper, MC Ride, and two producers, Zach Hill and Andy Morin. They’ve been a group since 2010, and they’re known for their abrasive sounds that mixes their experimental rap with tinges of punk rock and electronic music. For being so experimental and ‘weird’ music, they have had their songs pop up in video games like Battlefield Hardline and shows like Westworld and BoJack Horseman. They even have notable fans like Pearl Jam, Danny Brown, and Robert Pattinson, who actually played guitar on their album Government Plates. What sent their fans into a true doozy was their fourth studio album, The Powers That B, a mammoth double album that the first part came in June 2014, and Death Grips forced their fans to nearly a whole year of silence before dropping the second part in March the next year. It’s been over five years since The Powers That B, so does it still hold up after all of that hype? I still think it does.
The first part of the record, titled N*ggas on the Moon and is the first eight tracks, is unique in its own right. The only instrumentation on this first part is drums, with MC Ride’s vocals. Notably, every track has some vocal sample from Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, who is a known Death Grips fan. While standout tracks like “Big Dipper” and “Have a Sad Cum” and pretty much the rest of this part have a vulgar and experimental vibe, I thought that Moon played it a little too safe. The second part, titled Jenny Death, is a very different experience. If you want classic Death Grips, Jenny is exactly that. MC Ride’s vocal performance borderlines on a death metal band more than a rap group, and that’s what makes Death Grips so unique. The opening cut “I Break Mirrors With My Face in the United States” is Death Grips in full force, and “Pss Pss” is a Frankenstein’s monster of a dance track, with MC Ride whispering in the listener’s ear about his usually illegal sexual fantasies over a warped instrumental. The production across Moon and Jenny is mind-melding, and it’s an absolutely perfect fit.
The only ‘negative’ thing that I could say about it is the album’s runtime. It’s 80 minutes long, and after a while, it really becomes a sensory overload for some people. I can safely say that this album, or Death Grips, or even this whole subgenre of rap, isn’t for everyone. It’s for people who are willing to stomach vulgar lyrics, ear-splitting instrumentals, and the usually long runtimes of these albums. I’m not barring you from listening to it, but some people just know that this type of music isn’t for you the first time they hear it.
Separated into two separate projects, Jenny is far superior to Moon in nearly every way (as much as I love Moon). I’d even go as far as calling Jenny the perfect album, a 10/10 if you want to put it like that. But this isn’t two separate reviews. This is The Powers That B, a double album that is truly something else in all of music. The Powers That B is a must-listen for anyone that wants to get into abstract music. For that matter, I’d say that all of Death Grips’s discography is worth it. But The Powers That B is an album for the ages.
9/10
Stream The Powers That B here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
The first part of the record, titled N*ggas on the Moon and is the first eight tracks, is unique in its own right. The only instrumentation on this first part is drums, with MC Ride’s vocals. Notably, every track has some vocal sample from Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, who is a known Death Grips fan. While standout tracks like “Big Dipper” and “Have a Sad Cum” and pretty much the rest of this part have a vulgar and experimental vibe, I thought that Moon played it a little too safe. The second part, titled Jenny Death, is a very different experience. If you want classic Death Grips, Jenny is exactly that. MC Ride’s vocal performance borderlines on a death metal band more than a rap group, and that’s what makes Death Grips so unique. The opening cut “I Break Mirrors With My Face in the United States” is Death Grips in full force, and “Pss Pss” is a Frankenstein’s monster of a dance track, with MC Ride whispering in the listener’s ear about his usually illegal sexual fantasies over a warped instrumental. The production across Moon and Jenny is mind-melding, and it’s an absolutely perfect fit.
The only ‘negative’ thing that I could say about it is the album’s runtime. It’s 80 minutes long, and after a while, it really becomes a sensory overload for some people. I can safely say that this album, or Death Grips, or even this whole subgenre of rap, isn’t for everyone. It’s for people who are willing to stomach vulgar lyrics, ear-splitting instrumentals, and the usually long runtimes of these albums. I’m not barring you from listening to it, but some people just know that this type of music isn’t for you the first time they hear it.
Separated into two separate projects, Jenny is far superior to Moon in nearly every way (as much as I love Moon). I’d even go as far as calling Jenny the perfect album, a 10/10 if you want to put it like that. But this isn’t two separate reviews. This is The Powers That B, a double album that is truly something else in all of music. The Powers That B is a must-listen for anyone that wants to get into abstract music. For that matter, I’d say that all of Death Grips’s discography is worth it. But The Powers That B is an album for the ages.
9/10
Stream The Powers That B here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
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