"Death Grips"
"Oh cool, why don't you write a blog article about it"
"I can't publish an article on Death Grips"
"Why not?!"
"Cause that's like writing an article on the Smashing Pumpkins; everyone knows who they are"
"But how else are you going to justify spending $50 on the THE POWERS THAT B?"
"OK, fine! But this a one time thing understand?? Only so more people can view your blog and discover obscure snooty albums alright???"
"You're only in it for the ad revenue!"
"What ad revenue??"
"Yea, true, you aren't one of those hip music blogs, you're more like a lower tier, high school project blog."
"Thanks, I guess..."
That was my internal monologue when I was considering writing an article about Death Grips. Yes, they are popular and a lot of people know about them, and the purpose of this blog was to ramble on about obscure music no one had heard of. But if it's so obscure (I thought to myself) no one is going to be able to discover my blog. So, after morally wrestling with myself, I decided to put this click-bait (technically) out, but only because I like it so much.
So, The Powers That B, is a double album is (their fourth studio release) by the Industrial Hip-Hop trio Death Grips, consisting of MC Ride, Flatlander and Zach Hill. The first half of this album, Niggas on the Moon was released on June of 2014 featuring heavily samples of Bjork. The first halve of this record I defiantly am little less fond of. It's more abstract and experimental (which I think is one of DG strongest assets) with less of the conventional structures of a song incorporated. I feel like they are on the edge of the cliff of experimentation, teetering on the point of falling off. One of the only reasons they don't is down to them chorus's which can be heard on 'Up My Sleeves', 'Billy not Really' and 'Black Quarterback'. On 'Black Quarterback' I love Bjork's samples in this, it brings up images of a broken glass ball being hurled around a grey industrial building, which cannot be said however for 'Big Dipper' which I cannot stand due to the way the samples are used. And despite its excellent title "Have a Sad Cum" suffered from the same problem. The rest of the album I really enjoyed with 'Billy not Really' taking me for a strange trip along a long winding hallway into some mental hospital on a rainbow. 'Up My Sleeves' using the Bjork samples to their best, reminding me slightly of 'Beware' with more glitches in it, the dark insidious DG undertones spattered in blood red on the walls. The drum beat in 'Voila I really loved as it felt so broken and Ride's croak melded well against his screams and Bjork's breathy singing voice.
The second halve of this record, Jenny Death, was released nine months later and, in my humble opinion, is almost perfect. A polar opposite to Niggas on the Moon, with it feeling like a stadium rock album, like something from a world where Rap-Rock from the 90's and 00's became mature and experimental (what a world that would be). We start of this musical adventure with 'I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States' (winner for the best song name ever) which is a digital-hardcore inspired techno-punk track ("I Don't care about real noise"), which is followed by a song, which I know has nothing to do with the Smashing Pumpkins but I somehow feel like it is inspired by them in some way. That song is 'Inanimate Sensation' and it has one of the best drum beats on it this side of 1999. So powerful, so raw, but at the same time it feels epic in proportions and never drags over the 6 minute run time, ever. 'Turned Off'' feels like it's in some kind of weird time signature with sun burnt guitars blowing the track up into a hardcore punk feeling track. 'Why A Bitch Gotta Lie' has more stadium rock vibes with a riff/drum combo that would put all rock bands since 2002 to shame and it is on a Hip-Hop album!! 'Pss Pss' is a creepy, groovy track that slithers across the dance floor so it can buy itself another glass of absinthe. I keep bringing up stadium rock with this album but the title track of this double album 'The Powers That B' is the moshing track to end all moshing track with a hook to match. 'Beyond Alive' and 'Centuries Of Damn' are two psychedelic rock tracks that don't feel like their trying to rip of Hendrix shamelessly (surprisingly I know!) with airs of elegance to them both. 'On GP; is a rock instrumental which features a rapper on it but it has the feeling of one with a lot of sincerity, like its wanting to try and have a conversation with you rather than try a slash your ears off. Ending the album is something for the future 'Death Grips 2.0' a busy mind melding instrumental that hints at something (maybe?).
This album is a classic. It will be in the history books as an album to show that rap and rock works together while also showing Death Grips at their best: mind bending and genre crushing. By this stage every music journalist has probably written actual university papers on this album but I don't care. I love it. The songs are great, the art is good, what more could I ask for in an album?
Death Grips - The Powers That B (Official Video) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2Oj57OJYA
Death Grips - I Break Mirrors With My Face in The United States-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwSvL08isHo
Death Grips - Inanimate Sensation- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5GCn1BKkxg
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