"Noided"

Number Nineteen

UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES UP MY SLEEVES

Death Grips - Niggas on the Moon (The Powers That B Part One)

Okay, let's go.

Death Grips is an extremely experimental hip hop group from Sacramento, CA. They consist of MC Ride (Stefan Burnett) on vocals/lyrics, Zach Hill (from Hella!) on drums and Flatlander (Andy Morin) on beats and production. They have been around since 2010, when they released a self-titled mixtape. They have been releasing projects steadily since then, and blowing up in 2012 when they released not one but two full length albums and dropped out of a record deal with Epic. Then in 2013 they launched their own label and a new album. It's incredible how much they've accomplished in a short time.

What makes Death Grips so amazing is the aggression and intensity matched with dark, disturbing lyrics and beats, making overwhelming and dizzying music. It's been classified as "punk-hop" before, which is accurate, I guess. MC Ride's muffled, unrelenting lyrical assault is not easy to get used to. I definitely recommend checking out "The Money Store" for those just getting into Death Grips (then "Exmilitary" and their first mixtape, then "No Love Deep Web", then "Government Plates", for those curious).

Death Grips love pulling insane shit. They released their 2013 album with no warning whatsoever, and that is the case with this new release as well. They released this one yesterday, the 8th, I believe. It's a free download on their site as well as on YouTube. I posted the playlist of all 8 songs above. It's about 30 minutes, and is actually half of a double LP, the second half is called "Jenny Death" and will be out on Third Worlds later this year. It is titled, in appropriately Death Grips fashion, "Niggas on the Moon". Apparently Bjork has something to do on this album too, which makes the entire thing even more obtuse and weird. There's a lot of samples from Bjork, but we'll have to wait to see what exactly that involvement means...

The lyrical content has also taken some shifts on the new release. It is considerably more personal, less about the villainous portrait MC Ride has been using for many albums, and a lot darker in many ways. The opening track and the closing track both deal intensely with his feelings, and "Say Hey Kid" actually has some lyrics about racial profiling, I think. "Fuck Me Out" is this intensely sexual and strangely violent song that sort of makes my skin crawl. Every song is unique and catchy in a very odd way. I'm loving this release, it's a high-energy and disorienting listen that some will love and some will hate.

It's head-stomping music. Stay noided.

Favorite song: Up My Sleeves
Related artists: B L A C K I E, Clipping, TOKYO DEATH WATCH