The Money Store
by Death Grips

Death Grips, weather you like them or not, are a necessary band for the evolution of Hip-Hop. Very rarely, a band has such a unique sound and philosophy, it could change the way the next generation approaches a genre entirely. That time has not arrived yet, but I don't doubt it will. For years, rappers have been building off the foundations built for them in the late 80's and 90's (mainly by artists such as Kool G Rap, Nas, Biggie, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Tupac, NWA, Snoop Dogg, Big Pun, The Roots & A Tribe Called Quest.) Death Grips have either reinterpreted and reformatted these foundations or created something previously unheard, and brought it to a genre that can at times lack uniqueness. It's fresh, it's new, it's aggressive. While I'm aware MC Ride has an odd, loud, almost ear numbing delivery vocally (which took time for me to get used to), he crafts beautiful detail and introspection through his writing ability, that may get overlooked. It's poetry. And over these instrumentals it's hard to see how any other delivery could work. It wouldn't be Death Grips without it.

From Mechalodon 03/26/2017 17:38 | #188140 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I'm not sure what just happened but I think I enjoyed it a lot.

Let's face it: this record isn't a 10/10. It's got too many iffish songs (looking at you, second half of the album) for that. But it makes up for that rather lacking second half with it's brilliant first half and the final track of the album, which is arguably the best.
The hooks on this record are catchy as fuck: "getgetgetgetgotgotgotgot", "I'M IN YOUR AREA", "HUSTLE BONES COMING OUT MY MOUTH", "I GOT THE DIAMONDS SCRAPIN' SLIDIN' WASTIN' MY LIFE IN ALTERED STATEs, BACK IT UP" to name a few.
MC Ride's a.k.a. Stefan Burnett vocal style is extreme, for hip hop at least. It involves lots and lots of throat shredding shouts and yells. The only song that doesn't have him use this technique is Get Got, which is probably why that song is the most accessible on the record.
The drums on this record are quite surprisingly live drums, provided by Zach Hill of Hella. This is quite new for him obviously but he seems to be handling it flawlessly. In fact, it's amazing that these are live drums, considering the amount of speed and technical skill required to imitate a drum machine.
The synths and production is handle by Flatlander a.k.a. Andy Morin, one of the few producers that actually performs live with their band. His production is flawless, and it's amazing how he created such complex soundscapes and textures.
Overall, while this record is quite impressive, it isn't a perfect 10 unlike what Anthony Fantano says. But it really is a good taste of their future records, especially so on Jenny Death.

MC Ride has evolved into a beautiful butterfly

From corenfro TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/23/2017 03:27 | #191259 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I can't say I've heard anything like this and I'm glad it exists. It's experimental hip hop with some punk influence and with lots of rich thick electronic sounds and often siren sounds and random pitches doing weird sweeping effects in the place of chords. As someone who looks for harmony and melody (yes even in hip hop if you can even classify this as hip hop) it's hard for me to really get into this music as "best of the decade" like the infamous anthony fantano claims.

The rapping is also very skittish and unconventional. There's some clear Killer Mike influence, in the beats, production style, and rapping cadence.

I enjoy the rhythms and the creativity and there is certainly some cool stuff going on with the production. That said it's not really something I enjoy as much as some seem to that would make me give it a higher rating. I appreciate it in the same way I appreciate something like Captain Beefheart - I admire that they did what they did and recognize that it is pretty remarkable, even if it's not really my thing. It's definitely worth a listen or two that's for sure.