Weed Lifestyle

Some music is just meant to be cranked up. Death Grips is the kind of music that is meant to be played at full blast in your car while smoking a blunt on the kind of beautiful day that makes you feel like you can do anything, when you’re in control of and completely at the mercy of the universe at the exact same time.

Death Grips is a Sacramento, California based group whose sound I can most accurately describe as “the Tom Waits of hip hop”. Dirty and grimy drums and warped samples collide with vocalist/rapper Stefan Burnnet’s (aka MC Ride) half sung, half screamed vocals to create an effect that is unlike anything else in music at the moment. (Kanye West’s latest record Yeezus, while very good in its own right, was about two years late to a similar sound.)

For weedists looking for a journey to go on after a sessh, Death Grips’ 4 full length releases offer a sonic playground of deep, dark wells that keep getting more interesting with repeated listens. The first album I came upon was their 2011 “mixtape” (not initially released on a major label) ExMilitary, which starts with the most badass first three songs on a record in recent memory. Opening with a sample of Charles Manson talking, the lead track “Beware” drops into a spacey and powerful slow groove that is instantly intriguing. Track 2 “Guillotine” is an immediate mission statement from a ground bent on turning everything you thought about hip hop on its head, mixing it with a dark intensity you just can’t find anywhere else. If those don’t hook you, then “Spread Eagle Across the Block” and its borderline psychotic synth lines will.

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Death Grips other releases offer a similar rundown of some of the most engaging and consistently surprising music around. After a public falling out with their last record label, Death Grips released their last two releases on their website without any notice, dropping both NO LOVE DEEP WEBB and (just a few weeks ago) Government Plates, both which advance a sound that seems to be constantly shifting and evolving. At a time where so many artists are going for something safe and warm, Death Grips puts themselves out on a ledge and messes with the possibility that music can push you to places that you might not have ever reached on you own. And especially after a good session, that perspective shift is one of the best things about great music, and Death Grips brings it.

Check out other posts from Weedist’s Great Music While High series!