Hailing from Sacramento, California, Death Grips is an experimental rap group that ventures into the unknown of music genres, subverting expectations at every turn while sustaining an extremely loyal fan base. “Everything we’ve done is what we feel like doing, and that’s pretty much what we’ll continue to do. We’re not into lateral movement” says rapper MC Ride in an interview with Pitchfork. People have described the relationship between the band and their fans as sadomasochistic, as they typically remain secluded from their audience only to release an album without mention. Their Twitter account is usually inactive, they’ve only done a few interviews (most of which are before 2013), skipped tour dates, and the topics Ride talks about are usually very dark in manner. This analysis will not explore the views of a fan, but rather that of an outsider meeting this genre and trying to explain what Death Grips represents. Furthermore, this essay will touch upon the band’s music, their artistic styling, and arguably their most controversial album, NO LOVE DEEP WEB. They represent chaos, but while they represent this, there is an intentional order to such madness.

            Death Grips, which consists of rapper MC Ride (Stefan Burnett), drummer Zach Hill, and producer Andy Morin formed in late 2010, releasing their first mixtape, Exmilitary, in 2011. Death grips has been described as several things, stretching from just experimental rap music to as far as a “tour-de-force of punk attitude, sound system bass weight and no-holds-barred hip hop” (Gieben). To put it simply, they are very different from their counterparts, if there are any. There is a certain emotion behind the band that is hard to replicate, one of paranoia, glitching out, and drifting from reality that Death Grips has harnessed without the slightest feeling of it being force fed to their audience, because it comes from a place of true authenticity. Zach Hill tells The Skinny “for us, the whole point is to get lost, to get off into that energy. We conjure a certain energy, and make ourselves draw on that power.” Songs such as “Spikes” and “Guillotine” are a couple of examples of how Death Grips finds themselves losing control and leaving their physical self, emphasizing the point by talking about how they’re skidding, feeling headless, and that it just goes that way. One of their most popular and self-describing songs is “No Love” comes from their album NO LOVE DEEP WEB, an album which will be touched upon later, however the song must be discussed in an attempt summarize all of Death Grips. “No Love” tells the story of a man who is paranoid after taking too many drugs, and is now in a hell. Furthermore, he delves into the topic of torture and losing feelings, all while this ominous bass drum is kicking. These topics are very dark, and while a lot of these things would typically be discouraged against, Death Grips insists on this primal, violent instinct to let go and go crazy. The use of ethos in this song would make someone who doesn’t typically listen to this type of music’s skin crawl, but it serves well into what the fans like to hear. Now, that doesn’t mean that their fans are all savages who abuse drugs and are deplorable people, but the topics brought up in songs like these do show how some may feel trapped (as many teens do) and this is simply the outlet they’ve found and enjoy. Death Grips serves this audience well, and while as insane as they are, there is something about this band that makes one give a double take; there is not only a uniqueness in their music that is so rare to come by nowadays, it’s also brutal, giving an insight to the less glamorous side of life.

            Understanding Death Grips as a band musically is only understanding them partially. Without trying to come off as one who is whining about how “you just don’t get them!” it’s helpful to note that the three all consider themselves as visual artists. MC Ride studied visual art at Hampton University and currently has an art gallery showing that closes January 28th, 2017, and Zach Hill has also had galleries showings in the past. While little is known about Andy Morin’s pursuits in the visual arts, it’s safe to say that he is well involved in the making of Death Grips’ music videos since he is the producer of the band. The band makes most of their music videos, unlike most musicians, and while they are not necessarily stunning in video quality, they are brazenly different in typical Death Grips fashion. Their music video for “You Might Think He Loves You For Your Money But I Know What He Really Loves You For It’s Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat” is MC Ride just screaming, laughing, and gritting his teeth for a solid three minutes, while “I’ve Seen Footage” is played over a continuous number of photos taken by the group. They discuss in an Adult Swim interview that “no representation is better than misrepresentation,” and that they have a way they want to be perceived, which is arguably most noted within their music videos. When watching the music videos, one can’t help but feel at unease, evoking that sense of pathos that Death Grips has mastered through visual arts. The grittiness of each video does what the band intends it to do to the viewer, either back away from it or lean in. It is the visceral combination of the band’s music and collective artistic minds that would give any proper representation; considering they hardly ever talk to the press, they’d rather let the music speak for them.

            In 2011, Death Grips signed a deal with Epic Records, advancing them into a greater spotlight than before while still maintaining an underground reputation. They dropped their first studio album, named The Money Store, in 2012 and received critical acclaim. Death Grips had promised that they would release two full-length albums within the year, but Epic Records wanted them to wait on the next album, and further complications ensued leading to Epic Records to drop the group from the label. The band leaked their second album, NO LOVE DEEP WEB for free without the label’s consent, placing drummer Zach Hill’s erect penis with the album title’s name written on it as their album cover. Furthermore, as if it weren’t enough, they released emails from Epic that were sent to them, which was what sent the company to let them go. Hill explains in an interview with Pitchfork the intention and necessity behind getting out of their contract with the company, stating that “When you're starting any kind of relationship, you can see things that might be a problem in the future, but you won't know until you start. It seemed positive and realistic, like it could totally work… But when we signed in November 2011, we couldn't have predicted that our whole team would be fired this August-- we were left with zero real contacts at the label and we couldn't get people to listen to the new music.” Therefore, as their music’s nature may predict, they did the unpredictable and broke their deal with Epic records. This controversial move only furthered the band’s “do whatever we want” narrative, appealing to pathos in return.

            While Death Grips upset many fans previously for canceling an entire tour to finish the album, they bounced back with even greater popularity with the buzz surrounding this story. It also appealed to ethos in this way, because while the move was adored by fans, the band gained more media recognition, which let them advertise to a much wider audience. As if the controversy wasn’t enough, many consider NO LOVE DEEP WEB as Death Grips’ most primal, broken down, and sonically anarchic albums to date, making it a logical move to defy their record label and release it for free. It exceeded all boundaries in which the band had previously set, and essentially gave the band somewhat of a rebirth within their own sect of the music industry.

             Death grips has found their niche in the underground of music, seemingly creating their own brand of instrumental insanity which has amassed an active following of an extremely loyal fan base. Defiant as they may be, as seen in their music, artistic styling and controversy that has surrounded them, they remain a prominent force of this new wave of music within the underground scene. While secluded, they remain to keep their audience’s attention, almost as if they are drip feeding them with every inch of information they put out in the world. The band has been the center of their own controversy, but rather than hurt them it works in their favor, furthering their intent to encourage madness and subvert expectations. It is because of this madness that makes Death Grips what they are, self-aware with their actions and intentionally chaotic.