(Note: I'm not posting the album cover because it's graphic and I didn't want to get any shit for posting it)
2012 has been quite the year for Death Grips. In April, they turned hip-hop on it's ass with their absolutely amazing debut-full length The Money Store. Now less than six months later, they've done it again with No Love Deep Web.
This record has quite the story behind it. As you may or may not have heard, Death Grips caused quite a stir on Monday when released they released the album for free after their label (Epic Records) wouldn't release until sometime next year. These guys clearly don't give a shit and I absolutely love their attitude towards music. We really need more artists like this in hip-hop who don't cater to the label and genuinely care about the music and their fans.
Onto the actual album, No Love Deep Web is another unpredictable, intense album from Death Grips. Believe it or not, It's even more alienating to audiences than The Money Store. There were a few even points in time where a big fan like me couldn't get into it. This record mixes the more raw sound of Exmillitary (This album's biggest flaw is that it's too much to handle at times, which was also the biggest flaw with Exmillitary) with the live instrumentation/bass-heavy production of The Money Store without sacrificing any of the tenacity and aggression they have became known for. The album starts off and finishes incredibly strong. The first three tracks ("Come Up and Get Me", "Lil Boy" and "No Love") are absolute bangers that are synth-heavy and will stuck get stuck in your head for hours on end after listening. The biggest difference between this and their earlier material that struck me from the beginning is how audible MC Ride is. His rapping is normally inaudible, but often times thanks to the production shifts from heavy as shit to very subtle his rapping become more prevalent and I really dug that change. The album does go through a bit of a lull in the middle with misfires "World of Dogs" and "Lock Your Doors" before picking up again with some good, but not album standout tracks before the grand finale. The last three tracks, just like the first three, blew me away. These songs are even out of left-field for a group as innovative as Death Grips. The biggest surprises "Pop" with it's almost beautiful and clean-sounding keys (This beat would probably work on a mainstream rappers song) and "Artificial Death in the West" with the insanely abstract and subdued synths than usual doesn't waste one second of it's almost 6-minute duration and closes out the album on an extremely high note. All the risks they took on these tracks pay off big time and make for some of the most special moments of the record.
No Love Deep Web is another unexpected and fresh effort from Death Grips. Nobody currently in the rap game challenges the genre as much as them and nobody has more fresh idea then them. No Love Deep Web doesn't have the consistency throughout and isn't quite as memorable as The Money Store, but Death Grips has made another great album to add their growing legacy as the outlaw geniuses of hip-hop.
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.No Love
2.Lil Boy
3.Artificial Death in the West
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