The Money Store

A lot of people I know aren't exactly Death Grips fans, but "went through a Death Grips phase," so I was excited to see this one come up. Turns out it's great! Scanning the genre tags as I listen, I can sense the DNA that would go on to spawn 100 gecs and their ilk, but back in 2012 we got something leaner and meaner, with seemingly less mainstream exposure. Completely different distribution environment.

Me in 2012: "What is this pile of hot crap???" Me in 2026: "Yeah, of course, Death Grips' *The Money Store* is a deranged masterpiece. By now it is considered as a classic by most fans enamoured with wild, gritty and 100% unhinged sorts of music artistry -- ones perfectly reflecting the hypertext madness about to engulf us all". *The aging hipster pretending he is a bona fide album reviewer adjusts his glasses on his nose. He suddenly realizes he sounds like the exact type of pompous fop Death Grips will never give a rat's ass about -- praises or no praises for their music. How embarrassing, right?*. Well, what can I say? What can I *really* say to explain that I changed my mind? I can say that the post-genre insanity found in *The Money Store* feels cathartic for me now. That it makes me feel like I am an urban survivor. That it can illustrate the -- now very old -- punk idea that the most striking way to express yourself can only come from the gutters. That it somehow keeps my rebellious spirit alive -- at least some of it. Maybe I wasn't hopeless enough in 2012. And maybe now I am. Yeah maybe this is what changed between those two years... The world caught up with me. Or I caught up with the world. Anthony Fantano was right to give a perfect grade to this record at the time, to only take one example of the praise that rained on this album (against all odds). Not that Fantano is always right in my book. Actually, I think he's increasingly wrong about many things these days. Even if individual mileages about his takes will vary here, of course... But I digress, as usual... This review is supposed to be about Death Grips, not me or f*cking Anthony Fantano. It's just that it's very hard to explain the effect this record does on you once you start enjoying it. Hence why I procrastinate, probably... What I'm about to write now about this release is still not directly related to the music in it... Yet it feels mind-boggling for me that I haven't read it in the reviews so far, so I just need to get it off my chest... *The Money Store* was released on the Epic major label, you see -- not long after the niche hype generated by Death Grips' previous mixtape *Exmilitary*. For me, this is the sort of contextual tidbit that can also explain some of the power of this official "debut album". Death Grips somehow pulling off a "major label heist" that's as old as the Sex Pistols book is indeed something that should be considered when assessing the critical success of the record. This situation brought two blessings to the project: it enhanced the transgressive connotations of the album, its big "fuck you" to norms, conventions and decorum; and it brought Death Grips a lot of exposure -- one that went far beyond a guy like Fantano (who was obviously aware of what the band were doing before the release of this major label debut, contrary to a lot of other critics). It was the Great Rap'n'Roll Swindle, here bellowed in CAPITAL LETTERS. Since this one-album stint on a major label, Death Grips have very quickly returned to independently releasing their output, effectively breaking their contract with Epic when they leaked their next album online, contrary to the label's wishes. Truth be told, I'd be hard-pressed to tell you in so many details what they've been up to in the last decade or so... Browsing through their other releases, it sounds pretty much the same as what you can find in *The Money Store*, with some minimal variations that only become apparent once you already have a headache trying to understand them in the constant mayhem. But it doesn't really matter, because *The Money Store* already brings everything I need when I am in a foul mood. It's ugly. It's mean. It's angry. But it's also a LOT of fun. And that's a specific mix of emotions that's pretty rare to obtain in music writing. The delirious electronic / analogic soundscapes of Zach Hill and Andy Morin, over which Stefan Burnett machine-guns his way into all those unsavory rap terror attacks, makes tracks such as "Get Got", "The Fever (Aye Aye)", "Hustle Bones", "I've Seen Footage" and "Hacker" absolute gems for my ears -- ones found in a dirty warehouse, dipped in scorched oil and soot, but the real deal when I want express my anger and spite for this sick, sad world. And if the tracks I haven't mentioned up there are not so easy on the ear, they still keep me on my toes, and express a sense of danger and unease that's one-of-a-kind. I don't think I will ever find this specific sense of danger in any other album -- at least not like this, and probably not even in another Death Grips release (I am not so fond of "Exmilitary", for instance). In other words this music feels wonderful for me. -- Stop writing like a pompous fop, I hear myself thinking -- I mean, I fuck HARD with this album. -- Stop pretending you're some sort of rough punk, you're just another music geek on this app, I am now saying to myself -- Aw damn, why can't I just convey the exact feelings this record elicits in me??? Is it because those feelings are too ugly? It's pretty sad that this review of mine is a failure in my book. Yet *The Money Store* is not a failure at all, it does exactly what it should do. Now more than ever, we need that type of insanity to counter the one that's shoved down our throat by the powers that be. Including major labels. ---- 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the musicianship and production values + 4.5 for the artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 118 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 123 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 281 ---- Émile, *quatre* nouveaux messages pour toi au dessus, du *Solid State Survivor* de Yellow Magic Orchestra au *Atrocity Exhibition* de Danny Brown

The Money Store is the debut album of experimental hip hop trio Death Grips. Experimental hip hop in this case is rather heavy stuff with electronica. I suppose it's not for everyone, I like it a lot though. This cover is awful and the lyrics are crazy stuff. And there I am singing the lyrics of "Hustle Bones" out loud in my car and feeling like that makes any sense.

Musical equivalent of getting shot out of a cannon straight into an electric fence. Strong 4/5.

This was interesting, I liked the rapid-fire, hard-edged rap and the minimalist accompaniment. It wasn't easy to pick up much from the lyrics. But it deserves an extra point for originality and unrelenting attitude.

I like this, raw, abrasive and impressively experimental. But as a 38-year-old with two kids and a mortgage, I’m not sure I’m the target audience for something this relentlessly angry. Glad I heard it, not sure I’ll revisit it.

Interesting and unique sound. First list I was ready to give it one star and move on, but after listening again, I really started liking it. Not something I would listen to regularly but it's good. 3.5/5

Now this is a throwback. It’s been some years since I listened to this one all the way through. Still solid, though not their best work. If I were to pick a most representative release of theirs I would have gone for Exmilitary, but that is a bit of a hassle to find now. As an introduction, ”Get Got” also is an instant attention grabber.

An abrasive clusterfuck of pure fire, and a defining album of the early 2010s. Would be on the main list if Dimery wasn’t a dweeb

I’m noided af

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Get got, Hustle bones, Hacker

I appreciate that this exists, but it is not for me. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Experimental hip-hop, industrial hip-hop, hardcore hip-hop. No me ha gustado. Un 2.

Interesting album, if not really my thing. Not mad that I listened to it though.

Very acclaimed album but it's not for me. 2/5

degeneracy