The Witzard

" Fudge came together during several sessions in the summer and fall of 2015 at Nick Hook 's Green Point studio. Prefuse 73 [Guillermo Scott Herren] brought along a hard drive full of beats. [Michael] Christmas wrote to the instrumentals in the studio, and recorded the vocals the same day, as friends swung by to check it out; some of the drop-ins at the studio ended up joining in the recording, not least D.R.A.M. who brings lifted soul vocals on the album track "All Points South,'" Lex Records wrote within a comprehensive on-site Fudge press release earlier this past week. Although this is Herren's first full-length recorded alongside an emcee, he's previously worked with a number of revered Hip-Hop legends including, but not limited to Ghostface Killah , Jewel-runner El-P, Mos Def , Aesop Rock, fellow Lex label mate DOOM , GZA, Death Grips drummer Zach Hill , and RJD2; while Michael Christmas is "a 22-year-old Boston emcee, who has...

Tune in... on Friday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m to hear two brand new tracks from Sacramento band Drug Apts , "Concrete Jungle" and "Mother Invention." Both tracks were produced by Zach Hill and Andy Morin of Death Grips," Pitchfork wrote Wednesday afternoon, detailing the latest installment of their London -based Pitchfork Radio . LCD Soundsystem bassist Tyler Pope will release a Drug Apts. EP fully produced by Hill and Morin this September on his newly-formed Interference Pattern Records ; "a 5-song EP by Drug Apts. will be coming soon on Interference Pattern Records . Produced by [Zach] Hill and Andy Morin (Death Grips) , stay tuned!" Pope revealed within a track description on the label's Soundcloud page roughly four days ago. Although Interference Pattern 's Soundcloud page has been established since 2012, Drug Apts. Death Grips -produced EP will be their first official release and it sounds like MLML 's "Ret...

Sacramento -based Noise-Rap band Death Grips have had a very tumultuous, to say the least, relationship with the media since their sudden 2010 inception, although the recently "disbanded" and reunited three-piece have been heralded as "the first truly important band of the 21st century;" having direct influence on The Thin White Duke's final album ★ (Blackstar) , Kanye 's Aggro-Rap masterpiece Yeezus , and even Travi$ Scott 's righteous T.I. & Kanye -assisted Rodeo . Death Grips' first post-"breakup" album, Bottomless Pit was unleashed Friday, May 6th at the stroke of midnight, amdist a weekend abuzz with new music and countless headlines from the likes of Radiohead , James Blake, Chance The Rapper , De La Soul, Homeboy Sandman , KAYTRANADA, and Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def . Bottomless Pit was preceded by eventual album tracks "Hot Head," Zane Lowe -debuted "Eh," and non-album "Interview 2016," althou...

"WE ARE NOW AT OUR BEST AND SO DEATH GRIPS IS OVER. WE HAVE OFFICIALLY STOPPED. ALL CURRENTLY SCHEDULED LIVE DATES ARE [CANCELLED]. OUR UPCOMING DOUBLE ALBUM THE POWERS THAT B WILL BE DELIVERED WORLDWIDE LATER THIS YEAR VIA HARVEST/THIRDWORLD RECORDS . DEATH GRIPS WAS ALWAYS HAS BEEN A CONCEPTUAL ART EXHIBITION ANCHORED BY SOUND [AND] VISION. ABOVE AND BEYOND A "BAND." TO OUR TRUEST FANS PLEASE STAY [LEGEND]," Death Grips wrote within a seemingly haphazard napkin-scrawled band break-up note uploaded to their Facebook page back in July 2014. Although, it now seems as though said disbandment was nothing more than an elaborately planned rouse, as founding members MC Ride, Zach Hill & Flatlander are amidst a full-fledged band reunion; having already circled the world once around, booked a number of festival dates for this upcoming summer, and are currently recording a proper follow-up to their reported "last" album, The Powers That B , tentativel...

Bitmilltary by ayyy donkey Death Grips are a notoriously on again, off again, and currently reformed Hardcore Punk -infusing Sacramento -based "Aggro-Rap" band; if you're not familiar, just think, a hypothetical musical ménage à trois between Black Flag, Beastie Boys , and Gravediggaz – two of which are coincidentally sampled throughout their genre label-pulverizing debut mixtape, Exmilitary . Death Grips' underlying influence can, believe it or not, be heard on everything from recent father of two Kanye 's own 2013 Dancehall -leaning Aggro-Rap magnum opus, Yeezus to recently deceased incomparable Thin White Duke's final album, ★ (Blackstar) which was additionally influenced by President Obama 's favorite rapper, Kendrick Lamar . While we patiently await Bottomless Pit , the long-rumored follow-up to Death Grips' double-disc March-April 2015 "reunion" album, The Powers That B , an amateur remixer known as ayyy donkey has taken it u...

"We've decided to make a new Death Grips album and it will be called Bottomless Pit ," Death Grips cryptically revealed, as per usual, on their Facebook page Wednesday evening. Founding members Stefan Burnett (better known as MC Ride ), Andy Morin , and Zach Hill have previously grabbed headlines for their frantic, nearly career-ruining antics; rubbing shoulders with Robert Pattinson & Beyoncé , appearing "in a minute" on Rachael Ray thanks to comedian Fred Armisen , releasing one album under Epic Records executive L.A. Reid 's hit-making reign, leaking a set of private emails and ultimately a d*ck-pic-boasting album cover, cancelling a string of dates in support of NIN & Soundgarden , suddenly breaking up via a note scrawled across a dinner napkin , only to "reunite" for a 2-disc album just a few months later, and if you ask me, inadvertently inspired Kanye West 's Aggro-Rap magnum opus Yeezus . Death Grips are for all intens...

Death Grips have somehow already managed to "break up" via a napkin and "reform" in a matter of months, signed an Epic Records deal and purposely leaked private emails to get dropped, posed for a mysterious backstage picture alongside Robert Pattinson & Beyoncé (above), recruited Björk to contribute vocals to Disc 1 of their "comeback" album, The Powers That B , were surprisingly name-dropped on Rachael Ray by comedian Fred Armisen , bailed on a whole string of scheduled shows Axl Rose style, and licensed "You Might Think He Loves You for You Money But I Know What He Really Loves You for and It's Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat" for an Adidas Predator sneaker commercial... so, it would make sense that the newly-reformed Death Grips would need something of a fresh start; long-speculated Death Grips -affiliated Twitter handle @bbpoltergiest shared a cryptic zipfile link to a 9-track album called I've always been good...

Even though they amicably disbanded back in July, experimental Noise-Rap group, Death Grips still have an as-yet-unreleased double-disc album in their back pocket; part one of the powers that b , eloquently dubbed ni**as on the moon , was released for FREE download online prior to their break-up. " Death Grips just uploaded a video," read a stock YouTube email which suddenly appeared in my Inbox late Tuesday night... " Inanimate Sensation - Disc 2 - Jenny Death from the upcoming double album "The Powers That B,'" it continued. The entirety of "Inanimate Sensation" is strewn across a fallen NBA Jumbo-tron and it was supposedly directed by Death Grips themselves. Its bonkers, unconventional Hip-Hop beat vaguely reminds me of something that could've soundtracked Saturday morning/after school cartoons like The Animaniacs or even Looney Tunes and isn't all that dissimilar from Daft Punk 's now patented brand of Future-Funk ....

Death Grips have always been a band to defy convention; whether it be signing with a major label Epic deal and ultimately getting dropped for leaking private emails, self-releasing not one, but three full-length albums (one complete with dick pic cover art), cancelling an entire 2012 tour to record without informing nay of the pre-booked venues, and working on a mysterious [probably fake] short film with Robert Pattinson & Colin Hanks . Just last night, Death Grips posted a message scrawled across a napkin on their Facebook page, which reads: "We are now at our best and so Death Grips is over. We have officially stopped. All currently scheduled live dates are canceled. Our upcoming double album "the powers that b" will still be delivered worldwide later this year via Harvest/Third Worlds Records . Death Grips was and always has been a conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision. Above and beyond a "band." To our truest fans, please stay l...

"this is "n**gas on the moon," featuring björk on all 8 tracks. it is the first installment of our new double album, "the powers that b," due out later this year on Harvest/Third Worlds Records . the second disc is titled "jenny death,"' Death Grips wrote along with eight newly-released YouTube audio streams uploaded on Sunday around 12 midnight. While little else is known about n**gas on the moon , a couple days later, Björk did in fact confirm that she appears on the mini-album and that she's thrilled to be Death Grips' latest "found object," which I'd assume would basically mean that they used chopped and sampled vocal fragments. It's their third consecutive album meticulously "leaked" online in such a manner; n**gas on the moon was preceded by their November free album Government Plates and infamous Epic Records contract-infringing dick pic album, No Love Deep Web . Björk 's nearly unmistake...

Although it might seem like a pretty mis-matched pairing at first, Bob Dylan & Death Grips have more in common that you or they'd really like to admit. Dylan was the first Folkie to "go electric" and Death Grips have largely forged their own ground in their Proto-Rap sub-genre; Dylan never really adhered to generally-accepted social norms and the same could be said for deathgrips ; Both artists make the kind of music that you either love or hate, there's no middle-of-the-road fans. Uploaded late Wednesday afternoon without any prior notice, Government Plates is Death Grips' fourth overall album (counting Ex-military ) and the second self-released in such a guerrilla manner. Death Grips simultaneously uploaded 11 motion picture/music videos to YouTube , one for each album track, which may be part of drummer Zach Hill 's long-rumored short film. "You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for, it's you...

" Zach Hill is currently wrapping up a short film he directed with an [original soundtrack] by DEATH GRIPS . The film is entitled Misoneism , is shot entirely in monochrome film, and follows the exploits of a young man forced into the underground prostitution business in Brazil . Starring Robert Pattinson and Colin Hanks , the film hopes to shed light on the matter in a shocking and abrasive way," reads a fragmented chunk of an interesting Pigeons & Planes post uploaded late Thursday afternoon. While a Pitchfork counter-post claims that "there is no short film directed by Zach Hill and starring Robert Pattinson ," let's not forget... we're talkin' about a righteous Proto-Rap band here that's capable of leaking their own album along with private emails, generating countless self-shot music videos, staging elaborate pseudo-shows , and cancelling more tour dates than Axl Rose . Colin Hanks reportedly told Consequence of Sound Thursday ...

Death Grips have remained virtually silent and largely inactive for a few months, until deathgrippin uploaded a mysterious YouTube video over the weekend; Zach Hill ferociously drumming for 10+ minutes, sometimes filmed in hyper-speed, all the while being handcuffed! It was recorded during band rehearsal just the other day (07/05/13) and captures what seems to be a fragmented portion of Death Grips' blistering Proto-Rap live set. Hill unexpectedly bailed on a recent European tour , remaining in the states to actively work on an untitled film that he's writing and directing... Death Grips are planning to soundtrack the adventurous film, while they're simultaneously recording a new album. It's a little hard to follow and the band's work is always cloaked in mystery, but it's worth noting that @deathgrippin's Twitter handle is currently co-named "hushed aug13." The Witzard Conspiracy Theory: Death Grips are planning to unleash either Zach ...

Last week, Death Grips uploaded 5 minute-long semi-cryptic clips dubbed "No Hands" (Parts 1-5), which I hesitated on posting because I kinda figured there'd be more info revealed shortly. Sure enough, by mid-Wednesday afternoon, Death Grips had uploaded the next installment of their video series, "Lock your doors" (NoHands 6) . Drummer/band leaded Zach Hill further elaborated in a short [yet effective] statement, "They are a series of videos related to our recent first-person performance @ SXSW 2013, DXDG . "Lock your doors" (NoHands 6) , which drops today is the summarization of the concept and project.. It could keep going.. NoHands is in reference to the head perspective-oriented filming.." It's culled from footage filmed @ the band's recent SXXW (or DXDG ) show @ Boiler Room , which may or may not have used Google Glass technology or some sort of face-mounted goggle-cams. The live audio and crowd-sourced rumblings have...

Man, Death Grips had one Hell of a 2012: signing and ultimately getting dropped from Epic Records , released 2 full-length albums, made an interactive "I've Seen Footage" video for MTV , teamed up with Galen Pehrson/MOCA for an art project, leaked a few private e-mails, etc. Despite [or maybe because of] all the controversy, The Money Store and NO LOVE DEEP WEB are definitely worth a couple highly attentive, aggression-filled listens. Looks like Zach Hill & MC Ride decided to start 2013 with an Internet -shaking BANG... "Come up and get me" (short film). It's a 13-minute black-and-white, 3/4's silent film/music video clip that was filmed @ Hollywood 's infamous Chateau Marmont . "Come up and get me" 's hard-hitting audio track doesn't even kick in til around 9 minutes deep and the rest stars Stefan Burnett [Ride] as a "leading man," of sorts. Hill & Burnett filmed a bunch of self-directed footage whil...

Barely teetering the fine line between "underground kings" and commercial over-exposure, Death Grips have managed to record and release a STELLAR sample-based mixtape and 2 full-length albums since forming over Winter 2010-11. Their second vigilantly self-released record of 2012 notoriously featured "NO LOVE DEEP WEB" scrawled across a boner-fied dick! 2 alternate [soft] covers were soon re-released, but not before Death Grips topped BitTorrent 's "Legally Downloaded Music" list with 34,151,432 downloads. In the midst of NO LOVE DEEP WEB 's 12am guerrilla style mass liberation, a non-album cut dubbed "True Vulture Bare" was uncovered by a tech-savvy fan named moralreef . Now, nearly a month later... Death Grips have wholeheartedly abandoned their usual home-made music video feel, teaming up with director-animator, Galen Pehrson ; Presented by LA 's very own Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), it's one trippy-ass ride tha...

Death Grips are a compelling Experimental Hip-Hop band hailing from Sacramento , who somehow manage to comfortably straddle the "line in the sand" between underground/mainstream. Essentially fronted by Indie Rock drummer Zach Hill , the band also includes Stefan "MC Ride" Burnett and producer-keyboardist Andy Morin . Since transitioning from next door neighbors to bandmates in Dec. 2010, Death Grips self-released a STELLAR, sample-heavy mixtape called Ex-military and Death Grips EP . Going out on a serious limb, LA Reid signed them to Epic Records and together, they announced a MASSIVE 2-album plan for 2012. The Money Store was liberated to the masses on April 21st and it basically duals as their major label debut; It's gotta be the most weird, un-commercial, and aggressive label-funded project released since Neil Young 's disastrous "Techno" album, Trans (1982). Death Grips' latest track, "@deathgripz" was supposed...

"I've Seen Footage" is the latest per-release track from Epic Record 's upcoming album, The Money Store (April 24th). Looks like Death Grips' new label has let them unveil 5-6 of the album's 13 tracks ahead of it's release date... viral promotion. I'm pretty sure that "I've Seen Footage" samples and re-purposes size-able chunk of Salt-N-Pepa 's hit single, "Push It" (1987). Lyrically, it's just as aggressive as the next Death Grips track, but "I've Seen Footage" is probably their most commercially viable track yet... as "mainstream" as Hardcore Hip-Hip about handling shit "with a lead pipe" and seeing some kid's "head blow off his shoulders in slo mo." 5 tracks from The Money Store are currently available for download over @ Death Grips' website, Third Worlds . "I've Seen Footage" 's companion music video is rumored to be released this upcom...

On the cover, you have an androgynous masochist on the leash of a feminist sadist who's smoking. The sadist has carved "Death Grips" into her bitch's chest. There is an overly confident quality to the woman smoking and a calmness to the androgynous masochist... We consider ourselves feminists , we fiercely support homosexuality, transparent world leadership, and the idea of embracing yourself as an individual in any shape or form. Acceleration is a mantra, we're not a political band, we are freaks and outsiders. It was important to project that message and energy through the artwork of this album . This is free thinking and eternally open-ended music... [The cover] is like an ambassador to the sound. - Flatlander (Death Grips)

Against all odds... Sacramento 's very own Experimental Hip-Hop/Thrash Punk band, Death Grips have now dotted the "I"s and crossed the "T"s of a major label deal with Epic Records. MC Ride (Stefan Burnett) and his motley crew released their second single in just as many weeks, "Get Got" along with the titular announcement just yesterday afternoon. Death Grips previously revealed their plans to liberate 2 full-length albums throughout 2012 and now, we have the semi-complete details: The Money Store is slated for an April 24th release, which will be preceded by a limited-run vinyl pressing on April 21st [ Record Store Day ]... with No Love close behind and expected during Fall '12. Together, the pair of righteous records will act as the proper follow-up to Death Grips' exceptional genre-bending self-released mixtape, Ex-military (2011). Death Grips' in-house producer, Andy Morin will seemingly step behind "the boards" ...