The Powers That B

Death Grips - The Powers That B
Critic Score
Based on 8 reviews
2015 Ratings: #170 / 1021
User Score
2015 Rank: #6All Time: #237
Liked by 908 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Sputnikmusic

The two halves of the album complement each other greatly, and show the band and their ability to change their sound at a whim from the beats and samples of Niggas on the Moon, to the worldly sonic tour-de-force of Jenny Death.

90
Exclaim!

Though radically different in execution, The Powers That B is a compelling look at the band's ability to work with sounds both minimal and monumental, while containing some of their most riveting lyrical and musical work in recent memory.

90
The Needle Drop

Death Grips finally completes an immense double album with the release of Jenny Death, assembling two very different--but satisfying--releases in the DG discography.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

That’s not a detraction of Niggas on the Moon — it doesn’t feel like less, just different — but more a comment on the relationship between form and content and praise for Jenny Death, which represents another step forward for Death Grips, a group that seems to have walked over the horizon and out of sight albums ago.

70
musicOMH

The second half, Jenny Death, is better. A lot better. It’s perched far closer to the edge of apocalypse, a pinhead upon which Death Grips seem far more at home.

70
PopMatters

The Powers That B is a collection of music explicitly without a thesis, and while that’s fine, it’s harder to place in the scheme of things.

70
SPIN

Their squashed dynamics leave the dissonances in the gutter, and except for maybe “I Break Mirrors,” it’s hard to differentiate the highlights from the chaff. 

60
AllMusic

Half esoteric and half essential, The Powers That B is comprised of Niggas on the Moon, a strange, short album where guest Björk was sampled as her vocals collided with Death Grips' own MC Ride, and Jenny Death, a more traditional Death Grips LP which sounds like where they were heading, rather than just outtakes and leftovers.

DonCorleone
100

My favorite color is oh my god bitch

barcooper
92

Experimental hip hop's final boss.

Hands down, One of the loudest, wildest and most abrasive hip hop albums ever created, If you can even call this thing hip hop. Death Grips has been one of my favorite groups of all time for a while now, But this album didn't really click with me when I first listened to it, understandably so. However, Upon returning to it plenty of times, It grew on me.

This is Death Grips' most experimental album, And their loudest one as well. Probably the least ... read more

BradTasteMusic
92

Both sides combine into this experimental journey like no other. It is not an easy listen, but god damn is it a journey. I have to thanks this album for getting me liking Bottomless Pit which I previously couldn't stand.

92

the man born on the losing side has finally snapped because you don't understand what he's saying

prayforparis327
70

overrated death grips album

denkirena
NR

I remember it being really good but I need another listen to give it a good grade

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Track List

Niggas on the Moon
1Up My Sleeves
5:16
94
2Billy Not Really
3:48
94
3Black Quarterback
2:59
90
4Say Hey Kid
3:27
89
5Have a Sad Cum BB
3:39
85
6Fuck Me Out
3:20
78
7Voila
3:28
84
8Big Dipper
5:27
87
Jenny Death
1I Break Mirrors With My Face In the United States
2:40
93
2Inanimate Sensation
6:04
95
3Turned Off
4:37
94
4Why a Bitch Gotta Lie
4:40
92
5Pss Pss
4:33
88
6The Powers That B
5:32
94
7Beyond Alive
6:07
91
8Centuries of Damn
5:32
93
9On GP
6:07
98
10Death Grips 2.0
3:19
81
Total Length: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Year End Lists

#2/The Needle Drop
#75/Rough Trade
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Added on: January 4, 2015