The Money Store

I finally get! It only took like 8 months, So I guess you can say I'm late to the party, But it finally fully clicked with me, This shit is a 10! I listened to the album before plenty of times but never fully dived into it with the lyrics, And recently when I tried to explore it all over again with the lyrics I saw the bigger picture, And it tied everything up for me.

The Money Store was the first album I listened from Death Grips, It was about eight months ago, And surprising absolutely no one it caught me very off guard since I wasn't used to their abrasive sound. With more listens it did grow on me, And when I dived into the rest of their discography albums like Bottomless Pit and Year of the Snitch clicked with me even harder, And Death Grips became one of my favorite groups ever. But... While I did love The Money Store it turned out to be one of my least favorite albums in their discography, I found some of the other albums more intriguing and boundary pushing. Until a few days ago when I decided to listen to the album from front to back all over again and try to discover all the layers within it.

This album is way more complex, Experimental, dense and conceptual then I initially gave it credit for. It really is their finest work to this day. I feel like in terms of the themes that are presented on the album and the sound of it, Its the project that represent Death Grips the most. This album is quite raw and dirty, Almost a little lo fi at times, Its as raw as Exmilitary, But brings more unique ideas to the table and a more ambitious concept, Its also one of their most personal records. On the album Stefan aka MC Ride dives into a variety of subjects, from his personal life and experiences he has been through, To his metal health, The violence and the ugliness of our society and the digital age we live in. One of the things that are easy to miss when you listen to Death Grips especially when you are new to them, Is MC Ride's excellent writing, I'm not exaggerating when I'm saying that he is probably one of the best writers in modern hip hop, And on this album his writing is on full display. His writing is so cryptic, Layerd and detailed, With crazy punching metaphors, Incredible rhymes and extraordinary storytelling. It can be hard to notice because of his animalistic rapping and mind blowing intense production, But its a very important layer within the album that ties everything together.

Now for the production, Maybe its not their most experimental album, Or the loudest one, And I would even argue not the catchiest one. But it has strong elements from all of their albums and it blends them to perfection, It has the raw nature of Exmilitary, The abrasiveness and catchiness of Bottomless Pit, And the experimentality of The Powers That B. And it probably brings the most ambitious concept and narrative then all of their albums, And its extremely well executed.
Like I said earlier, The production here is way more wild and boundary pushing then I initially gave it credit for, It sounds just as fresh and unique as it sounded 11 years ago, And there are some wild ass Ideas throughout the tracklist, Its also quite cinematic as well, From the siren sounds that represents the cops on I've Seen Footage, The loud, Aggressive and fast drums on Punk Weight which represents the gun shots, To the insane samples and sound affects on System Blower which gives the listener the feeling that the headphones are literally about to blow up. Throughout the album the production represents the environments and feelings that MC Ride is describing to us so affectively, Its really an experience that feels larger then life.

Btw lets talk about one of the most underrated highlights on the album real quick, Yall want to tell me that Lost Boys is not in the 90s??? Its one of my favorite tracks on the album in terms of the production, And it contains some of my favorite lyrics on the album as well. The song talks about the lost boys who are lost in the street life and crime, They don't know any other way, They are desperate for money and stealing and making crimes is the only way they know to keep them standing on their feet.
The production sounds like it was made in 2040, Swerling affects, Trippy bass line and an addictive beat, It goes unexplainably hard and along with MC Ride's infectious flows and energetic delivery the whole song is a rush of adrenaline injected to your veins.

Another track I would like to talk about is I've Seen Footage, Which is easily one of my favorite songs lyrically in their discography. It shows so much about the digital age we live in and the violence that is happening in the streets. Mc Ride is talking about the horrors he has seen in the ghetto he lived in and how it affected him personally, He expresses feelings of paranoia that are caused from the experiences he had been through and the things he have seen. He ties it to the violence and obscenities you can be exposed to very easily on the internet, And the addiction from it. Of course the track contains one of the most iconic hooks in Death Grips discography as well, And its one of the most accessible songs on the album production wise. An incredible song.

I wish I could mention every single track here, Because pretty much every song throughout the tracklist is capable of being a single, And adds another layer and context to the overall experience of the album. The consistency of this album is undoubtably one his strengths, Even the track Fuck That which is the lowest rated song on the tracklist is still a hell of a banger.

The Money Store is a groundbreaking album and an important milestone in hip hop's history, It paved the way to many other experimental hip hop acts and its the album that really put industrial hip hop on the map. Its a 10/10 bitch!!!!

Favorite: You come out, your shit is gone, bitch
Least favorite: Hmmmmm no