The Powers That B
by Death Grips
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 151 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 139 out of 151
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 151
  3. Negative: 5 out of 151
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  1. nirvanafreak
    Apr 3, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Although the two sides of this mind blowing double album have little in common (besides the the reference to 'Have a sad cum bb' on Pss Pss off of Jenny Death ) they are both brilliant albums when taken separately and the fact that they come together is just a kind of bonus for the listener really. The first disc, N*ggas On the Moon, might be Death Grips most abstract piece to date with chopped up björk samples all over it played on a Roland V Drum Kit (well...that's what I heard) by the band's madman drummer Zach Hill. So now I need to talk about the 2nd disc. Jenny death. Fans (including me) were speculating when it was going to be released (or if it was ever) for the better part of a year so when it finally leaked we immediately dropped everything and went to it. All I can say is it didn't dissapoint, although in December I had my doubts that they could create an album that wasn't completely overshadowed by the first single 'Inanimate Sensation' which in my opinion is the groups most energetic and addictive song yet (SO BLOWN OUT). The album sounded as though it's songs would fit in well as a live performance because sitting down and listening to it...it just made you wanna go out and get into a mosh pit. Except from the 2nd to last track 'On GP' which reminded me of pink floyd at one point in the instrumental.
    Fav tracks from NotM:up my sleeves, black quarterback, say hey kid
    Fav tracks from JD:Inanimate sensation, on GP, I break mirrors with my face in the United states, Pss pss    … Expand
  2. rajiHIII
    Apr 3, 2015
    10
    i'd just like to say a few words, so first off, yeap, exactly, great, and this also, but then this, omg wait for that, and man, you can never hold all the coconuts. peace out. remember never give up.
  3. exmordis
    Apr 5, 2015
    10
    Death Grips has finally finished Jenny Death. With the completion of this double album, the group now has 6 releases over the past 4 years. Fans have been theorizing how this new album could change the sound of DG as it seemed like they didn't have anything left up their sleeves. Would this be the death knell of the group, as they announced a "breakup" half a year back, or would this bringDeath Grips has finally finished Jenny Death. With the completion of this double album, the group now has 6 releases over the past 4 years. Fans have been theorizing how this new album could change the sound of DG as it seemed like they didn't have anything left up their sleeves. Would this be the death knell of the group, as they announced a "breakup" half a year back, or would this bring the group to bigger heights?

    I can say without a doubt, that The Powers That B is the best project Death Grips has ever put out. It combines the consistency of Exmilitary, the electrical sounds of The Money Store, the anger of Government Plates, and the paranoia of No Love Deep Web. So many genres have been mixed into this project while still keeping the sound at a level that older fans could enjoy. There's not much else to say. Listen to this if you dare.    … Expand
  4. ReubenIsAGod
    Apr 2, 2015
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Death grips, at this stage, are most likely dead/or dying. M.C ride, or /mu/'s jesus, has done It again, The Powers That B is absolutely incredible. Personally speaking the first half of the album is more or less that standard death grips affair of M.C ride screaming utter abuse into a microphone while zach hill plays some interesting drums over some interesting and rather unique Samplers and other productions. Yet, once we get to disc 2 "jenny Death" things pick up and we, as /mu/ drones, finally see the change within death grips with absolutely catchy guitar rifts, rather bleak lyrical content, and just generally speaking such a different sound from their previous albums. I mean the song On Gp makes the album for me, the song is about depression and the guitar rifts is incredibly catchy. I just love it so much. Death grips are back, and slowly dying and if the powers that B is their last record, at least they went out with a bang.… Expand
  5. jrodfilms
    Apr 23, 2015
    8
    great experimental, electronic hip hop. double album actually gets stronger on the second disc. inanimate sensation, the powers that b are the stronger tracks.
  6. mrchrister2
    Apr 15, 2015
    9
    N****s on The Moon is about an 8/10 for me while Jenny Death is a 10/10 for sure. N*****s on the Moon was very complex and enjoyable on that regard, but ultimately it does not stick in your head like the killer hooks on the second half of this double album.
  7. MiddleClassDisc
    Nov 6, 2015
    10
    In "The Powers That B", they have proven to wield some impressive longevity, as well as the capability of being able to switch up their output without compromise or significant decreases in quality.Both **** on The Moon" and "Jenny Death", while not similar in most aspects, succeed in terms of standards and excel on both ends of the spectrum.
  8. CiphirSol
    Apr 2, 2015
    9
    Jenny Death saves this two-piece combo for me. I'd give it a light 9, because there are imperfections here and there, but this is a compelling treat. Hopefully it also signals the rebirth of Death Grips.
  9. C0ncox
    Oct 9, 2015
    10
    TRACK RATINGS

    Up My Sleeves: A-
    Billy Not Really: A+
    Black Quarterback: A
    Say Hey Kid: A+
    Have a Sad Cum BB: B+
    **** Me Out: A-
    Viola: A
    Big Dipper: A+

    I Break Mirrors...: A
    Inanimate Sensation: A-
    Turned Off: A
    Why a **** Gotta Lie: A
    Pss Pss: A+
    The Powers That B: A-
    Beyond Alive: B+
    Centuries of Damn: B+
    On GP: A+
    Death Grips 2.0: A-
  10. TheGreatShredma
    Dec 2, 2015
    9
    Although my opinion is that NOTM>JD they are both really great and make up a perfectly Death Grips-like double album.
    NOTM perfectly combines the glitchy electronica of Death Grips' most critically acclaimed album TMS with the very spacey, psychedelic nature of GP. Each song flows directly into one another. While at times the sampling of Bjork's voice can get annoying and repetitive,    Although my opinion is that NOTM>JD they are both really great and make up a perfectly Death Grips-like double album.
    NOTM perfectly combines the glitchy electronica of Death Grips' most critically acclaimed album TMS with the very spacey, psychedelic nature of GP. Each song flows directly into one another. While at times the sampling of Bjork's voice can get annoying and repetitive, the level of creativity that is incorporated with these samples compared to the additional beats in the background along with Ride's vocals is quite impressive and keeps each track somewhat different. The project always keeps you on your toes with its skippy beat changes. Throughout the listen, MC Ride has various different tones from yelling or screaming all the way to murmuring or whispering. He most notably talks about life, death, suicide, fans, publicity, swagger, black culture, mediocrity, temptation, sexual desire, addiction, overdosing, fads, and overall the universe we live in. NOTM is probably my most listened to Death Grips project because of its atmosphere, themes, and enjoyability.
    JD on the other hand is not nearly as cohesive or repetitive. Each song is its own very distinctive piece with only a few tracks that flow into one another. It combines the guitars and punk ethos of EM with its own distinct psychedelic sound that sounds almost like NLDW but nothing like GP. Unlike on NOTM, Ride continues more of his usual tones that consist of just screaming or yelling except for on Pss Pss and WABGL. I don't have a problem with his screaming or yelling, but I prefer more varied tones in order to add more enthusiasm or effect to the louder tones. The themes are generally the same as the themes on NOTM, although there does seem to be a little switch of perspective. On NOTM, Ride seems to be tortured by his self destructive habits, but on JD he goes back to his roots of exaggerating the self destructive lifestyle by embracing to a deafening volume. The only time on JD where Ride portrays any victimized attitudes is throughout the song On GP. This victimization however is musically displayed quite differently from on NOTM. This track is more sad and sober to the point of just sobbing uncontrollably. While on the previous project, it was more like Ride was boddling up all of that emotion in a very apparent way.
    9/10 just because of the somewhat overly repetitive samples on NOTM and the tone of Ride's voice on most of the JD tracks.
    Overall, loving this double album. I cannot wait for their next project known as Bottomless Pit. I'm hoping for them to just keep on creating more amazing music.    … Expand
  11. Jumpman
    Jan 16, 2016
    8
    The double album is cool not as great as i expected but still bangs heavy , inanimate sensation might be the greatest piece of art of the 21st century tho
  12. upmysleeves
    Dec 21, 2017
    10
    Death Grips' magnum opus. On one side we have **** on the Moon" featuring vocal samples from Bjork. Death Grips' most experimental and abstract work to date, incorporating chopped vocal samples and using them as instruments. On the other side we have "Jenny Death", an album that pushes hip hop's boundaries furthest, so far that it essentially becomes a punk album with heavy guitars andDeath Grips' magnum opus. On one side we have **** on the Moon" featuring vocal samples from Bjork. Death Grips' most experimental and abstract work to date, incorporating chopped vocal samples and using them as instruments. On the other side we have "Jenny Death", an album that pushes hip hop's boundaries furthest, so far that it essentially becomes a punk album with heavy guitars and political lyrics on tracks like "Beyond Alive" or "The Powers That B".
    And of course, we can't forget the band's seminal track "On GP". The band's most depressing and introspective song so far with blaring guitars and MC Ride's very emotional delivery and lyrics.    … Expand
  13. euanfraser
    Oct 30, 2019
    8
    Even though 'N*gga's On The Moon' is much more consistent than 'Jenny Death' (fight me on that one), both sides are excellent. The transitions between the tracks on 'N*gga's On The Moon' are to die for while 'Jenny Death' is more built for bone-chilling waves of synths that sound like a sea of electric guitars while you're peaking on a trip. I would say that 'Jenny Death' has some extremeEven though 'N*gga's On The Moon' is much more consistent than 'Jenny Death' (fight me on that one), both sides are excellent. The transitions between the tracks on 'N*gga's On The Moon' are to die for while 'Jenny Death' is more built for bone-chilling waves of synths that sound like a sea of electric guitars while you're peaking on a trip. I would say that 'Jenny Death' has some extreme highlights whilst including some absolute **** shows (and not in a good way). 'Why A **** Gotta Lie' will probably go down to be one of 'Death Grips' worst songs and the title track; 'The Powers That B' and 'Turned Off' get a bit obnoxious at times.
    Besides these few negatives, my favorite track on 'N*gga's On The Moon' would be a close race between 'Billy Not Really' and 'Big Dipper' while my favorites on 'Jenny Death' toss up between 'Pss Pss' and 'On GP'.
    The group collectively have provided an album deserving of a solid 8/10    … Expand
  14. CanoeEmoji
    Jan 7, 2021
    6
    I consider myself a fairly big DG fan but i have to say, NOTM was one of the worst albums i have ever heard in my life. They really really overused the Bjork samples, and i felt that a lot of the tracks sounded fairly similar. I did like Hey Kid and parts of Up My Sleeves though. I genuinely left NOTM with a headache, that was easily my least favorite DG album by a gargantuan margin. WhileI consider myself a fairly big DG fan but i have to say, NOTM was one of the worst albums i have ever heard in my life. They really really overused the Bjork samples, and i felt that a lot of the tracks sounded fairly similar. I did like Hey Kid and parts of Up My Sleeves though. I genuinely left NOTM with a headache, that was easily my least favorite DG album by a gargantuan margin. While Jenny Death on the other hand was rather good, pretty great in fact. I loved hearing DG delve more into a metal-esque sound with the large portions of distorted guitars layered beautifully on all the synths and weird sounds that DG are known for. My only real complaint with Jenny Death is i didn't quite care for the voice effect MC Ride used in parts of Why A **** Gotta Lie. while Jenny Death is still not my favorite DG album, it's definitely up there. If I were to be rating Jenny Death on its own it would get a solid 8.5/10. The only real reason that this album as a whole got only a 6 is just because i feel it was brought down significantly by NOTM, that is the audio equivalent of torture in my opinion.… Expand
  15. ExtremelyBlue
    Jan 9, 2021
    7
    Radically different from any other previous work, Death Grips makes a record that you can call, "An Epic"

    Fav Tracks: Up my Sleeves, Billy not Really, Black quarterback, Have a sad Cum, Voila, Big dipper, I break mirrors with my face in the united states, inanimate sensation, pss pss, the powers that B, centuries of a damn, on GP

    Least Favorite: Say hey kid, Big dipper, Beyond Alive
  16. Junkiest
    May 17, 2021
    7
    I didn't find myself liking NOTM that much, but I did find myself liking Jenny Death a lot.
  17. thepartyison
    Jan 19, 2023
    8
    LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK giving a Death Grips album an 8, could be very dangerous, but did I ask. Anyway, I got to say I would gave this a 9 originally because really that's what I was feeling. Then, IT FELT LIKE FOREVER. I was wondering is this shuffling eternally is this already on another album I had no idea. So that's why it is an 8/10 the wait & what I was feelingLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK giving a Death Grips album an 8, could be very dangerous, but did I ask. Anyway, I got to say I would gave this a 9 originally because really that's what I was feeling. Then, IT FELT LIKE FOREVER. I was wondering is this shuffling eternally is this already on another album I had no idea. So that's why it is an 8/10 the wait & what I was feeling for the album.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Spin
    Apr 3, 2015
    70
    It’s far more interesting and hard-hitting, with bizarre hooks where you least expect.... Taken as a whole, The Powers That B (what a title, right?) suffers from the typical overlong-yet-undercooked double-album dilemma that makes it hard to imagine playing either side in a year that isn’t 2015.
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  2. Exclaim
    Apr 1, 2015
    90
    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.
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  3. PopMatters
    Apr 1, 2015
    70
    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.
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