niggas on the moon
by Death Grips
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 91 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 91
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 91
  3. Negative: 3 out of 91

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  1. rvdawesome
    Jun 26, 2014
    10
    On the first half of their new double LP, Death Grips takes Bjork's voice and creates an icy sound that characterizes the album, much different from the work they got popularized from (Exmilitary, Money Store). A major difference from this album and the ones that preceded it is MC Ride's vocal delivery. Instead of screaming his way through each and every song, he introduces a lot ofOn the first half of their new double LP, Death Grips takes Bjork's voice and creates an icy sound that characterizes the album, much different from the work they got popularized from (Exmilitary, Money Store). A major difference from this album and the ones that preceded it is MC Ride's vocal delivery. Instead of screaming his way through each and every song, he introduces a lot of variety. This album is probably my favorite of this year, tied with Swans' To Be Kind. It's just a really good album.… Expand
  2. jonojono
    Mar 20, 2015
    10
    This one really flew over the critics heads. Most critics never really realized what Death Grips were about and what they were trying to do in the first place. This album is it. Its really touching to say the least. This thing is filled with the darkest of emotions. I've never ever thought the feelings that Death Grips have been trying to put through in their albums could be this personal.This one really flew over the critics heads. Most critics never really realized what Death Grips were about and what they were trying to do in the first place. This album is it. Its really touching to say the least. This thing is filled with the darkest of emotions. I've never ever thought the feelings that Death Grips have been trying to put through in their albums could be this personal. These dark feelings are overwhelming to say the least, I've never seen another album from any band actually accomplish anything close to the way this album generates these darkest of emotions and themes. Its impossible to escape. Up My Sleeves is probably the most personal it has ever gotten.

    Instrumentally this thing is just amazing. You will never hear instrumentals like this anywhere else, its just mind blowing to say the least. Theres no doubt about it, this is their best work. And therefore the most polarizing, since the more they can generate these emotions and themes the harder it becomes to listen to, the personal darkness in this album is just hard to hear for some people. But I've never seen more passion in anything else, ever. This is just an incredible human achievement.    … Expand
  3. GHartley
    Feb 19, 2015
    10
    With **** on the Moon', the first half of Death Grips' double album 'The Powers That B', fans of the group will feel more polarised and isolated than ever.This record, which features donated samples from Iceland's greatest musical offering, Bjork, is one of the most unorthodox and unconventional pieces of music to be released in this decade.

    After the 'Up My Sleeves', which is complete    With **** on the Moon', the first half of Death Grips' double album 'The Powers That B', fans of the group will feel more polarised and isolated than ever.This record, which features donated samples from Iceland's greatest musical offering, Bjork, is one of the most unorthodox and unconventional pieces of music to be released in this decade.

    After the 'Up My Sleeves', which is complete with jittery percussion and equally restless Bjork samples, the intro segues into the danceable introduction of 'Billy Not Really', a track which begins to display MC Ride's vocals even more and features stuttering hi-hats and descends into an outro which sounds more like a recital or chant than anything. Next comes the overbearing 'Black Quarterback' which makes more than ample use of Bjork's vocal samples. The track showcases Ride's passion and aggression and Flatlander's groundbreaking production techniques and helps to cement the group as one of the most intriguing and versatile 'experimental hip hop groups' of all time.

    The follow up to this track is 'Say Hey Kid', a track which references Dracula and starts off with a blurry, foggy haze of percussion and synth. This track features a slow and chugging instrumental which later becomes a whirring build-up over which Ride exclaims "Say hey kid, come play dead" in yet another vocal tone. "Have a Sad Cum" is an album highlight, with almost all vocals indecipherable, apart from the 'Have a sad cum, baby!' hook which is used on a number of occasions. The main part of this track, which is a repetitive vocal sample, is unlike anything Death Grips have ever released, let alone any other musical act and sounds like some strange code being communicated. It begins with a disturbing whining vocal sample which creates images of some evil godlike figure standing on a hill with his arms outstretched sideways, summoning his people.

    Track 6, **** Me Out', is easily the most disturbing piece of rap music ever made. Beginning with an off-kilter beat, the track descends into a stuttering drop with a petrifying salvo of percussion over which Ride rants in a disturbingly calm manner, uttering words like **** **** me" and "I've got a condom just for you". This is possibly the best track on the record, simply because of the shock value provided by the lyrics and the versatility shown by Ride, who both screams and whispers throughout the course of the track. Death Grips have never covered the topic of sex in such a dark, desperate and unsettling manner. Just before the listener thinks the distressful nature of the track is over, Ride proceeds to rant down the microphone over a repetitive vocal sample, using words like **** boom blam, **** bam bloom, **** boom blam. **** new glam, **** glam new, **** goon gland".

    The next track, 'Voila', again features a barrage of percussion, vocal samples and synth, this time sandwiched by chugging and rumbling percussion and basslines and a repeated verse with the word "oh" marking the end of each line. Half one of 'The Powers That B' ends with 'Big Dipper', a track which begins with a ceaseless vocal sample and MC Ride later rattles off a number of labels he has been given, such as a **** stripper" and a **** The second half of 'Big Dipper' showcases Flatlander's highly unorthodox view of production and features a stumbling Bjork vocal sample over a space-age sound effect, which progresses slowly over its 2-minute period.

    **** on the Moon' is possibly the most forward-thinking hip-hop album of all time, if it can even be considered hip-hop. The Bjork samples add to the eerie style of Death Grips' production and Ride's performances across the board are more adaptable than ever. This is the most impressive release from the group yet and this will cause fans to be more desperate than ever for the release of the second half, 'Jenny Death'.

    Rating: 98/100    … Expand
  4. lemirec
    Mar 11, 2015
    10
    Since the release of **** on the Moon, Death Grips has gained a lot of widespread popularity among several different niches of the Youtube community. This music is like Lil B having a stroke, combined with the Prodigy. It's as if they're trying to have an electro-noise sound. They begin their first song, "Up My Sleeves," by sampling Bjork's voice – this makes an immersive and droningSince the release of **** on the Moon, Death Grips has gained a lot of widespread popularity among several different niches of the Youtube community. This music is like Lil B having a stroke, combined with the Prodigy. It's as if they're trying to have an electro-noise sound. They begin their first song, "Up My Sleeves," by sampling Bjork's voice – this makes an immersive and droning ambience that truly captures the listener’s interest. I really like this new sound they have going for them; it's more organized than before, and there's far less yelling. It's also more polished, precise, and intricate than their previous records. Another great one on this mixtape, "Have a Sad Cum", stood out more so than others. The first track has the best buildup, but then the drop is a bit of a let down, while "Have a Sad Cum" builds in a similar fashion, only to have really deep and overwhelming low range notes in the drop/chorus. There is also this crazy robot voice that comes in on the breakdown, which makes the sound start to have this tone of chaos and utter insanity. Other than that, this album is pretty great. It's a wreckage of sounds and lyrics, with a chaotic sound intended to keep the listener entertained. Although it may turn some people away, I really enjoy this record.… Expand
  5. Daniel_B
    Mar 22, 2015
    8
    This is Death Grips' most cohesive album yet. Bjork's sampled vocals may be a big part of that, but there are fewer tracks that stand towering over lesser ones like in Government Plates.
    In fact, the albums biggest drawback is that the songs sound so similar. Death Grips is usually a lot more all over the place (in a good way) than they are here, but some may like that. If you were to    This is Death Grips' most cohesive album yet. Bjork's sampled vocals may be a big part of that, but there are fewer tracks that stand towering over lesser ones like in Government Plates.
    In fact, the albums biggest drawback is that the songs sound so similar. Death Grips is usually a lot more all over the place (in a good way) than they are here, but some may like that. If you were to take the Death Grips sound from their previous four records, put it in a blender, and release that as an album, it'd sound a lot like **** on the Moon.
    Standout tracks are Black Quarterback, Up My Sleeves, and Say Hey Kid.    … Expand
  6. nirvanafreak
    Aug 10, 2015
    10
    **** 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. Like many previous releases (especially here though) it's good but you really have to be in a certain mood to listen the whole way through
  7. ihavevocaloid
    May 11, 2015
    9
    N****s on the Moon is a huge return to form for Death Grips after the somewhat disappointing Government Plates. This first half of The Powers That B retains Death Grips' status of one of the most original bands today. The production is different than their previous albums, especially with the Bjork samples. I didn't hear much of Zach Hill on this album, but MC Ride's strong vocal presenceN****s on the Moon is a huge return to form for Death Grips after the somewhat disappointing Government Plates. This first half of The Powers That B retains Death Grips' status of one of the most original bands today. The production is different than their previous albums, especially with the Bjork samples. I didn't hear much of Zach Hill on this album, but MC Ride's strong vocal presence really makes up for not only that, but also the material on the majority of Government Plates. The Bjork samples can get annoying sometimes, but overall, this is a HUGE return to form for Death Grips. Grade: A. Highlights: "Say Hey Kid", "Up My Sleeves", "Billy Not Really". Worst song: "Voila"… Expand
  8. TheGreatShredma
    Jan 2, 2017
    10
    HOLY ****! The best Death Grips to date. Sounds like one long,orgasmic roller coaster of a song!!!
    Fav Tracks: Up My Sleeves, Bill Not Really, Black Quarterback, Say Hey Kid... **** it all of them.
  9. euanfraser
    Oct 30, 2019
    9
    This addictive and creative piece of abstract work is by far the closest 'Death Grips' have been to a perfect album. This is the best piece of art in 'Death Grips' discography!
    From beginning to end, 'N*gga's On The Moon' provides an eclectic experience with mind-bending 'Bjork' samples and MC Ride's best delivery to date. Ride is as expressive as ever. I cannot fathom that most fans    This addictive and creative piece of abstract work is by far the closest 'Death Grips' have been to a perfect album. This is the best piece of art in 'Death Grips' discography!
    From beginning to end, 'N*gga's On The Moon' provides an eclectic experience with mind-bending 'Bjork' samples and MC Ride's best delivery to date. Ride is as expressive as ever. I cannot fathom that most fans prefer 'Jenny Death' over 'N*gga's On The Moon'. This disc is a solid piece of art from the introduction into 'Up My Sleeves' to the breakdown of 'Bjork' samples on 'Big Dipper'. The only reason this disc does not make it to a 10/10 is due to the slight lack of direction seen on 'Have A Sad Cum BB' and **** Me Out'. However, by no means are these two tracks bad.
    Overall, 'N*gga's On The Moon' sits perfectly on the line between a 9/10 and a 10/10. But lets just go for a 9/10 today.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. The Wire
    Dec 2, 2014
    70
    This music is rebarbative glitch-puke, circuit-bent footwork with the joy scorched out, every now and then blitzed by what could be described as intelligent gabba. [Sep 2014, p.54]
  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 17, 2014
    80
    On “Fuck Me Out” and “Billy Not Really,” both these dissections of Ride and the brutal rearrangements of Björk’s vocal and fidgety programming would push the ensemble’s rough, nasty but compelling sound to new levels if they hadn’t already perfected it on The Money Store. Instead, what is achieved on niggas on the moon is something that speaks differently but through the same terms.
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  3. Consequence
    Jun 17, 2014
    58
    niggas on the moon might be their most polarizing release yet, simply because it’s non-musical in many ways.
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