A Deeper Look
Stefan Burnett and Death Grips
Death Grips is an experimental hip hop group with aggressive, loud music and stage presence. The group is composed of singer and rapper; Stefan Burnett (also referred to as MC Ride), keyboardist; Andy Mornin and drummer; Zach Hill, they got together in 2010 in Sacramento, California. They were signed by Epic but were dropped after they decided to put their third album out independently and for free download.
In 2011, Death Grips released a song called Culture Shock, and they used samples from David Bowie’s song The Superman, from his album Hunky Dory. The group has not only been inspired by David Bowie, but they also inspired him and his last album. Bowie’s collaborators on his final album, Blackstar, have come out to say that Bowie was inspired by the experimental rap group; Death Grips, among many other experimental artists of today.
References
Britton, Luke Morgan. “New Song ‘Somewhere’ Also Influenced by Boards Of Canada.” NME, 26 Nov. 2015, www.nme.com/news/music/david-bowie-170-1191462.
Lymangrover, Jason. “Death Grips | Biography & History.” AllMusic, 2012, www.allmusic.com/artist/death-grips-mn0002741208/biography.