Hey, everyone. Disthony Pointano here, the Internet's saddest music nerd. And yes, what you read in the title of this video may, in fact, be true. The beloved, ground-breaking, and game-changing experimental California hip hop trio, Death Grips, may, in fact, be kaput, which is a bit of a shock to hear, I will admit, especially given that in recent years, it seemed like Death Grips was attempting to mount a bit of a comeback.

Obviously, it's been quite a while since the release of their last full-length studio album, Year of the Snitch, which was a great record, but also a pre-pandemic record. So it's really been a minute since the band has released fresh, brand new material. And a gap between full-length projects for Death Grips is uncharacteristic of them when you look at the whole of their entire catalog, especially when the band at their most active.

But for years, post Year of the Snitch, we haven't really been getting much of anything new outside of some unreleased material here and there. But again, as I said, in 2023, the band had booked a bunch of new tour dates and actually performed. No crazy no-show appearances or crazy Death Grips antics or anything like that, just banger, fire, intense performances, where honestly, the biggest shocker at the end of the day was actually some of the audiences that pulled up at this thing.

Now, full disclosure, I have seen Death Grips live, at least on several occasions. One such instance was at one of these recent tour dates, and from everything I could have observed at the show. It was a very normal and quality performance where nothing crazy or embarrassing went down.

However, this was not the case at all of the shows, some of which seemed to be attended by people who, I don't know, for one reason or another, were dead set to either make those performances about them or ruin everybody else's time there. Truth be told, the Death Grips fandom sometimes can be a bit much.

Case in point, this recent news and leak that the band may, in fact, be over because through a recently shared Reddit post and some leaked DMs, Andy Morin, one-third of the band, producer, sound engineer, creative director, and mastermind of the to A2B2 brand.

Yeah, I guess while working with some fan who he was collaborating with on the creation of some promotional flyer, this fan asked about the current state of Death Grips as a band, and then, when told the information that this person was told, turned around, violated Andy's trust, and just shared that info with the rest of the world. Put it out there on Reddit for everyone to see in just an absolutely embarrassing display of like, 'Guys, look what I found. Look what I've been told. Oh, secret information.'

Only to have confirmed what? I mean, in Andy's response, he says that Stefan doesn't really want to do much with the band right now, but that could change at some point in the future. And I mean, if you are a Death Grips fan, even one who is casual, honestly, you should know enough about the trio's history to understand that there have been ups and downs and breakups along their progression or moments where they seem more or less inactive. But eventually, they came back around when they saw fit creatively to do so.

And I don't know. Again, it has been so long since the release of Year of the Snitch. I think even without having said or confirmed anything outright, it's pretty clear right now at this very moment that Death Grips doesn't really want to do much, which is fine, honestly. As somebody who has loved the vast majority of their catalog, I would rather the band sit there and lie dormant and essentially do nothing than come out with a bunch of records that they aren't actually passionate and excited about making and releasing. I would rather have no death grips than a bunch of shitty mid Death Grips albums where they're just forcing themselves through the process of making a record because there are people who want one.

To add on to this, not only is sharing these DMs clearly a violation, a personal and private violation. Andy didn't say this to this person, knowing that it would be shared to the wider world. But on top of it, I feel like sharing this information is double-blasphemous, given that, historically speaking, Death Grips tends to have a bit of mystique around everything they say and share and do. You're not supposed to know everything with Death Grips. You're not supposed to have a complete understanding of the inner workings of the band and why they're doing what they're doing and their full motivations on any given thing.

So honestly, Death Grips just sitting there chilling, not doing much, leaving us out of the know in terms of what is to come next. That's like the most Death Grips thing ever. You're not supposed to fucking know every single thing about Death Grips and what they're doing. That's a part of the magic. That's that Death Grips magic. By asking for too much information to understand this or that, or is there a new album coming soon or whatever, and then telling everybody else what you think you may know about that question, that shows that you personally do not get the fucking appeal of the band.

I don't get it. Why can't the fans of this group just act normal? Please, I beg of you, chill out. If Death Grips is ever going to come back and make new music and release it, it will and it should be on their own terms. And there's no amount of prodding or information sharing that is going to make that happen faster. In fact, behavior like this is honestly going to probably just slow down that process and make the band less enthused to put out new music because who the fuck are they releasing it for outside of a bunch of obsessive freaks who engage in personal violations such as this.

So yes, a lot of disappointments on this story, honestly, because not only am I getting information that I don't really need to know, I don't really need confirmed, but I'm also receiving this information in the most nerdy and annoying way possible. Death Grips have given us so many great records over the years. If you want to love Death Grips, if you want to support Death Grips, just listen to the albums, just listen to the records, just enjoy them for what they are and the albums that we have. Over the course of the period where they were most active, the band put out two great catalogs worth of material if you compare it to what your average quality band puts out.

Now, I will also say in the defense of the greater Death Grips fan base, there seemingly were a lot of people that were very disappointed in this stupid Reddit post as well, with even a mod on the post calling this behavior out as annoying. But again, as we're seeing in this instance on social media and sometimes at live performance, it only takes that handful of unhinged idiots to ruin everybody else's time and vibe around this. And if you could just chill the fuck out and get a grip, maybe, just maybe in time, we will actually get what we want.

So, yeah, I think for now, I'm going to leave it there. Let me know what you think about all of this down in the comments. I'm sure you will.

Anthony Fantano. Death Grips. Forever.