Teaser // Death Grips: niggas on the moon

Summary

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Jokermen Podcast: Death Grips – niggas on the moon (Teaser)

Date: June 18, 2026
Main Theme:
The episode teases the Jokermen’s in-depth exploration of Death Grips’ album niggas on the moon — focusing on its experimental use of Björk’s vocals, thematic depth, and cultural references, while reflecting on critical response and the album's relationship to broader musical and social contexts.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Björk Element: Mystery and Collaboration

• Centrality of the Björk Sample (00:21)

  • Every track on niggas on the moon contains some form of Björk’s vocal samples, prompting intrigue regarding her role.
  • The hosts discuss Björk’s own response to the collaboration:

    “I am thrilled to be their found object. I have been lucky enough to hang and exchange music loves with them and witness them grow.” – [B, 01:14]

  • They acknowledge Björk’s public recognition of her involvement, highlighting how she embraced her voice being manipulated and repurposed as sonic material.

• How Björk Fits the Jokermen Canon (01:35)

  • Björk is listed as a future subject for a deeper Jokermen series due to her “deep and conceptual discography” and willingness to reinvent her art.
  • The hosts tie her spirit of innovation to Death Grips’ approach:

    “I think Björk is, in spirit, as daring as Death Grips is…” – [B, 02:46]

2. Radical Approach to Sampling & Album Structure

• The Unexpected Direction (02:57)
  • Using Björk samples as the bedrock of an entire album is described as “radical” and genuinely surprising – not a stunt or simple musical mash-up.
  • Hosts push back on early dismissals of the project as a novelty:

    “There is something just radical about that... It comes off as completely natural... It's far from being this thing that a lot of the sites… seem to treat it as at the time. Oh, isn't this funny?... What a crazy combination.” – [A, 02:57–03:23]

3. Abstract, Personal, and Deconstructive Music

• Depth Beyond the Surface (03:37)
  • The hosts argue the album is “a deconstruction more than a synthesis” and among Death Grips’ most abstract works.

    “This album is so abstract. And also I think it’s their most personal.” – [B, 03:37]

  • They claim The Powers That B (the double-album project containing niggas on the moon and Jenny Death) is arguably Death Grips’ “only personal statement in some ways.”

4. Reception and Double Album Context

• Disconnected Release & Critical Perceptions (04:47)
  • There was a “sizable gap” between the releases of niggas on the moon (June 2014) and Jenny Death (March 2015).
  • The hosts reflect that evaluating the first half without knowledge of the second hindered critics’ understanding.

    “It seems kind of like almost not right to judge… this one without having the other half to think about. But that was the task of critics at the time.” – [B, 06:06]

5. Title Origins and Historical Reference

• Conversation Around the Title (06:03)

  • The hosts discuss the provocative album title, linking it to Gil Scott-Heron’s “Whitey on the Moon.”
  • They take a moment to list related artists and reference the tradition of using the moon as a symbol.

• Gil Scott-Heron’s Influence & Social Critique (06:38)

  • The hosts explore “Whitey on the Moon” as a critique of racial and economic inequality juxtaposed with space exploration:

    “It’s a very short spoken word piece… about the hypocrisy and absurdity of the struggle and horror of poverty and inequality going on while Whitey’s on the moon.” – [B, 07:13]

  • This connects Death Grips’ title and themes back to a tradition of protest and social commentary in music.

• The Moon as Recurring Motif (07:34)

  • The discussion expands to other artists (Bob Dylan, Lou Reed) who have critiqued the Apollo missions and the symbolism of the moon in pop culture.

    “I love how the moon landing has somehow become like… a running theme through many of our artists… how bad the moon landing was.” – [A, 07:34]

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On critics who didn’t “get it”:

  “It makes zero sense to me to think of this as like, complacent. I find that completely galling… makes me think you didn’t listen… It’s a deconstruction more than a synthesis…” – [B, 03:37]

• On the spirit of innovation:

  “Bjork is, in spirit, as daring as Death Grips is…” – [B, 02:46]

• On the thematic resonance of the moon:

  “I love how the moon landing has somehow become like a… running theme through many of our artists… how bad the moon landing was.” – [A, 07:34]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:21 — Introduction of the Björk sample as a defining album element
• 01:14 — Björk’s statement and the hosts’ admiration
• 02:57 – 03:23 — The album’s radical, unexpected nature and critical reactions
• 03:37 — The album as abstract and personal, a deconstructive work
• 04:47 — The challenge of critics reviewing only half the double album
• 06:03 — Discussion of the album title referencing Gil Scott-Heron
• 07:13 — Analysis of “Whitey on the Moon” and its critique of inequality
• 07:34 — Reflection on the recurring moon motif among artists covered by Jokermen

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Summary

This teaser episode sets the stage for a deeper dive into niggas on the moon, foregrounding the album’s experimental spirit (especially the bold use of Björk’s vocals), its historical referents, and the complexities of its reception. The conversation balances admiration for both Death Grips and Björk’s innovation, contextualizes the album within a lineage of protest music, and anticipates richer explorations in future episodes—including the second half of the double album.

Listeners come away with a sense of the album’s multilayered artistry, the pitfalls of early critical receptions, and the Jokermen’s own excitement for unpacking the music’s cultural and conceptual weight.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Yeah, well, she said, I am proud to announce my vocals landed on the new Death Grips album. Or if I am proud to, I can't do her voice at all. I am thrilled to be their found object. I have been lucky enough to hang and exchange music loves with them and witness them grow.

[A]

That's very cool.

[B]

Onwards.

[A]

Hell yeah. Do you. Do you fuck with Bjork?

[B]

I like Bjork. Yeah. I think Bjork is. Bjork's on the list of Jokerman subjects that we will someday do. I think, boy, this is getting to

[A]

be a long list.

[B]

Well, that's.

[A]

I hope we live for a very long time.

[B]

I mean, I'm worried that we'll live too long and that the list will be shorter than. I don't want to run out. And anyway, Bjork is on the list because. Fits every single criteria of, like, extremely interesting artists with a very deep and conceptual discography where every record tries to do something different. It's like, obviously we should get there eventually, and I think will. But, yeah, this being the first time it comes up, I'm not as. I don't know her whole body of work that well. So I like what I've heard and I think that she's really an inspiring figure in the sense that she's so game to do something like this. And her early music is, I think, important to setting the table for things that Death Grips does. I think she actually is a pioneer. I think Bjork is, in spirit, as daring as Death Grips is, as much

[A]

as it might make sense for them to link the fact that Death Grips is still making a whole album here out of Bjork samples. There is something just radical about that. I don't think you could have. Anyone would have put that on their bingo board for what's the next Death Grips album after Government Plates, because it's so. Just kind of out of left field. But I think the way that it comes off ends up being completely natural. And it's far from it being this thing that a lot of the sites online seem to treat it as at the time. Oh, isn't this funny? Haha. It's Death Grips and this, you know, and Bjork. What a crazy combination. It's a real odd collection.

[B]

Blue Reed and Metallica. Har har.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

I will just say it makes zero sense to me to think of this as like, complacent. I find that completely galling that anyone would think that it makes me think you didn't listen. The critic here in question, like just straight up didn't listen to the last half of this album. It's a deconstruction more than a synthesis, I think, of what's come before. Like this album is so abstract. And also I think it's their most personal. I think the Powers that Be on the whole is their most. I mean, it's. It's really their only personal statement in some ways.

[A]

Yeah. And that becomes more clear when you get to Jenny Death, which is the second half of the album. But yeah, I think it's moving in that direction here.

[B]

And I think that was kind of lost on me and maybe some critics for when this came out, like there was a large gap, a sizable gap between people on the moon and Jenny Death.

[A]

Yeah, this was 2014 and Jenny death was like almost a year later in 2015. I don't think it was quite a year, but it was a while into 2015. Yeah, this was June 8th and then the following March was Jenny Death.

[B]

There's the entire Fashion Week thing.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Jenny Death, when it was a. We'll get there. I guess more in the next episode. But it is an unusual case where a double album, which really is in retrospect a complete package, that the two halves are really inextricably linked thematically, also sounds so different and have such a different approach. It seems kind of like almost not right to judge or even critique this one without having the other half to think about. But that was the task of critics at the time. So granted, that's the situation that they put everyone In.

[A]

Yeah. They didn't announce at the time that the first disc. That it was just half of the ultimate double album. Right. It was just.

[B]

I think it actually was announced as the side one.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

We should just directly, indirectly, directly address the title. And the actual title. It's Soft N Words. Soft A. That is on the Moon. Which my first thought was it's a reference to Whitey on the Moon.

[A]

Gil Scott Heron. Yeah, you remember that.

[B]

The Slits, Faust, mantronic soul. So Sonic 4 just hit me. Yeah, you mean, you know, credit words, too. Great list of musicians. Sure.

[A]

Absolutely. Good song.

[B]

Good song.

[A]

Good song.

[B]

Did you listen to Gil Scott Heron?

[A]

I've listened to Gil Scott Heron. I have not gone deep on Gil Scott Heron. I appreciate him from a distance. I've heard Whitey on the Moon, obviously. And the Revolution Will Not Be Televised and whatever. The two other, like, common Gil Scott Heron songs anyone might have heard are very cool. Very cool. Dude.

[B]

Yeah, he's great. He's one of my favorite. I love all his albums. The song Whitey on the Moon, of course, is a kind of. It's a very short spoken word piece, basically about.

[A]

It's a poem.

[B]

Yeah. With some musical accompaniment. About the hypocrisy and absurdity of the struggle and horror of poverty and inequality

[A]

going on while Whitey's on the moon.

[B]

Yeah. We have money for that. This absurd Tower of Babel. But we're.

[A]

I love how the moon landing has somehow become like a. Like a running theme through many of our artists. Like how shitty. How bad the moon landing was. Because you've got License to Kill from Bob. That's right. First step was touching the moon. You've got straw man Lou Reed. Who needs another billion dollar rocket launching off to moon, Venus or Mars? And now you've got Whitey on the Moon from Gill Scott Heron.