Exmilitary, also known as Ex Military, is the debut mixtape by experimental hip hop group Death Grips. It was released for free on April 25, 2011, through the band's website.[3]
Background
The mixtape was released for free through Death Grips' official website, thirdworlds.net, on April 25, 2011.[4] It later appeared on the net label Grindcore Karaoke.[5] It was simultaneously released through iTunes. The track "Guillotine" was released through iTunes on August 3, 2011. "Guillotine" has become one of the band's most recognized songs. Other tracks released with music videos include "Known for it", "Culture Shock", "Lord of the Game", "Spread Eagle Cross the Block", "Takyon (Death Yon)", and "Beware".
According to Andy Morin, the cover art is a photograph that an undisclosed Death Grips member "carried in their wallet for roughly 10 years straight [...] it's a power object".[6] It was eventually identified as "Bearded Man at Oenpelli", a photo of an Aboriginal Australian man taken by Douglass Baglin in 1968 for his and David R. Moore's book The Dark Australians.[7][8]
Due to the samples used in Exmilitary not being cleared, the mixtape was later removed from streaming services and released exclusively through the band's website in vinyl, CD, and cassette formats. However, the single "Guillotine" remains on streaming services.[9][10][11]
The mixtape has received universal acclaim from critics. On Metacritic it has a score of 82 out of 100 based on reviews from 7 critics.[12]
In one very positive review, John Calvert of Drowned in Sound focused on the mentality of the character that the album revolves around and how it reflects the inner nature of man, citing the lyricism and sound production as being focal points around this sound and style.[14] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork gave Exmilitary a 7.5, describing the mixtape as "a bludgeoning slab of hostility" that avoids being an "overbearing mess".[16]
Black Google
On September 8, 2011, the group released a teaser video for an upcoming project titled Black Google.[17] It was later released on the band's website for free and revealed to be all of the instrumentals, stems, and acapellas for fans to remix and record with. The cover of Black Google features a heavily darkened version of the cover of Exmilitary with the word "Exmilitary" replaced with "Black Google". Black Google, for the band itself, is a "portal to the deconstruction of Exmilitary."[18]
"Beware" contains excerpts of Charles Manson's "I Make The Money Man" interview, samples of "Up The Beach", written and performed by Jane's Addiction and samples of "God Is Watching You", performed by Dickie Burton.[19]
"Takyon (Death Yon)" contains samples of "The Ditty", performed by Blue Devils, a sample of "Supertouch / Shitfit", written and performed by Bad Brains and a sample of "A Who Seh Me Dun", written and performed by Cutty Ranks.[22]
"Cut Throat (Instrumental)" contains samples of "Move Somethin'", written and performed by 2 Live Crew and samples of "Death Grips (Next Grips)" written and performed by Death Grips.[23]
"Klink" contains elements of "Rise Above" written and performed by Black Flag and a sample of "Liar Liar", written and performed by The Castaways.[24]
"Known for It" contains elements taken from the 1986 short animated film "Quest: A Long Ray's Journey Into Light" and samples of "De Futura", written and performed by Magma.[28]
