Government Plates

Government Plates is the third studio album by Death Grips, released as a surprise free download on November 13, 2013, with zero advance notice. It was their first release on their own imprint Third Worlds, in partnership with Harvest/Capitol Records, following their acrimonious split from Epic Records.^[1]

The album title references government vehicle license plates -- vehicles that track and observe others while remaining beyond scrutiny themselves. Released the same year that Edward Snowden revealed the scope of NSA mass surveillance programs, the record arrived at a moment of acute public anxiety about institutional monitoring and the erosion of privacy in the digital age.^[2]

Production-wise, the album marks a significant shift in the band's sound. Zach Hill and Andy Morin's electronic and synthesizer work dominates, while MC Ride's vocal presence is more fragmented than on earlier releases, favoring repeated abstract phrases over sustained lyrical delivery. Death Grips released official music videos for all eleven tracks simultaneously on the day of the album's surprise drop.^[1]

Critical reception was generally positive. Pitchfork awarded it Best New Music with an 8.4/10, writing that Death Grips were "freed by having no ideals whatsoever" and that the album provided "the power" while leaving listeners to "provide the politics."^[3] It placed at number 43 on SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2013. The album holds a Metacritic score of 75/100.^[4]