Year of the Snitch

Year of the Snitch is the seventh studio album by Death Grips, released on June 22, 2018 through Third Worlds (the band's own imprint) and Harvest Records. It debuted at number 97 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 10 on the Top Alternative Albums chart.^[1]

The album title carries a layered meaning. One interpretation frames the band as the "snitch" snitching on themselves, cannibalizing their own sonic identity and revealing their inner darkness. The title also refers obliquely to Linda Kasabian, the Manson Family member who turned state's evidence in the Tate-LaBianca murder trial, whose testimony made her the group's designated "snitch." This allusion introduces the record's preoccupation with betrayal, surveillance, loyalty, and the cost of speaking out.^[2]

The sessions brought together an unusual set of collaborators: Justin Chancellor, bassist for Tool; noise artist Lucas Abela; DJ Swamp (Ronald K. Keys), a turntablist who appears on most of the album; and Andrew Adamson, the New Zealand film director known for the Shrek and Chronicles of Narnia films.^[2]

Thematically, the record cycles through surveillance, paranoia, suicidal ideation, mental illness, drug use, police brutality, and sex. Stereogum described it as balancing the commercial promise of The Money Store with the paranoid defiance of No Love Deep Web. Pitchfork called it "explosive" and "fun as hell," while Rolling Stone labeled it a "cyber-noise-punk-rap disruption." It received a Metacritic score of 69/100 based on eight reviews.^[3]