Diggs and Hutson met in grade school, and Hutson and Snipes were college roommates. The group began in 2009 as a remix project, with Hutson and Snipes taking a cappellas of mainstream rap artists and making power electronics and noise remixes of them to amuse themselves. Diggs joined in 2010 and began to write his own raps over their compositions. They self-released their first album, Midcity, on their website on February 5, 2013. Though their expectations were low, and despite minimal promotion, the album was well-received, and five months later, they signed to Sub Pop. Their second album, CLPPNG, was released on June 10, 2014. The group does not see their abrasive sound as a rejection of mainstream hip hop or reaction against it, but as part of a hip hop tradition including the likes of Dr. Dre and Public Enemy producers The Bomb Squad, who experimented with production and also used harsh, musique concrète-esque techniques in their music. Similarly, they think of themselves as a rap group rather than industrial-rap, noise-rap, or other mash-up genres. On June 14, 2016, they released an EP entitled Wriggle . They then released their second studio album, Splendor & Misery, later on September 9. A science fictionconcept album, Splendor & Misery was nominated for the 2017 Hugo Awards in the category of "Best Dramatic Presentation " on April 4, 2017. In 2017, the group released a single entitled "The Deep". The song was nominated for a Hugo Award in 2018, their second consecutive nomination in the "Best Dramatic Presentation " category. On August 14, 2019, the group released a lyric video to YouTube for a new song titled "Nothing Is Safe", which borrowed heavily from the aesthetics of 1970s and '80s horror films like Halloween, and the soundtrack works of John Carpenter. This was coupled with the announcement that their third full-length record, titled There Existed an Addiction to Blood would be released on October 18 of the same year. On September 12, 2019, a second lyric video was released to YouTube to promote There Existed an Addiction to Blood. The track, titled "La Mala Ordina" featured guest appearances from underground rappers Elcamino and Benny the Butcher, with additional production from noise artist The Rita. On October 3, 2019, a music video for the track "Blood of the Fang" was released to YouTube to promote There Existed an Addiction to Blood. On November 29, 2019, the band released a three song EP further exploring the world of The Deep. On June 19, 2020, they released the track "Chapter 319" on Bandcamp, along with a previously SoundCloud-only track "Knees on the Ground", with all proceeds from the sales donated to organizations dedicated to racial justice. "Chapter 319" was recorded during the protests after the killing of George Floyd, while "Knees on the Ground" was originally recorded after the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.
Style and influences
The group has drawn comparisons to the likes of Dälek, Death Grips, My Bloody Valentine, Tim Hecker and Shabazz Palaces. The Guardian described their sound as "the sort of shrill thrills you imagine could function as incidental soundtrack music for a documentary about abattoirs or might conceivably be the work of a young band intent on twisting industrial metal into brutal new shapes. With rapping on top." Rolling Stone called them "imble-tongued, beat-fractured L.A. hip-hop spilled over the abrasive crunches, squeals, clangs, slurps, and static of experimental musique concrète."
