Dilemma by Death Grips Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Enigma of Experimental Hip-Hop
Lyrics
I’m in the studio with death grips
They’re working on their new album at sunset sound studios
6650 sunset boulevard
They have a dilemma, but they’ll win their dilemma
Dilemma
Butterfly ballistic, seax survival
Butcher kukri to trench homicidal
Can’t say I buy them, just show up lately
Lately seem to stalk me like I’m yeti
Like scream of a haunted jetty
Let me be a haunted jetty
Cross I cry banshee like manic falcon
Shrill like losing time on Shasta Mountain
Thingany thingany, so jinx now
She’s wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wild
Pinky ring, pinky ring, show it out
My suh-suh-suh-suh-suh style
Shine like sad hung from starry eyed gallows
Like day old glow of carbon eye shadow
Trembling young wounded mammal
Double edge gut judge choke on his gavel (choke)
Jack slide leave atlantic puddles
Spade slip lives into stranded shuttles
I taxiderm shams with morbid shinto
This three quarter shank, one quarter disco (choke)
Low res mega evil patina
Pattern maker of myth and trip weaver
Infamous nature in rags like reaper
Like midnight mounted by wayside seekers
Lovely, lovely, they’re so blonde
It’s ah on and on
Dusty, dusty, so far gone
I’m fuck fuck fuck fuck fucking wrong
It’s ah ah ah ah on and on
It’s ah ah ah ah on and on
It’s ah ah ah ah on and on
It’s ah ah ah ah on and on
It’s ah ah ah ah on and on
It’s ah ah ah ah on and on
These knives bleed knives
They cut me, I’ll cut you
Below is above you
Above is below me
I’m dying to try on these knives
You don’t know me
Dilemma
Dilemma
Thingany thingany, so jinx now
She’s wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wild
Pinky ring, pinky ring, show it out
My suh-suh-suh-suh-suh style
In the sprawling chaos and the thunderous beats of Death Grips’ ‘Dilemma,’ there is a nuanced story being articulated—a fierce delivery of verse that demands deciphering. The track, featured on the album ‘Year of the Snitch,’ speaks volumes of the band’s unapologetic incursion into territories most bands dare not to tread.
As we delve into the symphonic mayhem, the cryptic lyrics suggest themes of confrontation, internal struggle, and the raw edge of life’s darker sides. The title itself, ‘Dilemma,’ indicates a conflict, a choice between undesirable outcomes, which permeates the structure of the song.
The Tormented Psyche Behind ‘Butterfly Ballistic’
Taking off with the line ‘Butterfly ballistic, seax survival,’ the song casts a light on the fragile yet violent nature of survival instincts. The butterfly, often a symbol of transformation and beauty, collides with the brutal imagery of a seax, an ancient fighting knife. This dichotomy mirrors the mental tumult the narrator seems to be experiencing—a struggle between grace and aggression.
The ‘butcher kukri to trench homicidal’ further amplifies the alarming visualization of combat and survival. Death Grips often employs such imagery to comment on societal conflict and personal strife. This militant perspective brings forth the stark rawness that the band is notorious for.
A Haunting Presence: ‘Let Me Be A Haunted Jetty’
There’s an eerie, spectral quality to the lines like ‘Lately seem to stalk me like I’m yeti’ and ‘Let me be a haunted jetty.’ Here, the lyrics invoke a sense of being pursued, perhaps by inner demons or the unforgiving eye of fame. The ‘yeti’ represents the misunderstood creature, constantly sought after but never truly found—much like the human quest for identity.
A jetty extends into the uncertainty of open waters; to be haunted is to be forever anchored to something unseen. This line reflects an existential predicament, conveying the angst of a soul at the mercy of relentless memories or thoughts.
The Intriguing Wordplay: ‘Thingany, Thingany’
Death Grips plays with sounds and language, and this playfulness is evident in the repetition of ‘Thingany, thingany.’ Without an explicit meaning, these words echo the idea of nonsense or absurdity, hinting at the confusion that often surrounds us. The ‘so jinx now’ that follows may be reflective of the band’s perception of a curse or a cycle that seems inescapable.
The cryptic nature of the lines challenges the listener to piece together the puzzle of meanings or, perhaps, to acknowledge that some aspects of art and life resist straightforward interpretation.
Deciphering the Hidden Meaning: ‘These Knives Bleed Knives’
At the core of ‘Dilemma’ lies the recurring symbolism of knives, suggesting cutting tension or the need to release oneself from entanglement. The phrase ‘These knives bleed knives, They cut me, I’ll cut you’ evokes the idea of an aggressive feedback loop, where violence begets violence, and pain perpetuates pain.
The existential undertones of ‘Below is above you, Above is below me’ play with spatial orientation, indicating a topsy-turvy world where hierarchies and traditional structures are upended. Death Grips often engages with the deconstruction of norms, and here, it suggests a kind of liberation from the conventional.
The Lacerating Honesty of ‘I’m fuck fuck fuck fuck fucking wrong’
Among the most striking lines in ‘Dilemma’ is the blunt admission of ‘I’m fuck fuck fuck fuck fucking wrong.’ In true Death Grips fashion, the delivery is merciless. It’s a raw and unfiltered portrayal of self-recognition, of acknowledging one’s own missteps or the absence of clear-cut right or wrong in a world of grey areas.
The refrain of ‘It’s ah ah ah ah on and on’ amplifies the feeling of endless struggle, an ongoing confrontation with the self or with forces outside one’s control. It can be exhausting and relentless, but it is also, perhaps, the essential human experience Death Grips so vividly expresses through their art.
