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Gambino goes berserk on “Crawl” - the Because The Internet opener that borrows from Kanye West and Jay-Z’s penchant for grandiose beats. If “Pink Toes” is post- Channel Orange, then “Crawl” is surely post- Watch The Throne. Its accolades and virality were somewhat promising signs that this generation was finally waking up and smelling reality. “This Is America” swept the 2019 Grammy Awards, taking home four trophies including the coveted Record Of The Year while making history as the first rap song to do so. But what makes “This Is America” so unforgettable is putting his own Gambino spin by funneling images that simultaneously mock and teach white racists of their own doing, which are propelled by an iconic video that brings Black people’s mortality to light.

Racism is embedded in this country’s historical fabric, so it wasn’t as if Childish Gambino was reinventing the wheel here. It’s a match made in heaven (or hell, if the police sirens capping the song are any indication). Towards the end, Jhene Aiko appears to amp up the fantasy. Here, his charming croons shine as he paints a surrealist picture of a drug dealer and his loyal girlfriend. Similar to Frank Ocean, Gambino trades in the in-your-face bars for R&B escapism. One listen to “Pink Toes” and it’s clear that (like many of us) Childish Gambino was reveling in a post- Channel Orange world. “Pink Toes” ( Because The Internet, 2013) And among the signature outrageous lyrics, Gambino gets cocky while targeting his competition: “’Man, why does every black actor gotta rap some?’ I don’t know, all I know is I’m the best one.” 15. And that he does: “Bonfire,” the lead single from Camp, finds the rapper channeling his inner Lil Wayne as he unleashes his head spinning version of “A Milli.” There’s only a single chorus that cuts through Gambino’s flow, which is so aggressive that you could envision his face going red in the booth. In celebration of Gambino’s debut EP turning 10 on March 8th, we present a ranking of our favorite songs.Īs soon as the sirens begin, you know Gambino is about to go off.

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And he’s done this all while creating an entertainment empire, from his hit FX series Atlanta to most recently securing a multi-year deal with Amazon Studios. He’s presented heavy-hitting social and racial commentary, reveled in romance, channeled his inner ‘70s funk master, and became the king of the summer season. There are many sides to Gambino, each revealing themselves in a thrilling manner equal to unlocking the next level to your favorite video game. Pretty soon though, he unleashed more skills, showing that he could sing just as smoothly as his bars. He wholeheartedly embraced his nerdy side in a rap climate that was run by the streets. Starting off his multi-faceted career in comedy (he worked as a writer for 30 Rock and starred as Troy Barnes in Community), he quickly but seamlessly transformed from Donald Glover The Actor to Childish Gambino The Rapper with the 2011 release of his debut EP (aptly titled EP).

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The result is an experiment in time travel: Through sounds of the past, he captures the tensions of the present.The best artists know how to adapt to the times while remaining true to their morals and keeping fans on their toes, and Childish Gambino is part of that elite crop. Coming from an artist known for taut wordplay and manically constructed similes, the broad strokes of Awaken are a shift: You’ll think eventually, but mood comes first.Īnd in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests that followed the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and so many more, Glover’s choice to echo a period in Black music when artists took on an explicitly revolutionary cast is a canny complement to albums like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Solange Knowles’ A Seat at the Table, both of which explored Black identity with new urgency.

It makes for a tonal fluidity that also marks his work on the television show Atlanta, which he created. Like a funhouse mirror, he stretches his influences into weird shapes: The freak-outs are exaggerated to the point of comedy (“Me and Your Mama”) and the ballads romantic to the point of creepy (“Terrified”). Glover said he’d started with childhood memories of his parents playing Funkadelic and The Isley Brothers on the stereo: specific sounds and songs, but more importantly, a general feeling-one that Glover wasn’t quite old enough to grasp. On the face of it, Donald Glover’s “Awaken, My Love!” is a museum-quality rip of early-’70s funk and soul: the faded vocals, the fuzzed-out guitars, the collective sense of chaos and exuberance.

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