Previous Gambino records proved that Glover is an adept vocalist, but he’s never before sounded so expressive. Like so many retro-leaning artists before him, Glover riffles through classic sounds for a lens through which to view his modern anxieties. He’s set up shop aboard George Clinton’s Mothership ( “Me and Your Mama,” “Boogieman” ) incorporating elements of Sly Stone’s protest funk (the blatantly titled homage “ Riot ”), Dungeon Family and OutKast’s trunk-rattling Southern grit (“ Terrified ”), Prince’s erudite R&B (“ Redbone ”), and Stevie Wonder’s anthemic psychedelia (“ Stand Tall ”). Įschewing actual rapping, Glover adopts an older set of signifiers. Not content with just those milestones, he released “Awaken, My Love!” -dropped late in the year à la Beyoncé or Black Messiah -an album so steeped in psychedelic funk traditions it inspired no less an authority than Questlove to wake D’Angelo himself up at four in the morning and demand he listen. His auteur television program Atlanta, a darkly funny look at life in the titular city, emerged as one of the year’s best television shows, and soon after, he was cast as a young Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Star Wars Han Solo film. And he seemed to realize it: the projects that orbited Because the Internet -its accompanying screenplay and the short film Clapping for the Wrong Reasons -felt designed to convey the emotional content the record itself couldn’t deliver.īut in 2016, following a long social-media absence, Glover’s emerged more focused than ever before. But no matter how “real” he got-reflecting on masculinity, sex, and drugs with his trademark wit-Glover seemed more concerned with the mechanics of music than the spirit of it. They were fueled by Glover’s desire to be taken seriously as a capital-A artist, the kind his writing credits on 30 Rock and breakout role as Troy on Community consistently indicated he was. There’s a thin line between trying and trying too hard, and records like Camp and Because the Internet often landed on the wrong side of that line. What’s the sense in fighting metaphorical battles with one another when we all really crave the best for ourselves? He suggests that we start loving each other because in one way or another, we’re all fighting the same fight.Childish Gambino “Awaken, My Love!” GLASSNOTEįor someone as undeniably talented as he is, Donald Glover’s albums as Childish Gambino always seemed to exude self-conscious effort. On this funk ‘n’ roll record, Childish sings of the fight-or-flight “pressure” the world faces as troubling scenarios continue to unravel. “No good fighting/World, we’re out of captains/Everyone just wants a better life” (“Riot”) These words simply ask for the world to come together and maintaining strong, loving relationships with others. “Have a word for your brother/Have some time for one another/Really love one another/It’s so hard to find” (“Have Some Love”) To emphasize his seriousness about their love, he sings, “Girl you really got a hold on me/So this isn’t just puppy love.” “Do what you want/I’m telling you/Let me into your heart” (“Me And Your Mama”)Ĭhildish pleas with a lover to make their relationship work despite “they” wanting to see them fall apart. Childish Gambino to Sell 'Virtual Reality Vinyl' of New Album 'Awaken, My Love!'
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