It’d be difficult to imagine that you haven’t heard of Childish Gambino yet from the references on ESPN’s Around The Horn or his performance on the Conan O’Brien Show on Tuesday. If you don’t know him as his alter ego, you may know him as Donald Glover of NBC comedy show, Community or as a former writer of 30 Rock.
Chances are you’ll be hearing a lot more of him so it’s a good time to get familiar. Gambino released his debut LP “CAMP” (Available on Amazon.com as an .mp3 download for $5.99) this past Tuesday.
Having had the opportunity to listen to CAMP for two weeks before it officially released gave me a lot of time to put together a complete review for it. There was a lot of anticipation on my part for this album as I’ve been listening to Childish Gambino since early on in his career and it was going to be interesting to see how he would go about his major debut which could nip his career in the bud if gone wrong.
For starters, Gambino impressed me by deciding not include any features on this album outside of ?uestlove providing the percussions on That Power. The album starts off with a melodic tone which includes a choir vibe and a peek into a lot of what the album will be about; self-reflection, perception of color in America, the come-up from lower class poverty and the most dominant tone, not fitting in either “black” or “white” culture and dealing with it.
The production on the album is magnificent, a mellow vibe which is turned up on occasion when Gambino decides to go on wordplay tangents. The entire album has that mellowness to it outside of the single, Bonfire which stands out from the rest of the album as Gambino showcases his lyrical prowess. A lot of memorable lyrics in Bonfire including ” ‘You’re my new favorite rapper’, yeah dude, I better be/ or you can fuckin’ kiss my ass, Human Centipede.” That seems to be everyone’s favorite line, however there are others such as “This Asian dude, I stole his girl, now he got that Kogi beef/ My dick is like an accent mark, it’s all about the over E’s (ovaries) (é)”
The whole album flows with continuity but takes a speed bump on Backpackers in which Gambino attempts to assert an aggressiveness lyrically but doesn’t accomplish.
One of my favorite tracks, You See Me, is probably Gambino’s best display of song-writing, flow and wordplay in one.
“What is he wearing? Somebody jack that fool’s steeze”
If I’m a faggot spell it right, I got way more than two G’s
Nigga I’m amazing, I’m a phenom
I’m assassin, I’mma kill y’all
I’mma say ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa
And this shit’s closed now cause I ball too hard
And I’m cumming on her face, have I gone too far?
I don’t know, who cares, I don’t love that broad
Not bad, Donald, not bad.
Overall, the album is great. Gambino’s debut comes at a great time when Hip-Hop is a process of transition where the stereotypical thug, who has been shot, served drugs and flaunts gold chains, big cars & big rims with busty women and round butts is no longer the norm. As outcasted as Gambino claims to be, he’s in a field with the likes of Tyler, The Creator and the rest of OddFuture, A$AP Rocky, Drake, KiD CuDi and a slew of other rappers who are breaking the mold of what Hip-Hop was in the 90’s and the 00’s.
However, he’s holding his own and bringing a strong fanbase along for the ride. The album has good replay value but some of the recurring themes of being paid, having sex with women and his awkwardness of not fitting into a certain culture could create uneasiness for listeners.
For the $5.99 price on Amazon as an MP3 download, this is a no brainer. It’s a fresh new sound with a lot of potential and sets up higher expectations for his sophomore album. I hope to see some maturity in his music as well a new direction, one of which should be easy to come across considering that he’s a young black male in the middle of the Hollywood scene as both a fairly successful rapper, writer and actor.
CAMP was a major success in my eyes considering the little promotion he’s attained from sources out of his own hands and this project being one I’ve seen grown from the grassroots. Congratulations, Donald.
