New Childish Gambino Single 'This Is America'

[Golden E. Pump]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

Just watch. That's one of the best music videos of all-time, right there.

After "Awaken My Love" I was intrigued to see where he would go next musically. Knocked it right out of the fucking park. It's a track that says so much using so little. The production is phenomenal too.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Watched this earlier and was blown away, by the track and the video. He's seriously kicked it up a gear.

[Brundle-Fly]

That was amazing!

Don't want to derail thread but the "I'm Not Racist" video that plays after the Gambino video is pretty powerful too. Not heard it until tonight.

[Enzo]

Yeah watched this earlier. Completely blew me away, just amazing music matched by an amazing video.

[Nobody Soup]

I thought I'd be underwhelmed but it's a seriously amazing video and great song.

[itsfredtitmus]

fucking love this song
funny because I remember when he was a nerd-type rapper like chiddy bang a few years ago and he comes out with this

video is strangely reminiscent of roy andersson in places

[Moribunderast]

fucking love this song
funny because I remember when he was a nerd-type rapper like chiddy bang a few years ago and he comes out with this

video is strangely reminiscent of roy andersson in places

I didn't get into his early stuff at all - to the point where I never bothered with Awaken My Love. A few months ago someone put it on at work and I was shocked that it was him. Really good record, great in places. This new single is unreal, though, and the clip is incredible. Between this and the latest run of Atlanta it's hard not to be kinda in awe of Donald Glover. He's operating on a fucking high level at the moment across multiple platforms.

[phantom_power]

I really liked his early home-made stuff where he just rapped over indie records but wasn't so taken with his official releases. Awaken My Love was fucking amazing though, and such a massive leap both in terms of content, message and quality. This is great too.

With the big gap between leaving Community and Atlanta I was worried he was going to get lost in backpack rap but it seems he was just quietly improving and becoming amazing. Has there ever been someone who was such a good actor, writer, comedian and musician?

[up_the_hampipe]

Donald Glover keeps outdoing himself. It's absurd to have that much talent.

Agreed on the Joyner Lucas "I'm Not Racist" video mentioned above. Very well done.

[sevendaughters]

bit cheesy and self-important

[up_the_hampipe]

bit cheesy and self-important

How so?

[sevendaughters]

How so?

when wokeness becomes part of your brand i just get immediately suspicious. i think there's something ultimately paradoxical about trying to make important statements whilst flagging up how important your statement is. plus the flicking between the ersatz gospel and dark tuff sections - neither of which are terribly compelling! - just felt like a fag packet idea.

[momatt]

I'm trying to think of someone else who is as amazing as Donald Glover.  Struggling.
He's just fantastic at everything, isn't he.

Who else can act, rap, sing, write, direct and do stand-up at his level?  How the fuck can he even find the time to do all of this?
What a bastard!

[madhair60]

As if I'm listening to someone who calls themselves "Chidish Gambino"

[up_the_hampipe]

when wokeness becomes part of your brand i just get immediately suspicious. i think there's something ultimately paradoxical about trying to make important statements whilst flagging up how important your statement is. plus the flicking between the ersatz gospel and dark tuff sections - neither of which are terribly compelling! - just felt like a fag packet idea.

I'm not sure what you mean by wokeness (anyone who has a point of view?), but haven't these sort of "statements" been part of hip-hop for many years? It feels more satirical than an attempt at a powerful political message anyway.

As if I'm listening to someone who calls themselves "Chidish Gambino"

What about Childish Gambino though?

[bgmnts]

Not for me, Clive.

[Cuellar]

Very into it. Compelling.

[sweeper]

i think there's something ultimately paradoxical about trying to make important statements whilst flagging up how important your statement is.

I'm really intrigued as to how he physically achieved this.

Don't agree with the lack of tuffness, though. Is it tuss enough - I mean tuff enough? Hell yes.

[sevendaughters]

I'm not sure what you mean by wokeness (anyone who has a point of view?), but haven't these sort of "statements" been part of hip-hop for many years? It feels more satirical than an attempt at a powerful political message anyway.

hmm I'd say wokeness clearly skews to modern left-liberal broad church "Democratic" views (that is to say let us take care of identity issues but don't stop me being a hyper-capitalist). and yes it is true to say that making statements about police brutality is near-enough intrinsic to hip-hop but the earnestness of the presentation combined with the not-actually-good nature of the music just makes this feel like something a bit disappointing and tryhard. please bear in mind hype absolutely MURDERS music for me, i cannot parse it from the necessarily consumerist discussions around it.

[sevendaughters]

I'm really intrigued as to how he physically achieved this.

he called his song 'This Is America' and gave it a title card against silence indicating its importance in the very first second when the song says no more or less about American experience than Mind Playin Tricks On Me by Geto Boys

[sweeper]

he called his song 'This Is America' and gave it a title card against silence indicating its importance in the very first second when the song says no more or less about American experience than Mind Playin Tricks On Me by Geto Boys

Well what the fuck was he supposed to call it? 'Baby Got Back'?

And why does having an opinion about something preclude him from expressing his opinion in a way he considers most apt?

[rue the polywhirl]

I'm trying to think of someone else who is as amazing as Donald Glover.  Struggling.
He's just fantastic at everything, isn't he.

Who else can act, rap, sing, write, direct and do stand-up at his level?  How the fuck can he even find the time to do all of this?
What a bastard!

I'm trying to think of someone who is as average on so many fronts. Richard Blackwood? No, not even Richard Blackwood. The video has the occasional funny walk but too much ephemeral shock guff and the tune is just non-existent. I'd have a lot more respect for him if he tried not to attempt any politically charged stuff and just wrote jolly singalongs (or rap-alongs) and without the try-hard angst and tension that everybody could enjoy.

[sevendaughters]

Well what the fuck was he supposed to call it? 'Baby Got Back'?

And why does having an opinion about something preclude him from expressing his opinion in a way he considers most apt?

He can do what he wants, but I also don't have to like it, that's how it works, are you new?

[bgmnts]

I'm trying to think of someone else who is as amazing as Donald Glover.  Struggling.
He's just fantastic at everything, isn't he.

Who else can act, rap, sing, write, direct and do stand-up at his level?

Me.

[sweeper]

He can do what he wants, but I also don't have to like it, that's how it works, are you new?

If you mean am I not hopelessly cynical and burned out, then yeah, I am 'new'.

Your point doesn't really have any weight if you refuse to engage with the song based on some principle connected with 'hype' and 'commerciality', especially bearing in mind that this is hip hop we're talking about.

[Neomod]

There's a massive continuity error in the first minute which ruins the video for me. At 0:47 a guy appears with a hood. Now if you go back to 0:24 and enhance, that same guy has not only no hood but is playing a guitar.

A shocking schoolboy error they should have caught in post.

Catchy tune though.

[phantom_power]

I think Glover, more than anyone, has taught me, a white, middle class English man, about the experience of black America. Not the shock and awe of stuff like Boys N The Hood or Ice T but just the systematic drip drip drip of little bits of racist aggression that the average black person has to live from day to day. Fuck all that "woke" stuff. He is just telling us about life from his and other black people's perspectives. There are no white characters to save the day or use as the audience POV. It is an all black cast and writing staff. There was an interesting interview (think it might be linked in the Atlanta thread in the comedy forum) about the concessions they have to constantly fight against, and sometimes lose, in making the show white-friendly. It really showed how "othered", for want of a less wanky phrase, black people are made to feel in the entertainment industry, and American life in general

[sevendaughters]

If you mean am I not hopelessly cynical and burned out, then yeah, I am 'new'.

Your point doesn't really have any weight if you refuse to engage with the song based on some principle connected with 'hype' and 'commerciality', especially bearing in mind that this is hip hop we're talking about.

i don't think hip-hop - or any music - has an intrinsically commercial dimension. all music has a horizon after which it stands up for itself or passes into oblivion. i don't see a problem in admitting what flaws i'm bringing to the table in my analysis of this, and think more people could stand to be honest about their shortcomings and position when critiquing. not even jaded either! if only you knew me! hopefully one day i'll hear it as a quality piece of polemical music. right now i do not hear that at all. i hear two underwritten songs clumsily shoehorned together with a reasonably stylish video. i feel bad about that, i know how hard it is to make stuff.

that said every sad-ass desperate-for-clicks outfit is posting up shit like this: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/07/this-is-america-theories-donald-glover-satirical-video-childish-gambino

[bgmnts]

I think Glover, more than anyone, has taught me, a white, middle class English man, about the experience of black America. Not the shock and awe of stuff like Boys N The Hood or Ice T but just the systematic drip drip drip of little bits of racist aggression that the average black person has to live from day to day. Fuck all that "woke" stuff. He is just telling us about life from his and other black people's perspectives. There are no white characters to save the day or use as the audience POV. It is an all black cast and writing staff. There was an interesting interview (think it might be linked in the Atlanta thread in the comedy forum) about the concessions they have to constantly fight against, and sometimes lose, in making the show white-friendly. It really showed how "othered", for want of a less wanky phrase, black people are made to feel in the entertainment industry, and American life in general

All he needs is Keenan Ivory Wayans to pop up halfway through his song and shout "MESSAGE!"

[phantom_power]

Why do there need to be theories about the video? I thought it was pretty obvious what it was saying