Popular opinion (on Twitter) suggests that Childish Gambino, the actor-turned-rapper who sometimes goes by Donald Glover, has one of the best rap albums of the year. Whether you agree or not, many hip-hop fans clearly underestimated his talents and they’re now thoroughly impressed with his latest project, Because The Internet, available on Dec. 10 but currently streaming on iTunes. Has Gambino finally earned his rap stripes? Check out a few early first impressions.
Eminem's 'Rap God' Remixes are popping up all over the web. Krayzie Bone from the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony recently leaked his own version of the modern Eminem's rap masterpiece, "Rap God." Krayzie reminds listeners that he and his Bone brothers made melody rap popular.
Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar team up for the first time on “Nosetalgia”, an intensely raw rap song set to appear on Pusha’s forthcoming major label debut, My Name Is My Name.
Because of hipster backlash, authenticity has largely become a moot point in popular music, save for hip-hop. Whether this is valid and whether an artist’s past or how a project is funded is relevant to the actual text can continue to be debated ad nauseam. The truth is, with regards to Childish Gambino, most people have already made up their minds regarding Donald Glover, in the sense that they know whether their opinion of Glover and his over-arching celebrity matter when listening to Childish Gambino.
What is really being talked about in a conversation about authenticity is believability, trust, and honesty. Does the listener believe what they are hearing? Not necessarily did the action described really happen, but does the spirit of what is being conveyed come from an honest place? Does the artist have capital-T “Truth” to convey? Or is there deception at work? Is the artist trying to trick us? A listener doesn’t want to agree with a sentiment, find meaning in a story, or enjoy the progression of a narrative, and then find out they were being manipulated.
When Childish Gambino's "Telegraph Ave.," a catchy cut from his forthcoming album Because The Internet, invaded timelines, it was a special e-delivery from actor Michael B. Jordan.
While the rapper also known as Donald Glover has been rolling out his tracks virally to keep in theme with the project's title, it seemed that he may have called in a favor to his fellow thespian but the Fruitvale Station leading man assures it was just an anonymous gift... because of the Internet.
If the world wide web needed a soundtrack for 2013, Childish Gambino's Because The Internet would be it. From the popular mixtape Cudlesac to his debut LP Camp, fans have seen Gambino (real name: Donald Glover) grow and learn to balance the hats of writer, comedian, producer and rapper. Because The Internet shows the process of creating an album with strong lyrical jabs ("Sweatpants"), mystic soul ("Flight of the Navigator") and everything in between. Here are 15 knee-jerk thoughts on one of the year's surefire surprise breakouts. —Desire Thompson
Childish Gambino already dropped one video this morning, but why not one more? Childish Gambino and Chance The Rapper take their shenanigans to the beach in the password-protected (12.10.13SIXTY) video for "The Worst Guys." The duo enjoys sand, surf, spliffs and light sabers in the company of friends.
Yesterday, Childish published his interactive screenplay for Because the Internet (which is where the password is located), so be sure to follow along and amplify your listening experience.
Well, we certainly didn't see this coming. Even though Donald Glover—aka Childish Gambino—has a slew of successful mixtapes under his belt and even though his debut album, Camp, was generally well received and earned him a pocket of faithful fans, we didn't think that his second album, Because the Internet, which is available today, would be as good as it is.
The project, which features guest appearances from Chance the Rapper, Azealia Banks and Jhene Aiko, is forcing a lot of publications to rethink their "Best Albums of 2013" lists right now and is already being heralded as a project that will help launch Childish Gambino into the mainstream. If you're still sleeping on Childish Gambino—or, worse, if you're still writing him off as a gimmicky joke rapper because of his acting career—it's time to wake up. These are 6 reasons you might want to buy Because the Internet today.
Childish Gambino gets a piece of digital love in the lyric video for his latest love song "3005." He recruits voluptuous beauty Abella Anderson (who also made an appearance in his short film Clapping For All The Wrong Reasons for a steamy video chat. Watch her... er, his romantic bars play out above. Donald Glover's forthcoming album Because The Internet floods the Internets on Dec. 9.
Childish Gambino topped off the day of his Because the Internet album release with a special two-song set on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The rapper/ actor rocked his signature mustard-colored pants and white tee while swaying the late-night crowd to the sounds of "3005" and "Crawl." Because The Internet now selling on iTunes. Cue his performances below.
I love hip hop. I use the word "love" here in its full meaning. I am singing in the rain in love with the people, the culture, the expression, the complexity, the genius and the humanity of hip hop. In any loving relationship, we can be challenged, inspired, and at times thoroughly disappointed, but that bond makes us embrace our beloved even while we wrestle with their shortcomings. The wrestling match has become more intense as I grow, at once basking in the glow of oppressed people's genius while cringing to hear hurtful slogans of oppression like fa***t be driven deeper into the collective consciousness. To complicate matters even more, I haven't always been on the right side of that battle.
In fact, on my debut album, Shadows On The Sun, I displayed a few cringe-worthy slur moments of my own. I tossed it around with the reckless abandon of a young man lacking the empathetic sensitivity that only manifests through life-altering interactions and experiences. By my 2009 album, Us, I had evolved into manhood and dwelled on the cusp of self-actualization. This shift in perception allowed me to freely address through lyrics the hypocrisy of a supposedly free society that forces some men and women to keep certain dimensions of their lives imprisoned -- including their sexuality.