Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino released his second album Because the Internet a bit of time ago now, 6 years… oops, but the album is meant to go along with a screenplay. So basically, it is a soundtrack, nonetheless, the album follows many themes by following the main character, The Boy, and his friends around, and is quite the listen if I am being honest.

It simply cannot be understated just how significant Awaken My Love! is in terms of shifting Childish Gambino’s career from a rapper into a cultural icon but also how it modernizes such a significant genre, bringing funk into the mainstream. To put this into context at this point in his career Donald Glover was just coming off a successful stint as a comedy actor on community and his rap music persona Childish Gambino was finally getting significant critical and commercial recognition with his concept record Because The Internet. He had also been the outsider, the quirky rapper but when he grew a beard, ripped his shirt off and embraced his early funk influences you worried that maybe it was a risk too far. He was potentially turning away his entire fanbase and throwing away a music career he’d worked so hard to achieve. Awaken, My Love! however had a much more unpredictable impact on not just Gambino but the entire culture of music itself…

Leave it to Bino to make a funk album and weather the shit storm of “when is he gonna rap” comments that flooded the internet in the initial days of the release of “Awaken, My Love!” I loved every minute of it – both the comments, and the album. I could actually see the sea change happening, week by week, as everyone, and I do mean everyone, came along to the sound and style of songs like “Redbone” and “Zombies”, knowing in my heart of hearts that the unanimity of acceptance for this album was inevitable. What fools the whole internet was, and anyone who doubted Donald Glover, literally the most talented person of my generation. He wouldn’t do it unless he knew he could pull it off. When is he gonna Rap? Really? As Kendrick would say, “sit down, be humble.” And listen to a classic.

Long hours, long nights, and the endless chase of bonuses that I needed to pay my lease and put food on my plate, because somehow, I had put myself into that month to month existence. My experience with Lyft. The radio was no relief at all. In fact it was more mind numbing than ever. Drake. Drake. Drake. Drake. Childish Gambino. Redbone? Redbone. Redbone. Holy shit. This was a song that I could not turn off, and could not stop grooving to, every time it came on. Because when the radio decides something is popular, that’s it – they will play it to death. Yet in the case of “Redbone”, the song could have come on back to back for all I cared. It motivated for the first time in ages to buy an album off of iTunes. That, my friends, is the power of good music.

Being a Bootsy Collins fan, the unfortunate thing I conceded years ago was that Bootsy had not made an album like Stretchin’ Out in Bootsy’s Rubber Band since the seventies. I am not from the seventies, I just had a Dad who was, and several memories will stream of conscious their way to the point which is Childish Gambino’s genius. Dad gave me a best of funk tape with Parliament, Con Funk Shun, Bootsy, etc. Working at a record store, I bought “Stretchin’ Out” because of that very tape. I thought I was hot shit because I invited a girl way out of my league on a date (she had a rich older boyfriend out of state but I still tried it), and played Bootsy instead of what was standard when we drove to the movies. Years later, my life is completely different and pretty meaningless when a girl I’m dating puts on Awaken, My Love!, asking me to guess who the artist is. I listen for 4 whole tracks, saying it is some Bootsy or P Funk album, clearly, from the seventies. Chick says its Childish Gambino. I am speechless. The rapper? Listening, I feel like that young me again, sure of himself, in the car with the girl who was out of my league, but who I know I impressed.