This Is America (Explicit)

Album review

Okay it’s Childish Gambino! Stay Calm! During his appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he hosted and was the musical guest, Mr. Donald Glover, alias Childish Gambino, debuted two new tracks off a soon to be released album. The two tracks titled This is America and Saturday are a sneak peak for what’s to come and oh baby we can not wait! This Is America was released with a video directed by Hiro Murai, Glovers long time creative partner on previous music videos and on his award winning comedy series Atlanta. The track coupled with the imagery sees the Atlanta artist in a new light, one in which we are yet to see him. He is addressing recent events and current issues that divide and cripple the USA; gun violence, mass shootings, racism. And it’s a welcomed change for Gambino, as it seems he has moved away from themes of sex, fame and growing up on his early records Kauai, because the internet, Camp, as well as the critically acclaimed soul/funk infused Awaken, My Love!. But now we see him tackling this social juggernaut that he handles with such character and brilliance, both musically and visually.

The video is truly thought provoking as we see Glover marching around a warehouse topless, as he shoots a man in the head, dances with some school children, and even mows down an entire choir with an automatic rifle. Sounds pretty shocking right? Additionally, his nonchalance when jumping from jolly dancing to murder seems like a strong narrative on how senseless and emotionless America has become when it comes to gun violence. And it all soon becomes evident that he himself is a mere distraction from the chaos that is occuring in the background (we recommend you re-watch it and see for yourself). It is as if the song holds even more significance and importance with recent events, as we have Kanye West taking on an entirely different approach to try and bring about change, with twitter rants, TMZ appearances and incoherent ramblings that have left society baffled and stunned. This thoughtless output isn’t undertaken by Gambino, who has shifted effortlessly into a voice for transforming our society.

It is a credit to the man hailing from Atlanta, as he quite literally does it all. Having graduated from NYU, he started off as a comedy writer for the TV series 30 Rock, moved into acting on the hit show Community, jumped ship to stand up comedy, became an award winning creator of Atlanta, a TV series in which he also stars, and finally as Childish Gambino, he’s a Grammy winning artist. Oh and did we mention he’s starring in the latest Star Wars spin off Solo: A Star Wars Story. There is nothing this man can’t do and it is why his take on America’s political and social climate holds so much weight. It’s a message that has class, quality and all in a time where we really need a coherent voice. The upcoming LP, which is set to be his last as Childish Gambino, cannot come soon enough and although previously he has told us to “Stay Woke”, now we need to face up to the America of today and fight for change. © Aidan Nickerson/ Qobuz