Childish Gambino – Camp
I’m taking a little break from the weekly Mix CD for a
review of an album I bought/downloaded two weeks ago.
It's weird. I bought this album expecting something different. I bought it after hearing "Heartbeat" on Conan, and on first listen it's a funny song. So there's a whole album
by
Community
actor
Donald Glover? Well of
course the rest of it will be hilarious. I was expecting something similar to
Lonely Island. I was extremely
wrong. And then I listened to "Heartbeat" more, and it started to sound a little sad and a little mean. Layers, man. Layers.
I can’t identify with much that Glover is
singing/rapping about. The awkwardness with girls during childhood, sure, but
growing up as a black kid in (what sounds like) predominately white schools and
not considered black enough by family and peers? Nope, no identification there. The girls that show up after the fame. Not quite. But I can identify with the passion he shows. His emotion draws me into his
world and his lyrics hold me captive.
Glover’s
lyrics
range from childhood insecurities, incredible nerd references, the pressures of
increasing fame and, of course, carnal conquests. It’s all terribly inspired,
and some of the best comparisons are so obvious they make you wonder why you
haven’t heard them before.
Lyrics - Race
It’s hard to make HOV the footsteps you followin’
Especially when your niggas look like Carlton
What’s the best way to show just
how white of a black man you are? Make a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference and
compare your friends to the whitest black guy on the show. Jay-Z he’s not.
This one kid said somethin’ that was really bad
He said I wasn’t really black because I had a dad
I think that’s kinda sad
Mostly ‘cause a lot of blacks kids think they should agree with that
Wow, that’s just…wow.
Lyrics – Nerd
Okay, it’s Childish Gambino, homegirl drop it like the NASDAQ
I’m throwing this out there
because it specifically references the NASDAQ instead of the all-encompassing
Wall Street. It just stood out to me.
Niggas with OCD, NWO
All white like my clothes, CW shows
Nigga got signed? It’s an anomaly
No co-sign? Trigonometry
Hey, I watch Supernatural on the
CW! And yeah, looks like all the “urban” shows of UPN laid to rest when it
merged with The WB. There are plenty of magical creatures and over-privileged
white kids still there, though, so it’s a great line. And he ends the verse
with a play on cosine? My math-loving brain squealed a bit.
I said I want a full house, they said, “You got it, dude”
I cannot look back on this show
with any fondness, but I watched enough of it growing up (as well as most of
the TGIF line-up) that yeah, I get this.
Lyrics – The Ladies
I’m just making up for fucks I missed in high school
I keep it wrapped until I meet the right one
‘Cause I ain’t Mumford, I ain’t tryin’ to have sons
Throwin’ a Mumford & Sons
reference out there when talking about using a condom? Really, how much of a
whiter reference can you make?
Sixty-nine is the only dinner for two
I’m going straight for your thighs like the cake you ate
She ain’t a killer but she’d fuckin’ blow your head off
Are we datin’? Are we fuckin’?
Are we best friends? Are we some’n in between that?
I wish we never fucked, and I mean that
(But not really
You say the nastiest shit in bed and it’s fuckin’ awesome)
She’s an overachiever ‘cause all she do is succeed
Say this one slowly, maybe
separate the syllables in the last word, then you might get it.
Lyrics – Dated
Made the beat then murdered it, Casey Anthony
Part of the problem with including
pop culture in your lyrics is how dated your music will be. How long will Casey
Anthony be talked about before some other reject from Jerry Springer/Maury
Povich/Jeremy Kyle kills a kid and tries to convince us all that it wasn’t her
fault?
All I wanted was some more like Ashton
Yeah, they separated about a week
after the CD came out.
I give you money, then you Bernie, then you made off
But it’s Pete Wentz, goes both ways
Lyrics – Revealing
I always wanted to get picked on the cool team
But alone is exactly how I should be
Some of these lines just pop up in
the songs, and they kind of hurt. These are the ones that I can relate to. Then
there’s “Letter Home”:
You’re the only girl that I have ever wanted
Every other girl who’s tryin’ to be you
My momma says that I should write you letters
But I think you’re with other dudes
Take my hand
You’ll like it
You don’t even have to call
Yes, I’ve had some alcohol, I’m sorry
Take my hand
You don’t even have to call
You’re somewhere out there after all
You’re all I ever wanted
You’re all I ever wanted
You’re all I ever wanted
The one that got away. I’ve said
it before, we all have one, whether we want to admit it or not. The one we
think about when we’re arguing with our significant other, the one whose grass
will always look greener. I dread the day I make that inevitable drunk dial,
when I’m so deep in my head that I can’t escape the choices I’ve made. For now,
though, I just write about it.
The album ends with a story that ties everything together nicely.
You can even imagine it with a bow on top. Childhood, girls, awkwardness,
intelligence…nothing about race, but that makes it better, like anybody can
listen to the whole album and come away feeling like this was made for them.
I admit that I don’t have a lot of rap experience. I like
very little of it, and I think most of what I like might be considered
hip hoprather than rap (although when I read that link I found out it's just TYPES of rap I don't like, and that makes me feel better. There are types of rock, pop, jazz, classical, etc. music that I don't like, too). I like a bit of The Roots, a bit of Wu-Tang, a bit of Dr. Dre
and a bit more of Eminem. Throw in some Handsome Boy Modeling School, some DJ
Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and some various old-school tracks and I’ve got
a mix I can listen to if not totally understand. I like to consider myself very
open when it comes to music. My rap (and country, if I’m to be honest) interests
would actually show that I’m not as open or inclusive with my listening choices
as I’d like you to believe. So when I hear something like this, something that
I can thoroughly enjoy and halfway relate to, I eat it up.
I just found out that Childish Gambino’s earlier albums were
available as free downloads, and I’ve tracked them all down. I seriously can’t
wait to listen to everything I’ve missed.
And yes, Donald, I still haven’t got off the bus, either.
Also, in case you've forgotten: When I can remember to add this to the bottom of my posts, I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But when you click ads, I get a little bit of money, and as a single father of three, every penny from every source helps...especially with Christmas looming on the horizon. So I’m going to keep this tiny bit of begging at the bottom of my posts, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. The only thing it costs you is time. :) Thanks so much!
