Review: Childish Gambino ‘Because the Internet’
posted in: Features • Pop
While Donald Glover listed a slew of personal worries in a headline-grabbing series of Instagram notes earlier this year, his greatest fear must be stagnating. The 30 Rock writer turned Community star turned showrunner of a new FX sitcom, Atlanta, has also been making infectious hip-hop under the moniker Childish Gambino since 2008. And even with that project, Glover refuses to stand still for too long.
Over the course of the last half-decade, the artist has completely revamped both his attitude towards the music he creates as well as his approach in making it. The project started as a lark, with Glover adopting his stage name after plugging his own into a Wu-Tang rap name generator online, and early Gambino tracks have a carefree, this-is-just-a-side-project sort of vibe. But because he’s spent the last several years bouncing around from writer’s room to television studio and back to the writer’s room again, his hip-hop career is the one thing that has offered any sort of stability. It’s also the reason that he’s been able to hone his once-goofy sound into something more lasting. Glover’s studio LP debut, 2009’s Camp, found the rapper discussing race and class issues over dazzling electro beats and was hardly the stuff of joke rap. That’s not to say Camp was lacking in wordplay − my personal favorite line was always, “I love pussy, I love bitches, dude, I should be runnin’ PETA”− but the record was a definite move in a more serious direction.
Because the Internet is more ambitious still. The sprawling, 19-track album is accompanied by a screenplay and visuals that are meant to be read while the record plays, Dark Side of the Moon/Wizard of Oz style. The story follows a character known only as “The Boy,” as he texts, surfs, posts WorldStarHipHop videos and ends up slinging drugs. It’s an interesting concept (some would say gimmick), but in the end, the screenplay and videos don’t add much to the record. While it addresses some of the same technological and digitally-driven themes that run through the album (“Because the Internet, mistakes are forever”), this latest effort can stand just fine on its own.
Glover’s flow is tighter than ever, and the clunky puns that littered his earlier releases are largely gone. Guest spots from Azalea Banks, Chance the Rapper, Mystikal, and Miguel help elevate several songs. Perhaps most surprisingly, two of the record’s best tracks are the Frank Ocean-y “II. Earth, the Oldest Computer (The Last Night)” and “I. Pink Toes,” both of which find Glover singing in addition to rapping. Then, there’s the production of the album. Because the Internet sounds positively beautiful, often spare, spacey, and a little eerie. And while it’s largely a serious effort, Glover still manages to have fun: the guitar solos on “I. The Worst Guys” are straight outta ’80s hair metal, and they’re not ashamed to admit it.
As with Camp, part of the reason that the record works so well is Glover always seems genuine. While his Instagram confessionals were a pretty thinly veiled (or not at all veiled) marketing ploy that may have come off a little heavy handed, here his moments of self-reflection and self-doubt ring true. Their being paired with lines of over the top boastfulness also works well. Glover successfully toes the line that all good artists must: loving yourself enough to believe you have something important to say but hating yourself enough to be critical of that work. On Because the Internet, he has found a balance between the two.
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