Hello, Goodbye: Is This the Last of Childish Gambino?
After taking a vow to stop performing under his moniker, Donald Glover also known as Childish Gambino is back again with his brand new album titled “3.15.20". The album, first presented on March 15th as a stream on his website, Donaldgloverpresents.com , ran on a continuous loop before it was taken down. This left many listeners like myself wondering if Donald would finally debut the album and to our relief, he did later that Friday. If you've been a fan of Gambino since his early days, you can tell from the “beep" during the intro to outro songs that this is going to be an experimental album.
This is no different on “3.15.20”. Similar in concept to his previous album, “Awaken, My Love!”, which was a homage to Funkadelics’ masterpiece "Maggot Brain", “3.15.20” is an ode to Radiohead's " OK Computer”, reverting sonically to his earlier, electronic influenced projects "Because the Internet" & "Kauai" as opposed to drawing from his appreciation of 70’s funk. This new LP can easily be considered Mr. Glover's " Yeezus". The album is full of crazy synths, electronic sounds, booming drums, and a range of distorted vocals once again coming mainly from the voice of Gambino himself. The album features 21 Savage, Ariana Grande, Khadija Bonet, his son Legend & more.
“3.15.20” comes at a time of need, as people are confined to their houses amidst a global pandemic. Childish Gambino sings wildly & passionately with sprinkles of raps about wrestling with a lack of direction, the loss of his father and the lessons he left behind, navigating through new & lasting love of himself and others around him, as 7 billion people are trying to free themselves while simultaneously running out of time in this digital age of uncertainty. Ranging from war-like songs about fire and passion to country songs about his youth and dealing drugs, CG has evolved from the nerd that was “just a rapper" to an artist who isn't afraid to push boundaries with each composition he releases. As some have critiqued, with "Algorhythm" & “Time” (the only two named tracks on the track-list until it's revised) it's easy to see how the album's replay value could be low similar to Kendrick Lamar's "Untitled. Unmastered".
However, unlike that project, Gambino aptly names each title as the order they appeared in stream, meant to be one cohesive listening experience. Given the nature of how Donald Glover makes his music, this album will be ripe to new listener's ears, but, will age appropriately when revisited. All of his albums have a sense of saying goodbye to a chapter in his life and perhaps we are looking at the end of Childish Gambino and saying goodbye for the last time. “3.15.20" can be found on all streaming websites available.
- Jaron Brooks
