Donald Glover appears intent on stamping his imprint on every corner of
American popular entertainment. Originally a writer on The Daily Show and
30 Rock, he is now a much lauded stand-up comedian and comic actor.
He is also set to star in Atlanta, a Seinfeld-style situation comedy loosely
based on his own life.
Yet in recent months Glover has rowed back from his many activities to focus on Childish Gambino, the hip-hop alter ego that he first launched in 2008. Initially, Gambino was little more than a one-note spoof, a lighthearted response to the boneheaded thuggery of 50 Cent-style gangsta rap. Lately, Glover has been taking his creation more seriously.
Gambino's latest and second album, Because the Internet, came as part of an ambitious multimedia package featuring a short movie, Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, and a 70-page screenplay, both of which he posted online. The protagonist of all three is the Boy, a disaffected rich youth who wastes his days throwing mansion parties, trolling social media and making music that nobody will ever hear.
The album's central concept of alienation and its fractured, jagged production owe much to Kanye West's Yeezus, but live, Gambino demonstrates little of West's showy angst and overweening hubris. Nor is his performance crippled by arch irony: backed by a full band, he's a coiled ball of tension, drenched in sweat in a white T-shirt, bouncing on his heels and getting off on the energy of an adulatory crowd.
It's notable how acutely Gambino has honed his rapping and singing skills since his earlier, more parodic days. His rich, soulful croon on bothThe Worst Guys and Shadows could be Drake essaying vintage 70s soul, while the staccato WORLDSTAR is as attitudinal as the hip-hop website from which it takes its name. The recent single V3005, by contrast, is a slick slice of old-school west coast hip-hop with a gorgeous sunshine melody.
Gambino unsurprisingly freestyles with quick-witted acuity and invention. But it's a shame that a laptop hitch prevents him from encoring with Because the Internet's intoxicatingly dark finale, the existential meltdown of Life: The Biggest Troll (Andrew Auernhelmer), which finds him plaintively inquiring: "Where's the line between Donny G and Gambino?" It's a very good question, and right now only the tirelessly prolific Glover knows the answer.
Also check out myself featuring Mr.Gambinos track "The Great Daisy"
off the album "The Next King"
• Did you catch this gig – or any other recently? Tell us about it using #Iwasthere
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