Childish Gambino, better known as Donald Glover, better known as the black kid from Community, released his major label debut album Camp a couple of months ago. At first I listened to it because one track had caught my attention. But after excessive spins, the album has grown to be a pretty normal fixture on my mp3 player.
Gambino hits hard on tracks like Bonfire and Backpackers, throwing around witty, well thought out barbs with venom and weight. I haven’t heard anger and passion in a flow since Eminem called out everyone under the sun. But the entire album is filled with these writer’s rhymes, pseudo geeky references to pop culture flecked with a hipster edge. On songs like All the Shine, L.E.S., and Kids, Glover shows a more tender side, but at the same time staying on crude topics like having sex with friends’ baby sisters, watching one night stands do hard drugs, and objectifying women. There are also tracks like That Power and Letter Home which give even more intimate insight into what Gambino is really trying to say with this album; tracks that are steeped in heartache and remorse. The former’s second half is a short story, read in Glover’s normal voice, about a childhood memory that has probably changed his life forever.
There’s something about this record that really impresses me. Glover raps with flows filled with intellectual turns of phrases, blatant attacks full of rage, and nerdcore like allusions, but at the same time sings will soul and heart. After the first two tracks, the record is already schizophrenic. At first I feel like I’m listening to an underground rapper, pissed at the establishment for what his life has been. But then, I know I’m listening to the next mainstream sensation, fluid raps mixed with crooning vocals. As much credit as I give to Glover’s raps, I have to also give props to producer Ludwig Göransson. He’s developed a sound for Gambino on this album that ranges from gospel to electronic to r’n’b. And as far as I can tell, he’s recreated key sounds that remind me of other more established acts, which actually works well for an artist on the rise. For instance, current radio hit Heartbeat reminds me of an angry, bitter Bruno Mars with a set of balls.
Camp is a rare album for me. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it at all. I really appreciated what Gambino was trying to do. His flow and witticisms caught my attention and got me to listen. But it was the same things that impressed me that turned me off. I felt so much anger and animosity in his raps that I felt almost like it wasn’t serious. And then on the very next song to hear him pour his heart out to some absent lost love, it was too close to being a joke to me. The guy is all over the place, but at the same time it’s all very focused. I realized that the album is just about feelings. He’s made a record that expresses exactly what he wants it to express. Is Childish Gambino going to be a superstar? That remains to be seen, but Camp could very well help him get on the map long enough for people to realize what he’s worth.
INFORMATION
Childish Gambino
Camp
released 2011.11.15
Tracklist
01. Outside
02. Fire Fly
03. Bonfire
04. All The Shine
05. Letter Home
06. Heartbeat
07. Backpackers
08. L.E.S.
09. Hold You Down
10. Kids
11. You See Me
12. Sunrise
13. That Power
