Because the Internet

Donald Glover is a man of many talents. He cut his teeth as a writer for 30 Rock and garnered lots of attention for his part in the comedy act Derrick Comedy. More recently, he tried stand up with his hour long special Weirdo, starred in NBC’s Community, and is now the star and show-runner of the semi-autobiographical sitcom on FX, Atlanta. But behind all of this, Glover has been operating under the pseudonym of Childish Gambino, releasing records full of introspection and self-doubt layered over exceptional beats. With his latest offering, Because the Internet, Gambino moves beyond the goofy comedic lyrics of last album Camp to offer something quite unique that pushes him into the upper echelons of modern rap.

Lyrically, Gambino continues his tradition of embracing both his nerdiness and comedic pedigree to deliver lines full of puns and one-liners. He has managed to finally shed the bouts of tribute to other rappers and appears to be finally finding his own voice, and there is noted improvement to his flow from his previous mixtapes. Gone are the twee offerings that pondered Gambino’s outsider status in the hip-hop world; his style has evolved to present a wide range of emotional complexity in its examination of the pitfalls of modern social media culture and his own insecurities. Full of self-depreciation, it’s a pleasant change of pace from the braggadocio arrogance of recent hip-hop releases (we’re looking at you, Kanye). Some of these bars fall flat with facepalm-eliciting hashtag raps or awkward attempts at puns such as “Girl, why you lyin’ / Girl why you Mufasa,” which lose some of their potency after repeated listens. Elsewhere, songs like ‘III. Urn’ and ‘Telegraph Ave.’ offer some hope for the future with tight, efficient lyrics and evidence that Gambino is actually a half decent vocalist as well.

While the experiment of Because the Internet ultimately overextends itself, Gambino’s latest album still manages to provide an engaging listen”

Some of the disparity and dislocation of the album comes with the efforts of Gambino to make Because the Internet more than just an album release. Accompanying the album is a 74-page screenplay the music is meant to accompany, along with the half-promotional, half-prequel YouTube video, ‘Clapping for All the Wrong Reasons’. These detail the life and growing insecurity and disillusionment of a fictional son of Rick Ross, feeling adrift in a world of fake friends and his helpless, irrational descent into demise. Coming together, these multimedia touches help to clarify and expand upon the theme of the work; the growing isolation and unsettling nature of our information age. However, as the album drags on (it’s 19 tracks long) the screenplay is often called upon to do the heavy lifting and the closing acts of the album leave us with advance-the-plot numbers which don’t gel with the rest of the album; to properly experience the album requires an hour of attentive reading while juggling embedded YouTube clips and musical snippets and loses something without all the connecting elements.

Despite these flaws, the record is saved by the actual music itself. Produced by Gambino and Community composer Ludwig Göransson, the album is an infectious combination of jazz fills, glam, psychedelic, dubby static, and R&B sing-alongs over sputtering, computerised beats to create something both off-kilter and coherent. It’s this production that really allows the multimedia facet to come together; when viewed as a whole, the work takes on a Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon vibe as everything synchronises. From the synths of ‘V. 3005’ to the rapid drum beats of ‘II. Zealots of Stockholm’, the music is consistently extraordinary and a counterpoint to anyone who would claim Gambino lacks talent.

While the experiment of Because the Internet ultimately overextends itself, Gambino’s latest album still manages to provide an engaging listen and highlights his constantly improving lyrical skill. Let’s hope next time he pares back his sprawling ambition to make something truly exceptional.

Similar To: Chance the Rapper, Earl Sweatshirt

MP3: ‘V. 3005’