I LOVE DONALD GLOVER.

I just wanted to introduce this blog with that. I stopped watching Community after he left. I listened to his other albums Camp and Because the Internet religiously in high school. I have watched his Netflix specials at least 3 times each, if not more. I am his biggest fan.

So the natural progression is the review of “Awaken, My Love”, an album completely different than anything he has ever released. Pitchfork calls it “funky worship”. Pitchfork also makes an interesting comparison between Donald Glover and his stage name, Childish Gambino.

“By now, the world knows who Donald Glover is… he’s likable, sensitive, and observant, the self-aware everyman. But Childish Gambino has always been harder to pin down” (Pitchfork). Gambino has experimented with rap (and it has been sensational), but one thing critics cannot find is the connecting factor between his albums. Usually albums have at least one thread of connection, but Gambino’s separate albums are exactly that — separate. “Awaken, My Love!” came out of absolutely nowhere, which is why Pitchfork calls it his most “enjoyable project to date”. Woven through it is genuine emotion not found in any of his other projects, showing his depth and prowess across multiple genres.

Let’s start with the album cover. Genius explains it to be a homage to Funkadelic, taking inspiration from the artwork of the group’s 1971 album, Maggot Brain.

 

Another cool fact is the way Glover promoted the album. Prior to its release, he teased the cover by hiding it in the ninth episode of his FX series, Atlanta. He also wore a t-shirt with the cover photo during his appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Now let’s get into the music:

(This review is going to be a little bit different. I’ll be going in-depth with a few songs from the album, instead of the holistic review that I usually do. Some of these songs are just too good to breeze over.)

“Me and Your Mama” is a lyrical, musical, etc. etc. etc. masterpiece. Starting off slow and other-worldly, it throws us into a world of electric guitar and harmonizing at 2:00. Gambino is passionate in this song, literally screaming multiple times as he reflects on a relationship with a girl “with both sensuality and pain”, as Immortal Reviews puts it. At 4:11, the beat drops into a mellow, almost contemplative tune. The instrumental conclusion is just the icing on the cake, starting with raw emotion and giving way to peace.

Immortal Reviews says that this can be interpreted one of two ways. As the last song on the album is called “The Night Me and Your Mama Met” and there is a song on the album called “Baby Boy”, some think that this is a song devoted to his newborn son (at the time). Another interpretation could be that the song is a warning about the ups and downs of love. However you interpret it, it’s the perfect introduction.

Pitchfork noted that most of the album “nods to sentiment without producing any.” The songs “Riot” and “Have Some Love” are seemingly calls to action, but Pitchfork doesn’t find it as powerful as songs like “Me and Your Mama”. But to be fair, if I was the song following M&YM, I would also probably be seen to suck. It would’ve been incredibly impressive if every song on the album was better than the last.

Next is “Terrified”, a song Pitchfork pairs with “Redbone” (We will get to that later. Favorite song EVER). In one of Glover’s Netflix specials, he mentions how he likes weird music. Just music that other people wouldn’t like but he loves because it’s just so weird. “Terrified” is weird. It starts with suspenseful music. He plays with pitches and voices in the song’s inception (Think Kendrick Lamar but in a funk, R&B way). It gives way to the chorus where the song lifts and he — yet again — falsettos. The song is equally menacing and seductive, Bewildering Tracks calling it “sexually charged”. No, I will not go further.

“Redbone”. A masterpiece. Pitchfork calls it “a full-blown funk slow jam, parses love, lust, reconciliation, generations of black soul, and wokeness.” This song is reminiscent of Funkadelic (cover art inspiration, if you forgot) through an artistic combination of “synth chords, piano accents, and ambient tones” (Pitchfork). It’s a lullaby. It’s a “soulful groove” (The Musical Hype).

“Baby Boy” is an ode to his newborn son. This is a song about pain and love and frustration. He sings of his love for his son and his struggling relationship with his son’s mother. Glover is worried that this tumultuous relationship will result in his girlfriend keeping Glover’s son from him. In the track, he also admits staying with her for the son (very Jay-Z and Beyonce but like, not.)

Next, we have “The Night Me and Your Mama Met”. Almost all instrumental, Gambino is depicting how he felt when he met his son’s mother. The two guitars in the song start together, and midway through, separate in melodies. By the end of the track, they come back to the same melody, fading out pleasantly. If I was reading into it, I would say that this represents the journey of his relationship with the mother of his child.

And finally, “Stand Tall”. I am a true sucker for songs about parents or family or whatever. It truly hits me right in the heartstrings. The Lantern calls “Stand Tall” the best song on the album. Although “Redbone” has gotten the most attention, The Lantern says that it’s the most “complete song on the album”. The melody is a continuation of TNM&YMM (SO many words I’m lazy) but then opens up to a different melody. He sings of the advice his parents gave him as he was growing up — to smile when he can. And I think that that is extremely cute.
Also, “Stand Tall” has a flute moment and a Travis-Scott-esque voice tune moment. Best of both worlds, really.

(Just get to 3:32 of “Stand Tall” and you’ll literally melt. So good. I love songs that just switch up halfway through. Ex. Nights by Frank Ocean. Also, wear headphones.)