Team Chance

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So let me start by full disclosure; i have been a big Childish Gambino fan for a while now. I first found out about his music from a Youtube video of the song Almost There from his album Poindexter, and that happened to be right around the time he released Culdesac, so of course i grabbed all his old albums and have been hooked ever since. 

But getting to his most recent work; CAMP is a great album, while no album is perfect, it really does do some great things with the music and has an overall vbe that many artists can’t pull off. The album is a concept album about Camp life; Gambino equates Summer Camp to the first time that you get to go off and be away from yoru parents, away from your famiy and have a bit of independence. it’s a metaphor for growing up; not necessarily maturing, but gaining the indepenent knowledge that will make you the person you are going to become. With that being said, ever song on the album stays in the same motif. 

Outside

The album starts off hard with the song Outside; it’s hard beat and rough lyrics paint a picture about a young donald growing up while the chorus is sang by a choir ni an uplifting, church-like feel. not the best song on the album, but definitely  a great start to showcase his seriousness and skills on the mic. 

Fire Fly

Fire Fly takes on the second side of Gambino’s life, it’s an uptempo somewhat poppy song about how life has changed since the lyrics of outside. It’s about how his life as changed since he started gaining his rap famedom and how now people want to take photos with him on the street and sned him FB messages

Bonfire

The lead single off the album, a hardhitting, lyrical showcase in the likes of Freaks and Geeks. I honestly think Freaks & Geeks was better, but Bonfire attacks some of the current things on Gambino’s plate. it jumps between the criticisms he is currently facing and the person he is and is trying to perserve. The motif of the song is to “burn” all the hate that is coming his way; cathartic in a way isn’t it?

All The Shine

All The Shine was a song I heard before the album dump on NPR and i wasn’t a big fan of it. it starts with a very long and slow buildup of the instrumental before Childish begins rapping. The beat is introspective, as are his lyrics, but the song sounds more like a stream of consciousness and less like a song. He throws out s couple of good one liners “That’s why i come first; like my cell phone” but overall it’s not number one. The chorus however is great, which is an annoying dichotomy because it’s worth listening to. 

Letter Home

A short song, reminiscent of “So Fly” off of Culdesac. It’s a verbal love letter to a girl that got away. Sweet and short track that segways into the next track well. 

Heartbeat

Maybe my favorite song on the album. it has an uptempo piano pop beat with a bit of techno thrown into the mix. The song characterizes a relationship that has gone to hell, but how Gambino and this unnamed girl can’t stop fooling around. The song goes into the intracacies of relationships and how “just sex” is never just sex, and how you can not want to be with someone but not want to let them go either. Lines like “Your texts say ‘it’s not fair’/ that’s code for ‘here’s not here’.”

Backpackers

A track that really says Hi Haters. Gambino responds to some active criticism about his music and his musical career, calling out specific attacks. The meaning behind the song is great, but the beat and his voice over it is a little crowded. Between the background vocals and the beat the song is loud, and not in a great way. 

L.E.S.

Lower East Side; the Hipster part of New York. Also one of my favorites. A song about his attraction to Hipster girls and the Lower East Side. it has a mellow, low beat and a flow that is spotty at best. The chorus is catchy, the lyrics are clever, but the way he cuts off sentences and makes vague/imprecise references in addition to changing his speed of rap really channels Kanye West in MBDTF. It’s not in a bad way, and it doesn’t sound like he’s trying to copy him, but you can tell that he was in his own head while recording this song.

Hold You Down

A song that really gets into the Racsim Gambino has experienced. Being a black nerd, I understand this song perfectly; even things left unsaid, I can’t imagine how someone who wasn’t in the position could understand though. It’s a song thatreally goes into his feelings of not being black enough, something that by the time you get this far in the album seems to be said alot. This song can feel like more of the same, as if all his lines about black culture in his other snogs are all pushed into one track. That’s not true; but this song seems like it would’ve been better had it been track 2 instead. 

Kids (Keep Up)

Okay, so I think this is my favorite song on the album. A lot of reviews say this song doesn’t fit and that you can skip it on the album, but they’re just shoing that they don’t understand. The song starts slow with chimes from a mobil (like over a baby’s crib) and Gambino singing over the track. “If we were kids, I’d wanna give you everythign that you would want. those other boys, they give you toys but all they want to do is…” If you haven’t gone from being the “Nice Guy” to being an “asshole” to girls then you wouldn’t get it; but the song is about how before you are experienced with girls you want to be nice and great, but some girls take advantange of that and as a result you learn that you’ll get more by being as asshole, but at the expense of being mean to girls who don’t deserve it. it doesn’t sound like the rest of the album, but it certainly is part of the growing up motif. 

You See Me

Also known as UCLA; a bravado bragging track about swag and asian girls with deep bass voices in the background. Pure fun.  I love this track; it gets you hype and reminds you of the Gambino who raps in Freaks & Geeks and Break (AOTL)

Sunrise

A very upbeat, fast tempo, chorus singing power track that is the penultimate on the album. Once again as we come to the end of the album this is a less insecure Gambino who is feeling himself. The choir echoing his chorus in the background adds something great to the song. He also throws out some of his more clever punchlines and #Rap lines (hashtag rap). “Black Rock like fucking LOST episode” and “Looking at her butt, now that’s 20/20 hindsight”.

That Power

The finale song on the album. The song is pretty good, starts slow and builds into greatness, but it is overshadowed by the second half of the 7 minute track. After the song the music slowly drops into Gambino telling a story about his trip on the bus ride back from his own summer camp experience. He tells about a girl he met and how his interaction with her helped him become the person he is today all while the beat plays softly in the background. An amazing end to an amazing album.

Overall I liked CAMP better than Drake’s Take Care; it is a great album, but in his effort to prove his seriousness i think Gambino has lost some of his more clever punchlines that some may find corny. i.e. “Saving every penny like Inspector Gadget reruns” or “And I’m in my Prime; call me Optimus” (Culdesac). I hope that some of his next stuff has a more lighter feel to it; CAMP deals with some serious topics and issues in Gambino’s mind, and there is a lot anger and hurt in the album. That’s part of music, and it’s part of what makes it great. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

iamdonald:

iamdonald: