More Childish Antics

Welcome back!


So a few weeks ago I wrote about how amazing the music of Donald Glover is, his rapping and remixes under the moniker Childish Gambino. Read it here, where I break down his style, free album and mixtapes, which have come pretty rapidly over the last 18 months. A few months ago he announced an EP he was working on. Well today is our lucky day, as he put it online for free this morning! It's definitely NSFW, though, so be warned as we press on. Just turn down your speakers if you're at work, right?

The EP, a short but brightly burning five tracks, is a great example of how Glover's talent and drive is pushing him further with each offering. Here he sounds even more vibrant and intensely driven. The opener, though, is another example of how his singing has only gotten better. Titled 'Be Alone', it sums up perfectly what Glover is going for - a mix of soulful crooning, heavy beats under his raps all layered over indie samples. His high and light singing is impressive, too - few dudes can pull off a melody in that range without sacrificing power. 'Be Alone' and the next track, 'Freaks and Geeks', were both early leaks off the EP, with the latter even getting the video treatment. In it, Glover bounces and zips across the frame, full of swagger and flow. He's going full bore here with a great beat that feels lush and organic with strings. It was an obvious choice for the single treatment. The leveling-up shows is consistent through the whole release - the next song, 'My Shine', shows that same increase in consistency. Glover is singing his own hooks, rapping with more ferocity and showing more fluidity in his rhymes. 'Lights Turned On' focuses (obviously) on his love life, a common theme for him, but I can hardly fault him for enjoying his status as a ladies man. The song is a tour de force - seriously, the production on these tracks is a sea change from his album, Culdesac, and that was no weak effort. I think what happened is he had a chance to really give these songs love and work them until perfect, now having a full album and a series of mixtapes in his ouvre. Dude's just gotten better. Honestly, what it feels like here is Glover is the equivalent of Kanye West not being so egocentric and just releasing his work for free. I love it that much and he loves just putting it out there.

I know I'm gushing all over the place about this EP but I think the dude's doing great work. On top of it, he's doing it for free. He's clearly talented and has already seen great success, like he - he was writing for 30 Rock when he was under 25. How do you get that gig at that age, then go on to kill it every week on the equally amazing Community, then oh-for-the-hell-of-it just start a great and FREE music career? Not fair. Anyway, download his latest release and check out his blog. Dude's amazing.


See you tomorrow!