Tosten Burks has never worn a skinny red zip up sweatshirt, but he is a fan of a nice cardigan.
Donald Glover is a comedian. Childish Gambino is a rapper. Glover has paved a dichotomy for himself in the entertainment industry, dividing his music career from his comic career. If there truly exists a chasm of character though, it’s weird then that his music is so comic.
Basically, it never made much sense to me why Glover felt the need for an alter ego in the first place. He raps about himself. Childish Gambino IS post-Drake rap, music that is not just authentic, but revels in its authenticity. It eschews gangsterism for a completely different type of escapism, his actual life. Donald Glover doesn’t have hood tales to tell, so rather than spin some, he just talks about what he actually knows. Fame. Girls. Comic books. Girls.
It’s endearing. It’s also often hilarious.
Gambino (which continues to feel weirder and weirder to type in a discussion of music that is so obviously Donald Glover) produces punchline rap in the same way that he produced punchlines for 30 Rock straight out of NYU — where he wrote punchlines for his Derrick Comedy troupe, and in the same way that he writes punchlines for his stand up. Here are some other things that Donald Glover’s punchline rap is similar to: Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Drake, The Diplomats…
Which is why it is so confusing to continue to see all the typical critiques of Gambino: that he’s too white, that he’s too nerdy, or that he’s too cuddly. It’s all risen again in backlash to his most recent song “Bonfire,” off his upcoming November EP “Camp.”
Yes, he’s a blerd, and yes, he embraces the fact that a major portion of his audience is white. But then again, isn’t a major portion of most of hip hop’s audience white at this point? And is there really that big of a gap between Glover saying “I’m a beast, bitch, Gir, Invader Zim” or “Hanging in the islands, looking for Earl like ToeJam” and Doom and DangerMouse making an album that samples Adult Swim cartoons? Also, cuddly? On “Camp,” he actually says “Move white girls, like there’s coke up my asscrack.”
All of which isn’t to say that there are no legitimate critiques of Childish Gambino rap music. It just seems like those critiques should more closely resemble those heaped on Big Sean. Their rhyming abilities are very singular, seemingly incapable of breaking free from set-up/punchline, set-up/punchline monotony.
Childish Gambino stands out though. His set-up/punchline monotony is monotonously witty as shit. And rightfully so, set-up/punchline is Glover’s profession. “I put my soul on the track, like a shoe did” is downright silly, but it’s also a quadruple entendre. Can’t a quadruple entendre be enjoyed in its silliness, or even because of its silliness?
The whole point being that if you can enjoy unbridled, zany-ass era Weezy, there’s no reason to criticize Gambino for being nothing more than punchlines. “Bonfire” does recall a certain A-Milli-ness after all, with its dedication to raw simplicity, nothing more than a tight, tough vocal loop, some drums, and a bass drop that comes in and out like a boxing match, pounding and resting, pounding and resting, all ridden by an unbridled, amused voice of braggadocio.
It’s not joke rap, but it is humorous. Donald Glover raps about his real life, but ironically enough, the hurdle to enjoying it may be to not take it so seriously.
Download:
MP3: Childish Gambino-”Bonfire”
ZIP: Childish Gambino-I Am Just a Rapper
23 comments
Renato Pagnani says:
September 23, 2011 at 8:14 am (UTC -7)
How is “I put my soul on the track, like a shoe did” a quadruple entendre?
fartman says:
September 23, 2011 at 9:18 am (UTC -7)
There’s nothing redeeming about this guy.
kyle says:
September 23, 2011 at 1:29 pm (UTC -7)
really? nothing is redeeming about this guy? i would like to know which artists you consider redeeming to learn if youre a super-picky music aficionado or someone just not down for Glover’s type of humor and setup
Tosten Burks says:
September 23, 2011 at 9:26 am (UTC -7)
Soul and track are both double entendres, so I just did a little 2+2
Renato Pagnani says:
September 23, 2011 at 12:11 pm (UTC -7)
That’s not how it works, though. You can’t add two double entendres to get a quadruple… a quadruple entendre means a phrase has four possible meanings…
I count three here, at most:
1. Glover is laying his soul on the track, meaning he is being very emotionally open on the song.
2. Glover is laying his soul on the track, meaning he is lying down on a track of some sort (a race track, train tracks, whatever).
3. Glover is laying his sole on the track, meaning he is doing some sort of activity on a track while wearing shoes.
I don’t see a fourth possible meaning (he can’t put his shoes on the song…), so this is at most a triple entendre. Sorry to be a huge douchebag, but misuse of this term just really bothers me.
Tosten Burks says:
September 23, 2011 at 12:21 pm (UTC -7)
So more accurately put: it’s a double double entendre. Not that it affects the argument at all.
Renato Pagnani says:
September 23, 2011 at 12:26 pm (UTC -7)
Yeah, a double double entendre, or a triple entendre, which is how I’d probably refer to it as. Either way, a pretty good line, but I can’t stand Glover as a rapper, either.
God says:
September 26, 2011 at 1:15 pm (UTC -7)
UR A FAGGOT. TOSTEN BURKES IS A MUSICAL CRITIQUE GENIUS. INTERFAITH REPRESENT
the dough says:
September 23, 2011 at 10:01 am (UTC -7)
Quadruple entendre don’t even ask me how
raythedestroyer says:
September 23, 2011 at 10:04 am (UTC -7)
I fuck with Donald Glover. Community is quality, his comedy central joint was ill and the Derrick Comedy movie was aight if wild uneven. But, as Childish Gambino I cant get on board. The dudes not bad, but, he’s really jsut covering Wayne and Drake. I mean “Bonfire” is a cool redux of “A Milli” but the drums are pretty much the same, his cadence is the same and the punchlines all function off the same humor Wayne used. It’s aight, but, all you get is Donald Glover filtered through Wayne though. Would love to hear this dude rap when he gets off out of the Wayne/Drake template.
also, fuck Big Sean.
Corey says:
September 23, 2011 at 11:37 am (UTC -7)
You need to listen to his EP from earlier this year before you write him off as a wayne copycat. While Bonfire and Freaks And Geeks are just punchline songs (even though they’re the best of the genre), his other songs talk about his personal life and emotions and more serious stuff that immediately stand out from the other punchline rappers of today.
smallpro says:
September 23, 2011 at 1:55 pm (UTC -7)
all i’ve heard from him has been mixtape weezy ape-ery, plus i HATE his voice. so i must cosign raythedestroyer, except for the “would love to hear this dude rap” pt
orpheus says:
September 24, 2011 at 6:35 pm (UTC -7)
Glover is a clown. No two ways about it. Almost embarrassing for this site to even bring up his name in some sort of redeemable context…seriously though
jordan s says:
September 25, 2011 at 4:27 pm (UTC -7)
in order for a piece of this nature to work i think you really need to specifically point out where the arguments that you are countering are being made. as it stands now, you’re arguing with a bunch of strawmen of your own creation. the “criticisms” listed — “too nerdy, “too white” (considering that donald glover is actually black, i think you should especially point out an instance of someone calling him “too white”) — are extremely vague and not particularly interesting, and likewise so are the responses. there’s been a huge backlash since he released his new song? okay, where?
one last thing: “unbridled, zany-ass era Weezy” is a pretty loaded phrase. if you’re comparing childish gambino to da drought 3 or something, it’s a real disservice to boil that down to punchline rapping. and if you’re comparing gambino to, idk, ‘no ceilings’ or whatever, then sure, but that’s terrible rap music.
Tosten Burks says:
September 27, 2011 at 11:06 pm (UTC -7)
I consistently see critiques in that vein in the comment sections of basically every relevant “taste-making” music site. You’re saying you’ve never heard Gambino be called corny or not ganster enough? I didn’t think I’d have to defend that assertion. As for said assertion being too vague, I’m addressing the opposition, not detailing what the opposition has to say.
One last thing: I will proudly defend No Ceilings, at least at its best, as being the closest Wayne has come to reaching the standards he set with Dedication 2/Da Drought 3. It’s all “unbridled, zany-ass era Weezy.” The main point with that comparison though is that the sense of humor and presence captured in Childish Gambino when he’s at his most A-Milli is in that same purped Wayne tradition. It’s not an equivalent, but it can be enjoyed for the same reasons. And that’s the argument I think I made.
sean says:
September 25, 2011 at 11:11 pm (UTC -7)
‘no ceilings’ isn’t terrible rap music. ‘no ceilings’ is good.
messiahmusik says:
September 26, 2011 at 1:05 pm (UTC -7)
no ceilings was kind of terrible my dude…all of the “oops i meant this, oops i meant that”, talking about going different types of nuts…shit is hardly clever and definitely not hip hop. Glover is obviously smarter than wayne, but in the end its all just gimmicky punchline rap, shit just lacks depth in my opinion. The only rapper i hear doing justice to that style of spittin is fabolous because his wordplay and punchlines are actually meaningful most of the time
messiahmusik says:
September 26, 2011 at 1:07 pm (UTC -7)
all i’m saying is hip hop music should be about more than telling jokes on wax
stylez g. write says:
September 26, 2011 at 9:17 pm (UTC -7)
Amen brother.No classic break.
Mikey Lenane says:
September 29, 2011 at 5:54 pm (UTC -7)
How are you gonna listen to a few songs and say he has no content? He mixes in songs with real depth (not going back) with straight up punchlines and wordplay like on bonfire and freaks and geeks. listen to the music before you make the critique
zack rad says:
September 30, 2011 at 6:43 pm (UTC -7)
I never post on stuff like this, but it blew my mind to see people saying he lacks depth. So maybe he’s not rapping about topics as serious as other rappers, but he staying integrous to what he knows. He even said “I swear the track I lie on’s my last track”. Listen to rolling in the deep.. He’s completely raw. Bottom line, he lays down his emotions just as good, if not better, than any other rapper I’ve heard.
P.s. Can Mr. Glover get some points for being multi-talented? The vast majority of actors, rappers, comedians, and writers never make it in their field. He’s celebrated in all 4.
Emma says:
October 1, 2011 at 8:22 am (UTC -7)
This guy is awesome!! I’ve been listening to Bonfire over and over on his Soundcloud page (http://soundcloud.com/childish-gambino/bonfire)…November 15th can’t come any sooner! I can’t wait to hear his new album CAMP!!
Mikey says:
December 13, 2011 at 3:22 am (UTC -7)
I agree with zack rad. How can you say there is no depth to his rhymes. He sounds like he is in group therapy on half of his tracks. And as far as the wittiness, he doesn’t even reach for it, its seemless, which is more than I can say for the last few Wayne tracks I have heard. It took me a while to get over his voice but to say he lacks depth I don’t even know if I’m listening to the same guy. By the way, he leaves himself open and is personal and honest and that is deep when there are still too many rappers that rap like it was a necessity to have been a dope boy in high school.