Childish Gambino - Because the Internet

The internet is a funny thing. For Childish Gambino, it's a web of complexity that he gets stuck in - and occasionally slips through. 

Because the Internet is Gambino's sophomore album. For those of you who watched Community, your reaction to Donald Glover (aka Troy) being a rapper will most likely be "ppppsssshhhhhh of COURSE an actor wants to be a rapper." Seriously. This guy?

THIS GUY?

It wasn't until I was swayed into giving it a shot, that I stood corrected. Not only is Donald Glover damn funny, but he is incredibly talented. Humor is only one caveat of his artistic expression. Coming from a relatively middle class family outside of Atlanta, Glover's background has fueled some resentment from the rap community and has quickly become the guilty pleasure for most hip-hop snobs. In some of his tracks, he raises a middle finger to anyone who takes away his validity as an artist because he isn't from a "hard" life: "White hood white hood, okkk" "I don't give a fuck about my family name". 

When you listen to Because the Internet, you won't be able to tell where some tracks end and some begin. Part spoken word, part R & B, sound clips, etc. it becomes clear this album is a complete story.  I listened to it alone and on repeat for some time; trying to follow the path Gambino wanted me to go down. I created a story about Donald Glover with my imagination, in a way. Then I read that, not only was there an album, but a screenplay to go with it! Well well well. Why would Donald Glover only write an album? After all, he was writing for SNL when he was 23. 

So I took the plunge, and you should too.

http://www.becausetheinter.net

To simply refer to this work as a screenplay is an understatement. Childish Gambino plays his tracks while you read along to fully illustrate the mood. He went so far as to film snips of his screenplay for your viewing pleasure. It becomes difficult to understand which came first: the screen play or the album.

The screenplay brings the album to another level. The issues become more clear. The sound-bites have a deeper meaning. The music and lyrics act as the inner voice for Gambino's relatively silent character "The Boy". And the internet can be seen as a character itself and is the reason behind a lot Glover's fame "living my life inside a computer". He needs the internet, but it doesn't need him as much. He questions what happens when all of his followers realize they don't need a leader. 

Donald Glover, in fact, created the name Childish Gambino from the Wu-Tang Rap Name Generator online. 

Because the Internet is about so much more than just the internet, understandably. For the twenty-somethings out there, you'll understand the "Friends" references and "Little Mermaid" sound bites. Gambino has his obligatory shit-talking lines "Don't be mad cuz i'm doing me better than you doing you". When mainstream rap  has become more about clever puns, rappers seem like they are making jokes of issues - and ultimately themselves. Gambino is honest, but not unnecessarily raw. Between failed threesomes, unreturned texts, fear, insomnia, and issues in his love life, you are in his universe and can almost feel too intimate.  

The relationship we all have with the internet can be fun, stressful, connecting, meaningful, fulfilling, disturbing; but Gambino can't figure it all out "Who am I....". He begins to learn when he looks up from a screen. 

Get at it, 

Phantom Madman

aka

Urban Pipe Fitter