Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!"

Childish Gambino
"Awaken, My Love!"
2016
Spotify

The first track off of this new Donald Glover album "Me and Your Mama" sets a tone of epic proportions. It has been awhile since we've heard from Childish Gambino, and apparently for good reason, because he was crafting this, his most ambitious effort to date "Awaken, My Love!". This new record is not a full departure from his nerdcore roots but it certainly offers a more complex and deep version of Gambino. If you are looking for the rapper from Camp or Because The Internet you are likely to be disappointed because on this record He takes the stance of a funk singer rather than a hip hop man. The new look fits Glover, but it is likely to loose him a lot of the diehards who have propelled his rap career. But, this is a totally different man; He has been on a couple of TV shows, is the new Lando and a strong push to get Glover behind the Spiderman mask are just a few of the massive life changes He has gone through. The first three tracks feel like a journey down some kind of 70s psychedelic funk road and the 12 minute journey does not let up until really "Zombies". In a year that has seen soul and funk get an exciting revival through hip hop Gambino seems to have caught the bug as well.

Each track offers some kind of new surprise or exciting thing that is so unexpected you cannot help but gush. "Rredbone" seriously could have come off of a Prince record, and believe me I do not say that kind of thing likely. I am not sure how many instruments Donald plays but with this record He certianly is making a push for that space vacated by the passing of Prince. The incredibly odd "California", which channels the Jimmy Fallon Classroom Instruments sketch, somehow transcends the instrumentation to become something more exciting than you even think it might be. From the outset anyone who has never gotten Childish Gambino might be changing their tune after listening to "Awaken, My Love!". He is able to do something totally different than He has ever done before yet it does not feel forced or contrived. This is where his head is at right now and that authentic feel really elevates the record. If there is one weakness to the record it is that Gambino perhaps tries to channel Prince a little hard on tracks like "Baby Boy" but in the end can you really blame him? "Artist" gets thrown around a lot when it comes to musicians, but it takes a record like this to make you really believe that someone is a true artist. Gambino is one.

8.9 out of 10