The name Donald Glover has became an infamous name over the years in pop culture. Whether you know him as an actor, comedian, or by his stage name Childish Gambino, he has been an interesting figure. Because we’re here because of music, let’s stick to that side. Childish Gambino began as a fairly underground rapper that found great success on the internet. Personally I could only understand his appeal in choice songs of his. His attitude early in his career felt childish and insecure. Additionally, his choice of beats were often poorly produced or tediously simple. Luckily there was a shining light filled with hope when he made a transition to neo-soul and 70’s funk on Awaken, My Love! showing he had amazing skills as a musician and artist that were yet unexplored. This became more clear with his hit single “This Is America” which was a social conscious banger that utilized simplicity to its max. The lyrics were simple, but it was the various sound effects and adlibs from other famous rappers that made the message come alive. I was shocked to hear that he surprise dropped a new record, but was soon disappointed by the transformation displayed.

His newest record 3.15.20 is wild, but not in a good way. The first noticeable trait is that the record is a compilation of various ideas that compares and combines his interest in hip-hop and neo-soul. The compilation aspect mostly appears in the fact that this record is untitled and feels unmastered, and it shows. This record suffers from an incomplete sound. Donald Glover tries to combine his two styles with “experimental” tendencies that translates into underdeveloped songs. I love experimental music, but many do not understand that there must be interesting and enjoyable ideas too besides sounding different and unorthodox. Many of these ideas do not connect at all.

Opening 3.15.20 is “0.00” – three minutes of lethargy. Between its jarring vocals and suspended moments of drones and silence, it is a mixture of boring and annoying. This is not the only obnoxious vocal performance. “32.22” doubles down with Glover sounding like Travis Scott as he coughs up bong water spouting out random nonsense over a reverberating bassline that is rough under its production. A lot of the record’s lyrics come off as nonsense, but have the presence of an idea that if approached more thoroughly could have worked. Take “Algorhythm” which throws out a bunch woke observations bordering on conspiracy at random with monotone grunting and groaning. The track then shows off its name that is a combination of “algorithm” and “rhythm” by switching to a more soulful voice on the hook telling you to “move your body” with a connection only if you tilt your head a squint at it. We also get “35.31” that looks back at Glover’s childhood where he was trapping but the message is completely lost from the hoedown instrumental with a slow frollicking pace. The chorus doesn’t help either with his nasally repetition on how he is going to show you how to “move this way”, “move like this”, and how “a move ain’t, woo!”.

The disjointed lyrics aren’t the only drawback. Some of these beats are unbearably bland, tedious, and horribly produced. They actually ruin the chance for semi-interesting lyrics to shine like on “19.10” where the message of beauty being black is soiled by the flat percussion hitting every quarter note while synths randomly fire off in the back of the production. Same with “39.28” which is a ballad about being at a party without a lover with airy synths conflicting with the multiple moments of suspended silence, simple pianos, and the awkward vocal effects on Glover. There are only two tracks out of twelve I can bear on 3.15.20: “42.26” also named “Feels Like Summer” and “53.49”. The first was a single from 2018 tackling climate change, artificial intelligence, and other global issues with a feeling a fake happiness hiding the worries of these issues on the inside. “53.49” on the other has Glover sounding close to Anderson .Paak with intense yet soulful aggression discussing the meaning of life to him. Once again the latter feels undercooked lyrically with a lot of adlibs acting as placeholders for more elaboration.

This was one review I did not want to do. I still believe Donald Glover has a lot of potential to release something great. Even though this feels like a compilation of various unreleased songs, it still acts as a step back from developing a great sound. The whole “experimental” vibe is eerily reminiscent of Kanye West’s Yeezus with the lack of experience with experimentation and a lack of what makes it so amazing if done correctly. Wild and unorthodox does not equal interesting and enjoyable. Even with very few interesting lyrical motifs, their partialness of full ideas aside frustrating instrumentals and performances makes it a rough listen. I hope he bounces back better than ever from this slip up, and I hope he doesn’t lose too much notoriety before showing the peak of his artistry.

Favorite Tracks: “42.26 (Feels Like Summer)”; “53.49”

Rating: 3/10

Released: 03/22/2020

Label: RCA Records

Genres: Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop

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RATING SCALE

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