By Kyle Mantha

Donald Glover has had a crazy year. Between his critically acclaimed surrealist dramedy “Atlanta”, his 3 day camping excursion in Joshua Tree, the announcement that he would be cast in the new Star Wars film, and his newly released album “Awaken, My Love!”, it’s obvious that he won 2016.



The album, an 11 track escapade into the mind of Donald Glover, is a huge departure from his previous efforts. While the music is still hip hop at its core, Donald abandoned the brutally honest and confessional rapping style that has been so prominent in his work up to this point. Instead, Glover opted to create a bright, lush, soulful R&B record with a heavy funk influence.

“Awaken, My Love!” - like BTI and STN MTN/Kauai - seems to be some sort of concept record. While the details of the story aren’t fully clear yet, the album definitely revolves around themes of fatherhood (Donald welcomed his first child this year), ancient alien mythology, and futurism. Those things may sound like weird concepts to put together, but Donald makes it work.

Compared to Donald’s 2013 album “Because the Internet”, “Awaken, My Love!” is much more cohesive and fleshed out. While BTI was an ambitious and creative album, “Awaken” feels like something that Donald has been working on his whole life, despite the fact that only around two years have went into the creation of this project. The production is full of widely varying sounds and ideas all coming together to form soulful soundscapes. What’s even more impressive is that, much like Because the Internet and Camp, the production was handled almost entirely by Gambino and Ludwig Goransson.



Lyrically, “Awaken” is by far the most personal album we’ve gotten from Gambino. He sings about love and loss in a way that really makes you feel his pain. Romance takes on a sinister tone on “Awaken”, and jealousy and fears of loss are spoken about in complete earnest. Although often sees Donald masking his voice with modulation, the album still feels honest and personal in every way possible.

Donald’s work has always been very concept heavy. One of his biggest strengths is being able to stick to a theme or concept over the course of an entire album. “Because the Internet” is said to be the best example of this strength, but “Awaken” far surpasses BTI in terms of conceptualism and storytelling. The stories and lyrics are less straightforward, and you have to really listen and pay attention in order to take in the full power of the message. On the surface, “Awaken, My Love!” is a funky album with wacky lyrics and fun beats, but when you dig deeper, the music tells a story of love, loss, longing, fatherhood, and acceptance of life’s inherent fleeting futility.

Back in September, Donald threw a three-day camping event in Joshua Tree. He named the event “Pharos” after an ancient Greek lighthouse. The event was used as a way for fans to preview his new album - the album now known as “Awaken, My Love!”. At the time, no information was known about the album. Fans had no idea what to expect. At the concert, Donald took the stage dressed in tribal garb. His face was painted and he had long, dreaded extensions put in his hair. He sang his heart out as projections of zombies and monsters and aliens danced across the large dome the concert took place in. The appearance of these creatures during the performance appear to be involved in this album’s story in some way or another. Many times throughout “Awaken”, Donald sings about things that are otherworldly. The song “Zombies” features Gambino musing over a stripped back soul beat, singing passionately about the zombies that are attempting to take his mind and soul. “Terrified” is another example of Donald’s affinity for the wicked and strange. The track is sung from the point of view of some kind of monster who is attempting to hunt and eat someone. It’s pretty weird stuff, but Gambino is a pretty weird guy, so guess it should be expected at this point.



Overall, “Awaken, My Love!” is exactly the album Donald needed to make at this stage in his career. Fresh off of Atlanta, he needed something to shock listeners who feel as though they know what to expect from him, and that’s exactly what this album does. It’s an insane leap forward from his previous efforts, but at the same time it’s the natural progression of the sound he explored on “Because The Internet” and “Kauai.” The album is also extremely polarizing. Reviews and fan reception have ranged from high praises to fair criticism to downright hatred. The truth is, regardless of whether or not you like “Awaken, My Love!”, it is easily Donald’s most adventurous and ambitious album to date.