Not too long ago, I stumbled across an article written by VH1, titled "9 Rappers You Shouldn't Waste Your Time Caring About." With my attention caught by this very direct title, I clicked on the link to explore who was on this list (hoping Iggy Azalea would be number one), and found Childish Gambino as the second artist on that list. My first reaction was, "I'm sorry, what?" My second reaction was, "How dare they." Sure, I'm definitely and completely biased because I'm actually highkey in love with Donald Glover, and if he released an album of just him breathing I would probably buy it, but seriously VH1? The rest of this list wasn't incredibly inaccurate, considering Iggy Azalea was included on it, but why on Earth is Bino several artists above her? I'll admit, Gambino is not known for rapping about the most relevant things or for rapping about anything important at all, nor has he released anything since his (absolutely flawless) mixtape, STN MTN/Kauai with Jaden Smith in 2014, but he is not a rapper we should disregard.
Born Donald Glover, he was adopted and raised by his two parents in Georgia. He wasn't poverty stricken, he didn't grow up in the ghetto, and he doesn't rap about the struggles of the hustle. Not exactly the "typical" rapper life, right? At the age of 21, he started working with Tina Fey as a writer for the show "30 Rock," which kick-started his television career. He later starred in the TV show "Community" from 2009 to 2015 (personally, I think the show went downhill after he left, but that's just my opinion). Sounds a little bit like another rapper everyone loves and adores, right? Who else didn't actually "start from the bottom?" If you guessed Drake, you're correct. But if Drake started his fame nearly the same as Gambino, why are we not wasting our time caring about him? He doesn't exactly rap about anything important either. Also, while we're on the topic of comparing Drake to Childish Gambino, let's talk about the way they write their music. Drake doesn't (sorry not sorry). We all know that our beloved Drizzy has ghost writers composing all of his rhymes; in fact, he even admitted it, and the fact that he's only in the rap game for the money, in the ever so catchy "0 to 100/The Catch Up." Don't believe me? Here ya go:
I got 40 in the studio, every night, late night
Gotta watch that shit, don't wanna make him sicker
That's my n*gga
Oh Lord, got a whole lot to show for it
I mean we can really get it, we can go for it
I'm just here for the bucks and the billi's, n*gga
Don't make me kill one of the GOAT's for it
In case you don't know who 40 is, he's one of Drake's producers. If you take a look at the writers and producers for all of Drake's songs, his name isn't even listed. On the flip side, if you look at the same for Gambino, he is a writer and producer for every single song. I'm not trying to say that Drake isn't good or worth the listen, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love Drake, but it doesn't make sense that, according to VH1, we shouldn't care about Gambino even though he writes and produces all of his own music and started similarly to another rapper that everyone cares about.
Moving on from that, let's talk about just how talented Childish Gambino is. A video that has been recirculating recently is his Hot 97 Rosenberg Freestyle. Haven't seen it? Watch it below:
This freestyle is from 2014, a few months after the release of the STN MTN/Kauai mixtape. Not only is he absolutely adorable while trying to think of his next verse, but damn, you can't deny that his freestyle wasn't absolute fire. Actually, all of his freestyles are amazing. He did one on Sway in the Morning over Drake's "Pound Cake" where he talked about how the music industry makes everyone believe that it's all about the money and that's not all he's in it for. Not to drag Drake back into it, but when he did a freestyle on Sway's show, he was reading the lyrics right off of his Blackberry. Last time I checked, that's not exactly a freestyle. Gambino did his on the spot and had just as much wit as he does on his recorded music. A freestyle can say a lot about a rapper, and Bino's freestyles prove that he's got talent, and plenty of it.
Speaking of his wit, if Childish Gambino is known for anything, it's his clever rhymes. Almost every single one of his songs is jam packed with lines that'll give you a good laugh, or make you say "ha, that was a good one!" Some of those lines include:
"Put my sole on the track like shoes did" - Bonfire
"E.E. Cummin on her face, now that's poetry in motion" - Freaks and Geeks
"My Clique make that dinero, so it's time to meet the Fockers" - Freaks and Geeks
"I got a penthouse on both coasts, pH balance" - Sweatpants
"But I saw through it like a wet shirt" - II. Worldstar
And there are so many more (and more that are even better than those, but for the sake of being appropriate, these are pretty great), but I think you get the point. His lyrics are just fun, and he doesn't care what you think about them (which he tends to mention).
However, he does have lyrics that are pretty real, and they're always in songs that people overlook. Everyone is so caught up in his most popular songs, such as the ones listed above in addition to "3005," that they miss incredible songs like "Hold You Down" from his first album Camp in 2011. The entire song is about not being "black enough" in the eyes of his peers, while calling white people out on their racism. One verse says:
But niggas got my feelin' I ain't black enough to go to church
Culture shock at barber shops cause I ain't hood enough
We all look the same to the cops, ain't that good enough?
The black experience is blackened serious
Cause being black, my experience, is no one hearin' us
White kids get to wear whatever hat they want
When it comes to black kids one size fits all
He then goes on mentioning the stereotypes within his own race:
Subtle racism
It's hard to pin it cause you'd only understand
If you were me for just a minute
This one kid said somethin' that was really bad
He said I wasn't really black because I had a dad
I think that's kinda sad
The rhymes may be simple, but the message is huge. But no one pays a lot of attention to a song like this. It's not the most upbeat, it doesn't have a "trap" sound, and it's not something catchy that you'd bump at a party, unlike the rest of his music. Personally, this song is one of my favorites because of how strong his message is, and it's not your typical Gambino song. He is also incredibly racially aware, in case these lyrics didn't hint that to you. After the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Childish Gambino tweeted out a poem he wrote. You can read that poem and an interview about it here.
In this interview, he talks about White Privilege and how it impacts his life. He says, "Whiteness is blankness, they look at it like a blank slate, like when you come in you can be anything; Like when I walk in, even if I have a bow tie, they might be like, ‘is he Muslim?’ They’re not going to do that with a white dude. White people are a blank slate, but we are not – people bring stuff to it. They judge us based on whatever they know. As a black person, I constantly have to know what a person is assuming about me, that’s what I’m saying” (Only in Boston). His statement goes to show that just because he's famous, doesn't mean his race/color/ethnicity doesn't affect him and the way people perceive him. It's an important topic to him, and something that affects his every day life. The fact that he does his best to shed light on the issue speaks volumes. There aren't too many popular rappers we "care" about who are currently doing this - at least not in the way Gambino is.
Putting his musical talent aside, Donald Glover is absolutely hilarious. I'm sure that's something you could assume based on the fact that he wrote for "30 Rock" and was on "Community" (both shows are comedies, for those who haven't watched them). He has his own Netflix stand-up, titled "Donald Glover: Weirdo" that I highly recommend to everyone. He talks a lot about why he raps about the things he does, and even some of the stories behind songs. It's a laugh a minute, but again, I'm biased because he's my future husband, so obviously I'm going to find him funny. But, watch it and decide for yourself!
So, VH1, I'm sorry (not really) but your article couldn't be more wrong. Childish Gambino does not deserve to be high up on that list, or on that list at all. Even if I wasn't as big of a fan as I am, I would feel the same. There are much less talented artists that should be on that list instead, but I won't bother to list those out. Gambino will always have my heart.
