3.15.20 - Childish Gambino

It's been over a month since this album came out, and I'm still trying to decipher it. The long awaited album from Childish Gambino finally graced our ears last month. After getting teased online for 24 hours, the album vanished. I missed the initial preview, but didn't have to wait long; 3.15.20 popped up on streaming sites a week later. Named after the date it released, this album continues to be an elusive record to comprehend. The first thing I noticed was the track names. Apart from the second and third songs, all the songs are titled as their exact start time if you played the album from start to finish. The first song is "0:00", the fourth song is "12:38", etc. This is something I've never seen before, and something that changes the perspective of the album. Normally, the titles of songs show what the artist deemed as the most important word/line in the song. That is true for the two named songs, "Algorhythm" and "Time" - each of those words is central to each respective song. With the rest of the songs, it's more difficult to find the focal point - which word or phrase would have been the name? Would the name have even come from any of the lyrics, or would it have been something else entirely? These are the questions I've been asking myself since the album released. I know that for myself, the name of the song is huge in shaping my perception of it. Without that, each song feels almost blurry, harder to focus in on. It requires much attention and shape the songs in a different way than if they were named. The album takes the listener on a wild ride from start to finish. It explores a multitude of sounds and tones that run the gamut, from rap to pop, country and beyond. "Algorhythm" starts off the album with this pulsating, dark instrumental that caught my ear and wouldn't let go. Gambino delivers a droning and gritty set of verses that have an almost robotic quality to them. "Time" switches things up to be more melodic, lighter in tone, and features vocals from Ariana Grande. "12:38" goes in a completely different direction with a minimalistic trap instrumental and features a verse from 21 Savage. The album continues to do that, changing up the sound with each track and keeping the listener on their toes. I love that aspect of the album; Gambino flexes his musical muscles with this set of songs. I know it's not for everyone though - in conversations with my wife, I've found she doesn't like that quality of the album. For her, the same thing that I find fresh and engaging, she finds as a roadblock to being able to focus on the album. It's interesting to me how the same aspect of an album can make it accessable to some while deterring others from enjoying it. I'm not going to pretend like I understand this album quite yet. If there's a story it's trying to tell or a reason for the way the album plays out, I haven't quite pieced that together. To me, a big part of this elusiveness is the lack of track names. It makes it harder for my mind to create a more concrete mental image of the album. Each song feels slippery, like I can't quite grasp it since there isn't a title to anchor to. As I've been looking through the lyrics, it's been helping make the picture a little more clear, but not all the way. The album feels like it touches on a lot of subjects, from love to race to culture. Even within each song, Gambino and friends manage to broach multiple topics. "12:38" feels like the most obvious example of this. I've loved the flow and story this track tells, but reading through the lyrics and into the number of references made felt a bit overwhelming. Gambino paints a picture of a romp with a woman, which starts with some very suggestive and sexual language. However, the song soon evolves into something else when Gambino unknowingly consumes shrooms and goes on a trip. There are references to personal experiences of his life, but then it switches into commentary on mass incarceration of African-Americans (see here). I can't speak to the experience, but I would imagine that it's hard to separate those two subjects as a black man living in America. During his verse, 21 Savage continues to reference racism in America with these lines: "The police keep harassin' 'cause I'm rich and I'm black (Straight up)

They mad 'cause I made myself a boss without crack (On God)". Savage also talks about his association with the Dirty South (although he is actually from the UK) and contrasting his lavish lifestyle with his modest upbringing: "I ain't trippin', boy, I'm Lamborghini whippin' (21, 21)

Straight up out the trenches, money made me ign'ant (It did)

I'm on a private jet eatin' Popeyes chicken (21)

I be flexin' like I'm eatin' Popeye's spinach (21, 21, 21)". Other songs touch on the subject of love ("24.19", "53:49"), world issues ("42.26" [otherwise known as "Feels Like Summer"], "47:48"), fear ("32.22"), and race ("19:10"). Like I said, this album covers the gamut. I decided not to dive too much deeper into the lyrics - there's so much to unpack and decipher, and I honestly can't say I understand it all quite yet. From a musical standpoint, however, I will touch on a few more things. Like I mentioned before, this album covers a broad spectrum of sounds and genres. It explores and experiments far more than any of Gambino's previous records, which is a major draw for me. A variety of sounds is likely to keep me coming back for more. This record is one that is built to be listened to many times, and the best part is that each time through rewards the listener. More understanding is given to those who dedicate the time to it. I also get very excited by new sounds and ideas, and I am continuing to find more elements that I hadn't heard before with each new listen. "32.22" is one of the harder songs to understand; the vocals in particular. When it comes to the instrumental, however, it's intriguing and edgy. So much so that I've been revisiting it and gathering a better understanding. Immediately after that, "35:31" switches from the Kanye-West-on-Yeezus-influence to a country, light-hearted tune. That is, until you listen to the lyrics and start to grasp the story Gambino is painting. He sings of a boy who has lost his father and gets involved in moving drugs from a young age. "47:48" incorporates funk with a chilled out beat and keyboard part that brings to mind some of Gambino's earlier work on Kauai. The album finishes with "53:49", a back and forth track that alternates between dark, gritty and aggressive verses with a more ethereal, soothing chorus. A fitting way to cap off this musical journey. At the end of this review, with a month to process this record, I definitely feel like I have a better grasp of it. Does that mean I'm confident in knowing the full story this music is displaying? Or that I understand the intricate details? Not at all. But thats the kind of record that lasts, that stands the test of time. Records that keep you coming back, that let you peel off a layer at a time and dive deeper into the knowledge it has to offer. Those are the types of albums that I carry with me through life, and I have a feeling this album will be one of those.

Recommended: "Algorhythm", "12:38", "32:22", "47.48"