Although you may recognize him from the hit NBC show, Community, as Troy, Donald Glover takes on another identity as Childish Gambino, his rap moniker, on his new album, CULDESAC. The coupling of commonplace, hip hop conceit with Glover's slightly high-pitched, well-enunciated flow was quite the atypical listening experience. Actually...what I mean to say is that it was plain weird listening to Troy from Community rap about his alcohol problems and fucking hoes. Anyway, I digress. As for the "alternative" labeling, it seems well-applicable to most aspects of this record, save for the relatively-generic lyricism. Already by his first utterances on the album, one can detect the obvious influence of Lil' Wayne and Drake, Glover himself included. "Weezy F. is in jail, I keep his seat warm, nigga", "Weezy but geeky", "I want to hang out with Lil' Wayne, I just hope I'm black enough", "Drake with dyslexia, I have gone so far/My life is a green light, I always try to go hard". Speaking of Drake, here's an analogy: Drake-Degrassi & Glover-Community, hmm, a larger connection than initially perceived. Need I go on? However, one thing that these Glover quotes do not show is the fact that this record is laden with punchlines. And said punchlines are pretty damn clever. I mean, they're Cassidy/Big L/Chino XL/Vakill-caliber punchlines. Okay, I was pushing it. My point is, he's not too bad, but then again, to be a successful actor/writer/comedian/singer/rapper/producer/DJ, one must have a high capacity for creativity. Albeit seemingly a bit immodest over his highly self-perceived creativity, of which I cannot distinguish between satire and a measure of true conceit, it seems as he has found his shangri-la in hip hop to express personal satisfaction of his new-found mainstream fame and success, as well as satisfaction or perhaps dissatisfaction in other facets of his life, in ways he couldn't do through stand-up or television. And yes, I do recognize that the premise of conceit is very well a mainstay in the music of hip hop, but his delivery of said conceit just didn't...feel right; no valid argument there, I admit. Despite my own indifference to his style of music, Childish Gambino is no joke and can really flow(and sing too!). And this self-produced(yes, as mentioned before, he is a producer/DJ as well) album being a mere side-project in Glover's "Bizzy like Bone Thugs" life, is a quite a revelry in itself.
Choice Cuts:
-Do Ya Like (With a well-produced, Adele-sampled beat, Childish Gambino's clean, Drake-esque flow is made evident here, coupled with some clever lines, specifically the one in this review's title)
-I Be On That (A hype, bass-y track, C.G. most notably showcases his punchline-talent in this one)
-These Girls (Accompanied by the Lindhome/Micucci duo of Garfunkel and Oates, Glover brandishes his ability to harmonize in the album's acoustic black sheep)
