Between the Weeknd dropping his much-anticipated album, J. Cole pulling a “Hey, everyone,” and announcing the date of his next album’s release, and Childish Gambino’s new project coming out as of Friday, this past few weeks have been a busy and exciting time in the Hip-hop community. However, in a way that hopefully doesn’t spoil anything, it’s important to address the irony in the latter of these projects.

Donald Glover, being an actor, writer, and musician (going by the name “Childish Gambino,” you know, just in case you didn’t know) is well-known for his versatility (obviously), and that versatility has been emulated in his musical endeavors as well, with each one being sonically different from the last. However, while Gambino fans expected something new from this album, the rapper, in true Donald Glover fashion, threw everybody for a loop with the release of his new project, titled Awaken, My Love!

Adhering to the rules of 1-Listen, I jotted down my initial reaction to this album between the shower, my walks to class, and my car (at red lights, of course), without any replays or lyric searches, prior to writing this “review.” This is my initial reaction to Awaken, My Love!

1. Me and Your Mama

The opening begins with some light, soft keys fading into an otherwise hollow-sounding track. It’s very ethereal. Like, really ethereal. Ever been skinny-dipping at night? Yeah, it sounds like that, and somehow, that analogy makes sense. This sounds good…Boom. Bass hits. Oh snap, this is hard. The drums have come in at this point, accompanied by some drums, synths, and rhythmic chanting I can’t make out right now, but knowing Childish Gambino, it’s probably outlining the premise of the story his album is meant to convey.

Right as I get comfortable with the vibe of the first part of the song, the second part hits me in the face with a triumphant, heavily distorted guitar and some similar vocals, almost reminiscent of something Jimi Hendrix would do, if I daresay. Oh snap, is that Donald? He had range like that? This is hard. With the lyrics, the choir’s chanting of, “Let me into your heart,” and verse’s lyrics, “They wanna see us fallen apart,” and “This is our last night sleeping under the moon and the stars,” it seems like this is song is meant to encapsulate a burning, passionate, pressure-filled declaration of love. With the title… dang, is Donald trying to get at somebody’s mama?

The instruments break, leaving the soft melody from before, possibly signifying the fact that since Donald has finally let his feelings out, they’re no longer so torturous. The song ends peacefully, how it began. What a start.

2. Have Some Love 

The rock theme persists in this track as well, with a bass-heavy, funky beat that, once again, wakes me up from the peaceful ending of the last track. I could be mistaken, but with the sounds and the lyrics- “Have some love for your brother/Have some time for one another… It’s so hard to find…”- this almost seems like a song with a message of unity. I’d like to think it’s about black unity, but I’m not sure. Synths come in, accompanied by some backup vocalists, in a sound that’s almost reminiscent of something by Parliament-Funkadellic, or the sort. The song is concluded with the sounds of laughter and dancing, almost like what one would hear at a cookout. Interesting…

3. Boogieman 

Once again, the song opens with a Hendrix-esque guitar riff, accompanied by some hard-hitting drums and backup vocals. Donald’s vocals on the verse are kind of weird-sounding, but the words caught me:

“But in the boughs of your mind, we have done a crime.”

“Every boy and girl/All around the world/Knows my n*gga’s words. /But if he’s scared of me, how can we be free?”

I’m starting to think more and more that this is a Black Power album. Either that, or I’m projecting. Wait, do I hear the sounds of police sirens and walkie-talkies in the background?

4. Zombies 

The opening guitar riff (yes, another one) this time is more mellow, almost somber and intoxicated-sounding. It’s accompanied by some dreamy, echoed vocals.

Donald’s vocals on the verse are kind of weird again, but the premise of the song is pretty interesting, as it seems to suggest that today’s society is comprised of “zombies,” who feed on money indiscriminately, having no souls or cares outside of that of sustaining themselves.

“You will find there is no safe place to hide.”

“They don’t know what happens; they just stay alive.”

Also, it’s interesting to note that Donald isn’t conveying this message in a way that suggests that he’s any different from anybody else, but rather as a final, dying message before he’s consumed by the zombie horde as well.

5. Riot 

As this track opens up with the violent, yet organized noise of synths, electric guitars, drums, bells, and probably some other instruments I haven’t yet been able to isolate, it dawns on me that I’ve yet to hear Donald rap. For some reason, I’m convinced that I probably won’t. However, with the aggressive nature of the instruments, the Counterculture era theme of the music, and the straightforward nature of the lyrics, I’m becoming more and more convinced that this project is not only a Black Power album, but also a subtle call to rebel against the powers of oppression.

“This world don’t feel all right.”

“They tried to kill us… But they won’t take me and my pride.”

6. Redbone

Ooh, shit. The opening of this next song is crazy smooth, a sharp contrast to the previous track. There’s a lot of that on this album. The combination of the smooth guitar riff and the subtle, sleepy bass almost sounds like something one would hear from Bootsy Collins back in the day. Gambino’s raspy vocals sound like Andre 3000’s, and for some reason, I can’t shake the thought that it isn’t on accident. This song, with its backup vocals and really soft keys in the background is super sexy. It’s easily my favorite song on the project so far in terms of its instrumentation and delivery. It feels like it could either be baby-making or night-riding music. In terms of lyrics, there’s one phrase that keeps being repeated, and is really catching my ear:

“Stay Woke.”

7. California

Like the last track, this song opens up with a very mellow vibe. With the instruments and the slow, tardy feel of the track, it almost sounds very island-ish, especially with the cool, carefree backup vocals around the hook.

Gambino’s autotuned vocals sound kind of creepy, but at least I finally get to hear some rap-singing on the album, as Donald narrates in a frustrated tone “her” desire to move to California, and his lack of enthusiasm at the prospect.

8. Terrified 

The tone of the album has definitely slowed down and mellowed out. Sonically, this track sounds like a Marvin Gaye production, especially with Gambino’s dynamic vocals over the song’s tardy bass, hollow background, and tortured guitar. The xylophone is a nice touch, and the chanting…was that in a previous song as well? Analogous to the tone of the electric guitar, the message of this song seems to be one of punishing, vengeful self-reflection, as Donald explains that, “You’re (He’s?) the one that’s terrified.” Terrified of what, I’m unable to ascertain upon first listen, but maybe the following tracks will provide more context.

9. Baby Boy

The instrumentation on this track is simple, as Gambino once again channels his inner Andre 3000 to create the image of, as the title suggests, a baby boy. Gambino uses the first verse to describe how much he has grown to love this “baby,” before going into the hook, where he pleads to some outside entity to not take his “baby boy” away. The second, more painful verse seems to convey the message of the speaker knowing he’s done things to deserve his misfortune, such as infidelity, but he continues to plead to the entity to reconsider.

This song is interesting at first listen, because it suggests pain from much more of a spiritual plane of existence than a physical one. The first set of lyrics to cause this assumption is, “All the pain. All the tears/Many lives. Many years.” Secondly, the speaker (I’ve decided that while the message is being conveyed through Donald, he’s not the actual speaker), accepting the fate of himself and his baby, goes into a monologue at the end of the song that catches my ear:

“There was a time before you, and there will be a time after you.

Though these bodies are not our own, walk tall, Little One.

Walk tall.”

10. The Night Me and Your Mama Met

A simple, blues-sounding tune is played by a guitar behind light-hearted vocals to create a scene less heavy than the last. The angelic, choral vocals and excited guitar solo suggest an innocent, perhaps providential introduction to something akin to love.

In this moment, I realize that the story of this album is being told to the “baby boy,” and that the “mama” of the first, and now this penultimate track, is the mother of the boy. This story is being told in hindsight to the boy, who is the true main character of the narrative.

11. Stand Tall 

Donald sounds like himself for perhaps the first time during this whole journey, and perhaps for good reason- he’s finally speaking from his own point of view. As opposed to being a “baby boy,” like in the previous tracks, Donald (or whoever the main character is) is now an adult, and as such, is able to look at this story from the perspective of an adult, perhaps finally being in the same age group as his parents at the time of his conception.

The tone of the song is somber, yet somewhat hopeful, as Donald narrates the most important message he took away from both of his parents.

“Keep all your dreams; keep standing tall/

If you are strong, you can not fall.”

The instrumentation becomes more upbeat, dispelling the lonely feeling of the vocals from the first half of the song. The tone even gets happier, as the sounds of conversation and laughter enter the background, and the instruments ride one last time before the song abruptly goes silent.

Final Thoughts:

Wow. There are so many stories, so many micro-chasms (even though I’m sure they’re all actually a part of the same story) that I don’t even know where to begin. Once again, I’m trying to keep from projecting, but being that it’s possible that most of this album is told in hindsight from his parents’ perspective, it’s interesting to see how things move in cycles. Given the context of how old Donald’s parents must be, the undertones of the Counterculture and Black Power movements make sense, but even more interesting is how these themes are still applicable and relevant today. With Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly album, Solange Knowles’ A Seat at the Table, and even much of J. Cole’s work, Black Power music is as relevant and almost as mainstream as it was back then, which is possibly meant to suggest a sign of the times.

Another interesting dynamic of the album is how the second half of the project is analogous to how it feels to come off of a caffeine high. There was so much energy, so much passion and raw emotion in the first half that dissipated and turned into much heavier and more provocative reflection, fear, pain, and angst in the second. It literally sounded like how it feels to grow up. However, it also put forth the interesting dynamic of how priorities change when one does grow up. While the first half of the album was about fighting the system, and critiquing society, and rebelling, the second half became almost solely about family, and addressed the themes of self-evaluation, sacrifice, and compromise for the sake of the next generation. Neither theme is better or worse, but they’re just different perspectives.

Though this album was great, both sonically, and in its ability to tell a story (though I haven’t been able to completely decipher the story upon first listen), it seems inevitable that this album will get a lot of hate, both from Childish Gambino fans that were expecting another rap album (myself included), and from white people who won’t get the message, much like what happened with Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly. However, when Outkast, and more specifically Andre 3000, dropped The Love Below, there was a great deal of controversy surrounding many of the unfamiliar sounds of that album as well. However, as time passed and music evolved, people began to appreciate the album more and more. I believe the same may be applicable for this latest Childish Gambino album. While it sonically isn’t my favorite Gambino album, the narrative set forth by the project is great, and the music is good. There wasn’t a song on this album that I didn’t like, and I’d recommend this album to anyone, under the condition that one has to be able to listen to the album all the way through.