Childish Gambino - Camp



Donald Glover can pretty much do it all. Actor, comedian, writer, the list goes on. However, with his alter-ego Childish Gambino, he takes on the rap game. In comparison to his many other achievements in entertainment, writing songs about different topics isn't one of them. The album is plagued by the same old lyrics basing themselves on girls, being the lonely black kid and struggling with his childhood. That's not to say the album is a bad one, it's just after a few listens all the way through, you only really need to listen to certain songs to get the message Glover is trying to portray. Key examples of this are in 'Heartbeat' in which he raps about a lost love and how he's fucking her behind her current partner's back. Romantic! However, the line "69 is the only dinner for two" instantly wins the title of 'Lyric of the Year'.

Whereas Drake gets away with the soppy lyricism and heartbreak, the production is too hard for the lyrics for Gambino. With jarring synths and heavy drum beats, the two just don't work together. In addition, after watching his stand-up routines and episodes of Community, it's just hard to take this project seriously no matter how hard he tries to portray himself. He needs to take down the serious levels a little bit for it to all work. Overall, the album is a very bland rap album but has some really good lines. In final track 'That Power', there's even a nod to French film director Francois Truffaut, which is pretty special.

6/10

By Robbie Baxendale