Album Review: Childish Gambino’s “Awaken My Love” Is His Best Yet
It is always hard to a review a major star like Childish Gambino/ Donald Glover because his artistry has garnered him a protective, “cult-like” following. His eccentric, imaginative persona/style, has moved many fans loyal fascination to his work. Although I have liked his previous records, for me, Awaken My Love is both his best and most different.
Stand Tall
While Gambino has dabbled in elaborating himself as a singer, Awaken My Love is a full dive into his vocality. The result is exciting as it seems we are being introduced to a whole new artist. Like Bruno Mars, 24KMagic, which has been lauded for its excellency, Gambino is going back in time to refresh the music of today. This record is pure funkadelia, which my readers know, I LOVE! With tracks that sound like they could easily be placed in a Parliament Funkadelic “greatest hits” compilation, Gambino becomes a modern George Clinton: a part cool, part mad genius. Personally, I am all for it. I love when artists expand the layers of their creativity and push them forward to both themselves and their fans.
Childish Gambino – Terrified (Official Audio)//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js
Terrified
Again, I elaborate, Awaken My Love is a whole new side of Childish Gambino. Yet, it makes sense that Donald Glover would go all the way to show this new side to his musicality. After all, his FX show Atlanta has been a reintroduction to both his acting and writing skills. The year of 2016 has been a phenomenal one for Glover to further something we all know: he cannot be boxed in. From comedy to drama or from rap to riffing, which he does masterfully in “Me and Your Mama”, Donald Glover can do it all; it is simply up to us whether to follow him. Thus, if you are not a fan of funk and psychedelic rock, you might not fully enjoy Awaken My Love. In the same way, Mars’ 24KMagic seems like it came from the 90’s, Awaken My Love feels like it came from the 70’s, which, of course, I love. As a huge fan of the era’s music, I am excited to hear its resonance in the current sphere of music and through an artist as artful as Childish Gambino. To Buy Awaken My Love Click Here.
Baby Boy
