I like the symbolism, I just wish the song was better.
That is a common initial reaction. I am finding myself humming bits of it everywhere I go though, and have been for days. I think it’s a better song than people are giving it credit for because together with the video it’s so powerful.
Same here. The “This is America” part I find infectious and it’s being ping-ponging in my brain for the last few days.
That’s a great video. I think it misses the point that rapping in nothing but triplets is super boring and is what most people (like Snoop) object to. But still, a cool video and was well worth watching. I’m going to check out the rest of the series.
I’ve seen the video, but not heard the song. I’ll have to get around to doing that at some point.
Yeah after looking up the link now I’m in a Vox rap YouTube rabbit hole.
As for the ability for “This is America” to be a catchy tune…I was horrified that yesterday the hook my brain caught on to was the lilty gospel “Blackman…blackman…get your money.” Eep.
Really interesting. I agree with Snoop, but I had no idea how prevalent the trend was. My first thought when the video started was Migos, but I guess I was surprised that they were the ones who most recently popularized the style.
I also laughed because I first heard “Versace” as Hanley Ramirez’s walk-up song when he was with the Dodgers, and I thought it was really catchy. My wife hated (and continues to hate) that song. So, of course, I’ve now sent her a link to this video.
I agree that it’s catchy, I just wish it was clever.
Man, tough crowd here.
Just the line “this a celly/this a tool” packs so many layers of complexity that it makes me crazy jealous.
This a celly bring street slang into the song, drawing the connection between the fetish over social media and hand held devices in comparison to the fetish for guns talked aboin the first verse, but also being a homophone for selling which brings to mind that social media is people selling themselves trying to get their money, using the tool of the cell phone. Which also calls to mind the fact that the NRA is fond of saying that guns are just tools but they are tools designed to kill and that often the only protection from these tools is the tool of the cell phone video. All done while being made to sound like something as vapid as Gucci gang, allowing it to also reflect the critique of consumerism that is numbing society. And he does all this in 6 words plus context.
If that doesn’t impress you I don’t know what does.
I misinterpreted. Sue me. I still like both sounds. And with decades (just not recent decades) of following and studying popular music behind me I find distinctions without substantial differences like that overwrought and overthought. Much like the overthought searches for depth in the lyrics:
That sets it apart from Old School Rap how? Be specific. And if he’s taking the piss out of OS Rap, it’s been done repeatedly for forty years.
Yes, there is more symbolism in the video than in a typical music video, but, y’know, some of the claims I’ve seen are a stretch. Confederate pants? Maybe, but Confederate shoes? You can’t see his bloody feet, so where does that come from? Oh, there’s a screencap: Yellow loafers. Very CSA. :rolleyes:
And why is it significant that the kids are dancing in a South African style? The Gwara Gwara is a cool and stylish way to dance, but The Atlantic’s article, “Why the Dancing Makes ‘This Is America’ So Uncomfortable to Watch – The new music video from Childish Gambino weaponizes the viewer’s instinctive bodily empathy” is hogwash! I was an English major for a while and I know how to play the academic game of reading too much into something so you sound cool to the other English majors and baffle everybody else with your bullshit, and that’s just nonsense to make your professor happy.
The violence was suitably jarring. I caught the Jim Crow pose and liked that it grew out of the dance moves. The gunning down of the choir was a bit ham-handed symbolically. Death riding on a pale horse was more subtle because it was in the background and for just a moment. His climbing on a beater rather than a Lambo – Hey! Beater car symbolizes him being beaten down by The Man. I can do this too! 
Please don’t get me wrong. It is an entertaining video with more depth than most, though the SNL version substituted wicked cool lighting effects that I still can’t figure out for the violence. But it’s not Citizen Kane. Well, it could be; Citizen Kane wasn’t as deep as folks want it to be.
It’s also a direct reference to the Stephon Clark shooting
Yes, sorry. Leaving off the obvious. :smack:
Same here.
A “celly” can also mean a cellblock. Disproportionate imprisonments of black men and their racial profiling in America is used as a tool to remind them of their status in the socioeconomic hierarchy. A tool that keeps them down, keeps their families and communities in turmoil by splitting them apart.
Thanks for posting a link to this, iiandyiiii. I’ve been hearing the buzz about this song/video all week, but I haven’t been curious enough to give it a listen/watch until now. Lots of things in the world of hip-hop have slipped past my radar over the past 15 years ago. Like, I didn’t even know there was a subgenre called “trap”. The video is making me think I should start paying closer attention.
Can a music video be described as southern gothic? Because I can’t think of a better way of describing it. And like all good southern gothic stuff, it made my skin break out in gooseflesh, but I still couldn’t take my eyes away.
For some reason, it speaks to me the same way that Kara Walker’s silhouettes do. Both artists take a medium normally used for lighted-hearted, fun, entertaining expressions, and instead use them to tell a story about the ugliness of reality. The initial glance will result in feelings of discomfort and repulsion. That is the actual point. The reality of America causes the same discomfort and repulsion in “outsiders” looking in. I believe that is Glover’s point.
Yeah. That was great. Thanks. All those Vox music videos are good.
I haven’t been paying much attention to Gambino/Glover. I think I need to give him a try. What’s a good starting point?
Throw me in the “love the symbolism, not too keen on the song” camp. But like others have said it’s probably because it’s not a song for people who don’t know much trap. It would be like someone who only knows a bit about rock music listening to Sonic Youth.
Also, don’t hate me, I’m not that crazy about Donald Glover’s voice.
I really love his mixtape (album) “Culdesac”. I think it’s very accessible. You can download it free here: MixtapeMonkey | Childish Gambino - Culdesac (it’s legit to do so)
His songs with Chance the Rapper are great too.
Favorite Song: https://youtu.be/bVxzPGDJwzg
They Don’t Like Me: https://youtu.be/4sIVFreXEoc
Worst Guys: https://youtu.be/dwUug-ucBLc