Artist: Childish Gambino
Album: Camp
Label: Glass Note
Release Date: November 15, 2011
From appearances on Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and San Diego Comic-Con to his full album appearing on NPR’s First Listen series, Childish Gambino appears poised to make it big with his unique blend of nerd and hipster (but not in a lame way, to quote “LES”) hip-hop. Camp is his first commercial release on indie label Glass Note Records (which is also home to another great band, Mumford and Sons, who get a name check reference on the album). Appearing every week as Troy Barnes on Community certainly won’t hurt his chances of making it big with this album. I wouldn’t put it past the writers to incorporate at least some sort of nod to Donald Glover’s other persona on the show. (Warning: adult language ahead).
Most of the titles on the album have to do with summer camp — that’s definitely a recurring theme, even on the non-camp related titles. It seems to me that summer camp is a metaphor for Gambino’s childhood, being told that he wasn’t “black” enough or not really a nerd (being the only black kid at a Sufjan Stevens concert will lead to that). And he’s never really returned from that, either, despite his success. He’s still on the bus back from camp, as he puts it at the end of the album. He just wants to rap about stupid stuff, stuff that he would have liked as a kid. The whole album comes across as a snapshot of Glover’s life at the time it was created.
Ironically, however, the album also represents a maturity of style. I recently went back and listened to I Am Just a Rapper and I Am Just a Rapper 2, Gambino’s first two mixtapes. You can definitely hear the progression from someone who’s just rapping over other songs to the sometimes orchestral music on the current album. There’s a reason he released his previous stuff for free (as he mentions on “All the Shine”). That’s not to say it isn’t any good or worth listening to, but that it wasn’t quite where it needed to be in order to release it commercially.
My favorite part of any of Gambino’s albums is the multiple references that constantly show up. Probably the best example on this album is the first single, “Bonfire.” From the geeky (“’Cause I’m a beast, bitch, Gir, Invader Zim”) to the mainstream (“Homegirl drop it like the NASDAQ”) to the just plain wrong (“Made the beat then murdered it, Casey Anthony”), there are just so many great metaphors it would be easier to just post the lyrics than to mention them all (besides, this site does a much better job than I’d do). Because of this, I have to wonder if “Fire Fly” is itself a reference to the show, although there’s nothing directly in the song about Firefly. There is, however, a certain sense of independence that fits with Mal and his crew’s attitude, so maybe it is. I wouldn’t be surprised, that’s for sure.
It’s funny how much this album is about childhood. When I was younger, I’m quite certain I wouldn’t have enjoyed this type of music at all. I can identify with some of Glover’s childhood experience, growing up as a nerd, but also enjoying the culture of what would be considered to be hipster. But I never really understood hip-hop. Actually, it was geeky stuff (nerdcore) that prepared me for Childish Gambino. So it was a bridging of two cultures that made me appreciate this album. How appropriate.
Track Listing:
- “Outside” (4:30)
- “Fire Fly” (3:23)
- “Bonfire” (3:13)
- “All The Shine” (5:46)
- “Letter Home” (1:44)
- “Heartbeat” (4:30)
- “Backpackers” (3:16)
- “L.E.S.” (5:18)
- “Hold You Down” (4:52)
- “Kids” (4:57)
- “You See Me” (3:15)
- “Sunrise” (3:40)
- “That Power” (7:42)
