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Five things we learnt on Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!"

5 December 2016 | 2:15 pm | Aiden Benavides

There's a lot to learn from the new Childish Gambino album and here at Purple Sneakers we are glad to share some things the we learnt from Awaken, My Love!

Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover has been a busy dude this year; he has had his first child, got cast in a new Star Wars film, put out the first season of his show Atlanta and now he's put out his next music project. Awaken, My Love! is a far departure from his last record, Because The Internet, which was a hip-hop to the core. Childish Gambino is doing what he's been doing his entire caree; subverting preconceived expectations and doing what he wants, this time by releasing a funk and soul record.

There's a lot to learn from the new Childish Gambino album and here at Purple Sneakers we are glad to share some things the we learnt from Awaken, My Love!

1. Keep Progressing

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Donald Glover has a long track list of different jobs in the entertainment industry, effortlessly moving between the roles. He's a comedian, writer, actor, rapper, singer and probably anything else he has time to do, so it makes sense for Donald Glover and in turn Childish Gambino to avoid being stuck in one role. Childish Gambino doesn't rap much, if at all, on this album, which is a surprise to many because up until this point, Childish Gambino has been predominately a rapper, not a funk artist. But, like the true innovator he is, he evolved, took a risk and did something that he wanted to do. Childish Gambino has gone from comedy rapper to serious rapper to an experimental funk artist, and that progression is something that should be respected.

2. Keep Your Friends Close

Fun Fact: The production on this record was done by Donald Glover and Ludwig Göransson and while you might not recognise the latter you've probably heard his work in previous Childish Gambino projects, including both Camp and Because The Internet, as well as the TV show, Community which Glover acted in. Not to mention his long list of film and TV music, it's fair to say Göransson has quite the resume behind him. Obviously these two have some great chemistry when it comes to the music that they make together and they have only managed to improve each project they work on. The importance of the relationship that this duo has can't be understated; most great albums are built off friends creating the music together, and it's hard to imagine the album being the same if Donald chose to get someone he wasn't as close with to work on this album.

3. Bring Old Styles to New People

The funk runs deep on this album, you can hear influence of George Clinton, Betty Davis, Prince and the like all throughout. Awaken, My Love!, in a way, is bringing back that 70's funk sound and adding contemporary flair to it, but it's going all out with its roots rather than just having a small amount of influence on the sound. This album will probably be one of the only funk albums this year that can cast such a wide net over the mainstream audience, and bringing a classic sound to a new audience not only drums up interest in the album itself, but also in the things that inspired it.

4. Don't Be Afraid to Experiment 

Whilst the style of the music is very 70's, there's a very modern sound to the production. The contrast between the 70's funk and modern production flourishes become very apparent when Childish Gambino tries something completely new. On the track 'California' this is most apparent with the more minimal beat and singing that has an exaggerated inflection to give the song an almost tropical feel. It seems like a total curve ball in the second half of the album. While this album pays a lot of homage to funk, soul and psychedelic music of old, it's still its own beast, and all the little details that set it apart make the album just a bit more special.

5. Get Personal

The subject matter in Awaken, My Love! deals with issues of race, fatherhood and love; all things that Donald Glover would be dealing with in real life, especially this year when he has just had his first child. This album doesn't have the rap verses to be analysed and critiqued over and over again, but it does have genuine feeling to it. There are themes that not only deal with the personal feelings of Donald Glover, but also issues that people can relate to and empathise with. Funnily enough, the album containing the least amount of actual words is the album in which he conveys the most amount of feeling. The brevity is what makes this album more powerful than Childish Gambino's previous works.

Awaken, My Love! is out now. Stream or buy HERE.

Words by Aiden Benavides

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