Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover, is back with another hit album. His highly anticipated album Awaken, My Love! was released on December 2 by Glassnote records after two long years.
If you’ve listened to Gambino in the past, you’ll notice that most of his songs include intense, witty lyrics. “Heartbeat,” “Telegraph Ave,” “Sweatpants,” and “3005” are just a few songs that illustrate this style. That being said, the genre of his new album came as a surprise to fans. Since the release of “STN MTN/Kauai,” Gambino has undergone some changes in his appearance, which seemed to signal that a change in sound was to follow. The rapper commented in 2015, “I feel like Childish Gambino is a period that should come to a close.”
Fortunately, these external changes were not the end of his music career, even if they seemed to close a part of it. Gambino’s new sound involves more funk, R&B, and soul.
Since the release of Awaken, My Love!, “Me and Your Mama” and “Redbone” have been the most popular songs. Perhaps their popularity is owing to their hip-hop vibe, when compared to the more traditional funk and R&B sounds of the rest of the album. Personally, I prefer these two songs over the rest. However, I’m slowly warming up to the others, such as “Boogieman” and “The Night Me and Your Mama Met.”
Overall, it’s safe to say that Gambino has been quite successful in the release of Awaken, My Love!. He’s also gained some new fans since the album’s release, owing to his diversity of sound. I find myself intrigued by Gambino’s inspiration for this album.
Hopefully fans will see the original Gambino once again, but for now it seems that this shift into a new sound is one that fans are welcoming into their playlists.
