Where to begin with Donald Glover. The true definition of a renaissance man, Childish Gambino has built one of the most respectable and diverse discographies in music. Critics and fans alike were pleasantly surprised with the deviation from rap in 2016 that was Awaken My Love. Gambino had previously never released an entire R&B record, but the public reception was excellent. For most of his career he has displayed his versatility as an artist, and this record forced people to pay attention. A week before the official release of 3.15.20 Glover had a website titled “Donald Glover Presents'' where he actually released the project for a short amount of time before the commercial release. It created buzz, but was promptly removed after being up for a couple hours.

3.15.20, Gambino’s fifth project to hit streaming services, was officially released on Sunday, March 22nd. The album houses 10 tracks and runs for just under an hour. Now with the album officially being released the public can enjoy the next musical endeavor from one of the greatest minds in the music industry.

The meaning of the song titles has to be mentioned. While at first this may seem a bit confusing this just simply indicates the timestamp within the albums run time where that track starts.

Childish Gambino has given us a diverse array of sounds throughout his career and 3.15.20 is no exception. “Time” and “12.38” take care of the feature work early on with appearances from Ariana Grande and 21 Savage. “12.38” should be the radio hit of the year. It has everything someone could ask for in a song in 2020. What it adds is compelling and relevent lyricism such as, “Most these niggas wanna run around with these SZAs (Yeah) I prefer to just stroll the park with this Chaka”. Bino sounds angelic and Savage slides over the beat perfectly for his verse. The production evolves from start to finish and keeps the listener engaged, it feels like the song is growing with time (The background vocals are stunning too). His language on the entirety of this project may be the biggest takeaway. This is one of the highest profile releases of the year, yet he doesn't make the listener feel like the content is going over their heads. Instead he is speaking to them and trying to find a way to keep them engaged with the content.

The way Childish performs both vocally and as a producer is like nothing else being produced right now. The first half of 3.15.20 is a sonic rollercoaster. “Algorhythm” and “Time” both sound futuristic utilizing a lot of autotune and synths. Apple Music classifies this as a Hip-Hop/Rap album and in terms of what Gambino is doing vocally that may be justified, as there were several moments on this album where he is flowing, but sonically this sounds nothing like an average hip-hop/rap project. There are several instruments at play in every track and when the music first starts it is impossible to tell what he is going to do with it. “24.19” sounds like the modern day version of a 70s track, with autotune that would make Stevie wonder using a voice box proud. He seamlessly flows between rapping and singing not even just track to tack, but within the same song. Something that also carried over from Awaken My Love is his impressive vocal control.

3.15.20 is a densely packed album with a lot to understand conceptually. What must be applauded from Glover is the way in which he makes his statements. Time and time again he ups the ante and forces the listener to take a step back from the pleasant sounds they are hearing and actually focus on what he is saying. “35.31” is a perfect example. First of all it comes after a song in “35.22” that sounds like the most raw demo stolen from a Kanye Yezzus session before the words were written. This is an upbeat, folky, country sounding song a little past the midway point on this R&B and Hip-Hop record. In a high pitched innocent voice Gambino spends the next 4 minutes singing about serving coke to fiends and toting guns. Stereotypical Trap lyrics in a country sounding song, yet when coming from the mind of Donald Glover this works perfectly. This is the last thing I was expecting to hear and if someone described what it was going to sound like before I listened to the track I probably would have been hesitant. That is the genius of Childish Gambino, not only is he aware of this but he takes that challenge head on. Something as obvious as what he is actually saying can go right over the casual listeners head, because it sounds pleasant. The cultural awareness of 3.15.20 is strategic and subtle. In an era of genre bending where the biggest star in the world gets accused of biting almost on a daily basis ( *cough cough* Drake), is it not refreshing to have someone at the forefront of that movement morph it into something of their own?

“42.26” is actually the still so impressive and so meaningful “Feels Like Summer” from almost a year ago. While already incredible on its own, in the context of the entire project it fits perfectly.

What has been a source of discontent from some fans is the extra things that Gambino added to the project. The first three minutes of the album the same electronic voice just repeats the phrase “we are”. The ending of “19.10” sounds like the lochness monster hopped in the booth for the last 30 seconds of recording.

It may be a cop out to say art is subjective but that has to be done in certain cases. It is difficult to pinpoint what Glover was exactly attempting to say with this project, but it is clear that there is a message and a wealth of knowledge to uncover. Reading deeper into the lyrics feels like an honest experience. Childish doesn't shy away from the flaws and shortcomings of people in any of the songs on the album. “19.10” is the most outwardly happy sounding song on the entire album but also contains the lyrics, “to be happy really means that someone else ain't”. He spends the majority of the next song wondering why the woman he constantly hurts still loves him. He is critiquing society in the most digestible way possible. The stories don't continue from song to song, and there is no moment near the end that ties everything together. Donald Glover just tells us to “do what we wanna do” to close the project.

This album felt very similar to how it feels to watch Donald Glover’s show Atlanta. It is an undeniably enjoyable experience even though you know you are not catching everything the first and probably not the second time going through. The beautiful crisp production and skillful singing and rapping captivate the audience while the lyrics underneath paint a darker image. Atlanta is a comedy but then there is an episode like “Teddy Perkins” that reveals the more ominous overtones to the series. While the show is outrageous at times, the brutally honest and realistic depictions of life situations is what keeps people coming back. 3.15.20 does a great job at depicting the harsh and beautiful reality we live in.

Favorite Tracks

12.38

35.31

47.48

Rating: 9

Listen to 3.15.20 here:

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