Childish Gambino’s new, funk-driven album, "Awaken, My Love!," is finally out. Even though we always knew it would be a major departure in style from his previous work, it’s still hard for many people to say they predicted a Maggot Brain-era P-Funk record coming from a rapper once known for Lil Wayne-style punch lines and tender, confessional lyrics.
What we have always known, though, is that Childish Gambino has always been more than just a rapper. Even from the early days, he’s been showing off a multitude of talents through his music, lacing his songs with skillful falsetto, interesting samples, and off-beat instrumentals. In light of the sharp departure of "Awaken, My Love!," Complex rounded up ten songs from his catalog that best display his departures from straight hip-hop.
"Break (All of the Lights Remix)"
Release Date: April 9, 2011
Project: N/A
Gambino’s take on Kanye West’s “All of the Lights” is more than a simple remix. His version re-imagines the song, with sweeping strings and acoustic guitar. He also subs in for Rihanna on the chorus, tackling the part in a high falsetto that gives the track an entirely new feel. Although a lot of the main rap verse is filled with the punch lines that marked his early work, he gets more serious towards the end: “I’m sorry that I fucked her but now you know that she’s not the one/I'm doing you a favor." Woof. This masterful remix of an already complex song shows Donald at his most musical.
"The Worst Guys (feat. Chance the Rapper)"
Release Date: Dec. 10, 2013
Project: Because the Internet
"The Worst Guys" is Gambino's third collaboration with Chance the Rapper, following "Favorite Song" from Acid Rap and "They Don't Like Me" from Royalty. Although he—perhaps negatively—surprised fans by only featuring Chance on the chorus, the song's most surprising moment comes with the extended guitar solo near the end. Ludwig Göransson, who's been a close collaborator with Childish since his early mixtape (and Community) days, wrote and performed it.
"I had so much fun playing the guitar solo in the end, it's like my inner child’s dream coming true. Donald was like: just take it over the top times a hunna. The guitar solo was influenced by Joe Satriani and Pat Metheny," he said in a comment on Genius, referencing the famous rock and jazz guitarists respectively. The guitar solo stands out as an example of Gambino's willingness to experiment with different genres and instrumentals in his music.
"Letter Home"
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2011
Project: Camp
The tender heart of Childish Gamino's debut, Camp, is "Letter Home," a 90-second-long reflection on unrequited love that also serves as an outro to the lovelorn track "All the Shine." We'd heard Gambino get emotional on wax before, but this sung interlude is a perfect display of his willingness to put his feelings and vulnerability out there for the world to see. "Take my hand, you’ll like it/You don’t even have to call/Yes I’ve had some alcohol, I’m sorry," he sings. Although it's short, "Letter Home" is the strongest evidence from Camp that Gambino can bring genuine emotional reflection through singing as well as rapping.
"Do Ya Like"
Release Date: July 3, 2010
Project: Culdesac
One of Gambino’s earliest achievements was "Do Ya Like," a track based around a soulful sample of Adele’s “Melt My Heart to Stone" and produced with his longtime collaborator Ludwig Göransson. Sampling is the backbone of hip-hop, but flipping a well-known Adele song into a comedic rap track still came as a pleasant surprise in 2010. The song also features him singing, melding his voice with Adele's for a unique feel from a rapper who wasn't taken very seriously at the time. He would go on to lend a verse to Jamie xx's remix of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" in 2011, further proving his versatility.
"III. Telegraph Ave. (Oakland by Lloyd)"
Release Date: Dec. 10, 2013
Project: Because the Internet
Lloyd does much of the heavy lifting in terms of the vocals, but the dreamy R&B aesthetic of the song just works. On an album that's often sonically challenging, "III. Telegraph Ave." is an oasis of calm that wouldn't be out of place on a Frank Ocean or Miguel project. And while Gambino certainly doesn't have a monopoly on ethereal, R&B-infused hip-hop, he arguably does it better than most of his contemporaries.
"Sober"
Release Date: Oct. 2, 2014
Project: Kauai
"3005" is Gambino's biggest crossover hit, but his Kauai single "Sober" really shows off his ability to make songs that can appeal to a more mainstream audience. The track combines several elements—falsetto singing, funky guitar solos, confessional lyrics—that we've long heard peppered throughout Gambino's discography. On "Sober," he unites them all for perhaps the first time in his career, and on a song that doesn't contain even a hint of traditional hip-hop.
"R.I.P. (feat. Bun B)"
Release Date: July 4, 2012
Project: Royalty
Royalty is a special project in Gambino's discography. Coming off the less-than-stellar critical reception of Camp, it would have been easy for him to retreat from music and focus on his day job on Community. Instead, he doubled down and reached out to a group of prominent rappers to expand his sound. One of the best tracks to come out of this period in his career is "R.I.P." The song—like much of the project—is entirely self-produced, and finds Gambino linking up with Bun B. What makes the track so unique is its sample of Kavinsky's "Nightcall," which had recently been featured on the Drive soundtrack. By uniting an old-school rapper with an unexpected, electropop sample, Gambino shows off his ability to comfortably combine disparate sonic elements into something that just makes sense.
"II. Shadows"
Release Date: Dec. 10, 2013
Project: Because the Internet
Because the Internet is the best project to date at showing off Childish's experimental side. Built around a simple chorus of "Love me better, kiss me back, listen more," "II. Shadows" would fit well next to Gambino's more chill, melodic tracks; it's the ending that takes it to the next level. Abandoning the comfortable melody that he and Thundercat built for the first part of the song, Gambino breaks everything down into a series of guttural, electronic noises. Accompanied by heavy percussion and a few simple electric guitar chords, it shows a distinctive change of emotion and feel.
"These Girls (feat. Garfunkel & Oates)"
Release Date: July 3, 2010
Project: Culdesac
A relatively obscure cut from Gambino's Culdesac mixtape, "These Girls" is nonetheless an important moment. Culdesac in general was a transition period for Donald, moving from the Lil Wayne-with-a-cold style featured on Sick Boi and Poindexter to the more serious, thoughtful artist that emerged on his EP and subsequent albums. "These Girls" shows off this transition perhaps better than any other song. It's very hard to imagine the Poindexter-era Childish delivering an all-singing track about anything, let alone a relatively serious one about the insecurities of love.
"Freaks and Geeks"
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Project: EP
Why have we decided to include a Gambino track that's essentially a cypher on a list about him being more than just a rapper? Because "Freaks and Geeks" is Donald Glover proving that Childish Gambino is more than just a side project. Early Gambino was never taken seriously, even through the Culdesac era. "Freaks and Geeks" changed that by showing that at the end of the day, Gambino could rap his ass off. It was also his first music video, and proved to be a big breakout moment for his music career leading up to the release of Camp. In order to prove that he could be more than just a rapper, Gambino first had to prove to a lot of skeptics that he could be a rapper in the first place. In that regard, "Freaks and Geeks" was an essential part of his multi-faceted success.
