Donald Glover’s rap project is now two LPs old: first came the watery pop-rap debut, “Camp,” and then the assertive existential follow-up, “Because of the Internet.” While itap so far not as satisfying as his comedy career has been, with “Because of the Internet,” Childish Gambino has evolved enough to be thought of as a serious endeavor in its own right.
Childish Gambino has also released a slew of mixtapes and singles between his two official releases. Most of the material—like his discography taken as a whole—is hit or miss, but there are some definite winners tucked away.
In anticipation of his show at the Fillmore tonight, we’ve highlighted the five best Childish Gambino songs from his non-LP releases. Still no luck on , though.
5. “Break”
Aided by an acoustic beat variant of “All of the Lights,” borrowed from his stylistic patriarch Kanye West (who he politely name checks in the track), “Break” has its share of the clever lines Gambino is equally hailed and dismissed for. A highlight, thanks to what must be one of only a couple Smurf-referencing lines in hip-hop: “Can I live up to all this hype they have for me? It’s hard to tell / But these girls I’m kissin’ chase the blues away like Gargamel.”
4. “Shoulda Known”
“Shoulda Known” is one of Gambino’s many “real talk” tracks. Over a twinkling synth and a simple beat, Gambino phases from a sincere R&B chorus to rapped verse, talking about the unsexy reality of his version of fame. Later, he switches out the sweetly sung chorus of “shoulda known” for slant rhyme “shitted on,” a comedy-writer’s rapper diss if there ever was one.
3. “The Longest Text Message”
The beat does most of the heavy lifting in this track. Gambino apparently wrote the track drunk—and he admits as much in the first line—which may explain the uncharacteristic amount of expletives. It definitely accounts for the content of the message, which plays out like a drunk text in song form. Itap not his best lyrically, but itap a nice one-off, good enough to be glad he didn’t delete it before he hit “send.”
2. “what kind of love”
This bonus track from “Because of the Internet” was apparently included on the iTunes bonus track-version of the album without Gambino’s consent. After learning about it, he immediately released it for free online.
“Everything you love’s just gonna leave you one day,” Gambino deadpans over a fingerpicked acoustic guitar. He sounds he’s been binging on Frank Ocean, spending too much time alone, not wanting to feel better. Whether or not you can relate, or whether he even can, itap sounds genuine as anything on “Because of the Internet,” and by extension. anything he’s done.
1. “We Ain’t Them”
The lead track off his 2012 mixtape “Royalty” is a point of departure for Gambino. It signaled his movement away from the rap lite he’d purveyed on “Camp” and its preceding mixtapes, and towards the harsher sound he’d realize in full on “Because of the Internet.” Gambino flows more confidently here than any tracks he’d released to that point, making a case for “Camp” as a learning experience, not an ill-delivered promise.
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Dylan Owens is Reverb’s all-purpose news blogger and album reviewer. You can read more from him in Relix magazine and the comment sections of WORLDSTARHIPHOP.
