It’s another sad tale of unrequited love.ĭonald Glover just can’t win when it comes to the game of love. In this song, Glover pleads to a girl he’s deeply in love with and tells her “let me in to your heart” He claims it isn’t puppy love and desperately tries to win her over, but to no avail it seems. It’s an epic, dream-like mash up of wailing screams, distorted guitar riffs, and emotion. The song “Me and Your Mama,” was the first track that Glover put out prior to the album’s release. Donald’s high pitched voice over a funky bass line and soulful drums deceive us into thinking this is a bedroom anthem. The fact that it’s a song about cheating almost tricks the listener, because the song is so irresistibly sexy. Relationship and intimacy issues have been a constant theme in Donald’s work. One of the most notable tracks is “Redbone,” in which Glover lays out his suspicions that his girlfriend is cheating. The album has clearly taken a departure from his prior production and is an homage to 70’s rock, funk, soul and R&B. On Awaken My Love!, Childish decided to opt out 808 drums and trap beats for more a live band feel. It’s almost as if Donald Glover found a time machine, and locked himself in a room with Marvin Gaye, Sly and the Family Stone, and George Clinton. Instead he’s traded 16 bars and tongue twisting lines for titillating falsettos and funky melodies. Although we were introduced to Gambino as a rapper, there is no rapping on Awaken My Love!. Depending on who you ask, fans that are familiar with Glover’s work will love his new album or be in for a rude awakening. Although Gambino’s been known to push his creative boundaries-even going as far as creating a 75 page screenplay for Because the Internet- Awaken My Love! might be his boldest endeavor yet. The album follows the 2011’s Camp and 2013’s Because the Internet. The album was set to release on December 2, only three months time from Pharos.Īwaken My Love! is the third installment of Glover’s musical project, Childish Gambino. However, fans who missed the Pharos event wouldn’t have to wait too long to listen to Gambino’s new music.

Thus, making an event already shrouded in secrecy all the more mysterious. This prevented fans from being able to take videos/photos and sharing them on social media.

Shockingly enough, fans were forced to lock their cell phones in a “Yondr,” bag, that would not be unlocked by staff until after the performance. In addition to the extravagant audio-visual performance fans could watch Glover’s new show, Atlanta, at an amphitheater on site. Gambino, decked out in tribal attire and body paint, performed several new tracks that would eventually become the Awaken project. Images projected upon across the inside of the dome included dancing aliens, skeletons, and moving planets amongst other things. Upon entry to the dome, fans were treated to a virtual reality-like experience. When the time came, he held multiple performances over the weekend in a large dome structure. Once the countdown was over, the app revealed that Gambino would debut new music at a three day event/festival September 2-4 in Joshua Tree in California. Some hypothesized it would be a live-streamed listening party exclusively through the app or a new album would be released for purchase. The app contained a timer, which caused an uproar of speculation across the internet. Over the summer, Gambino tweeted a link to to a mysterious app called “Pharos.” Pharos, the Greek name for Stari Grad, is a Croatian Island where one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World once stood. The months leading up to the release of Awaken were met with great anticipation from fans.

Yeah, you can say Donald is doing pretty well for himself. He wrote and starred in his critically-acclaimed show Atlanta, he received news he’s about to become a father, was casted as Lando Calrissan in the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars film, and now he’s celebrating the release of third studio album titled Awaken My Love!. The renaissance man of entertainment had an amazing year. It seems that 2016 was a horrible year for everyone-everyone except for Donald Glover, or as you may also know him, Childish Gambino. It bred a controversial presidential election, took the lives of important figures in pop culture, Britain left the European Union, and racial tensions were at all time high. 2016 was a year filled with tension and strife.

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