Threat from Hip Hop
Donald Glover Jr.
Donald Glover Jr. has many talents. He is a comedian, writer, producer, actor and rapper. He uses all of his talents. Performing under the stage name Childish Gambino, he has won four Grammys for songs and music videos that give voice to the discontent of black Americans.
“I am an actor, writer and singer. For many people, that is triple threat. But I would rather be called a threat,” Glover said on the May 5, 2018 broadcast of Saturday Night Live. On the same date, the official music video for “This is America” was released on YouTube under Glover’s stage name, Childish Gambino. Within 24 hours, the video had clocked more than 10 million views, a fantastic figure.
No less fantastic – or rather, dramatic – are the scenes in the music video. Glover appears wearing only a pair of light-gray trousers and is shirtless. He dances through the 4-minute video in a seemingly odd choreography that has rhythmic movements, but often creates an impression of chaos.
The song opens with gospel and soul beats, complete with a choir in the background, and a soothing guitar riff. But this doesn’t last long. Glover pulls a gun and shoots the guitarist, whose head is covered in a bag. The guitarist falls. A sense of gloom descends.
Donald Glover poses with the award for Best Actor in a Television Series Comedy or Musical, in the press room at the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.
The rhythm then suddenly turns into a gripping, booming bass. Glover starts rapping. “This is America / Don’t catch you slippin’ up,” he intones as he moves his muscular body.
The horror is not over. The next scene is even scarier. Glover opens fire on the choir with a machine gun. As The Guardian wrote, the scene is reminiscent of the 2015 massacre at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, that killed nine people. Glover returns to dancing along with teens in school uniforms.
“Uh, that’s not for me to say,” Donald told TMZ reporters in May when asked about the song’s meaning. The song and its video have caught the public’s attention. Many have tried connecting the song with fatal shootings that have been linked to racism, as well as the proliferation of firearms in the United States.
Music history professor Guthrie Ramsey of the University of Pennsylvania is one of many who have studied the meaning of the song. “The central message is about guns and violence in America and the fact that we deal with them and consume them as part of entertainment on one hand, and on the other hand, is a part of our national conversation,” Ramsey told Time magazine.
Ramsey believed that Donald, who appears in the music video bare-chested and without noticeable makeup, was stripping down the image of glamor. “It’s just him, and therefore, it could be us,” said Ramsey.
Meanwhile, the youths in school uniforms who dance alternately between scenes of violence show that pop culture is not a way out or a diversion from the root of the problem. It is as though America has reached a dead end in tackling the problem of violence.
The final scene of the video offers up a bitter conclusion, with Glover running down a dark alley towards the camera, followed by a crowd. The scene concludes with the voice of Young Thug saying, “You just a black man in this world / You just a barcode.”
“A black person running for his or her life has just been a part of American culture dating back to slavery,” Ramsey said.
Top Grammys
By Monday, Feb. 11, about nine months since its release, the music video directed by Hiro Murai has been played 483 million times. The 61st Grammys at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, awarded Best Music Video to “This is America”, which outperformed other nominees, including the Beyonce-Jay-Z duet “Apesh*t”, Joyner Lucas’ “I’m Not Racist”, and Janelle Monae’s “PYNK”.
Childish Gambino’s song won big at the Grammys, taking four awards including Best Rap Performance and two top awards, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. This is the first time a rap song has won in these categories.
Gambino did not attend the Grammys, and his whereabouts are unknown. What is clear is that he was one of several hip hop/rap artists who did not attend the biggest award ceremony in the music industry, along with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna.
“This is America” co-writer and producer Ludwig Göransson accepted the awards on Gambino’s behalf. “I really wish he was here now, because this song is truly his vision and he deserves this credit,” he said.
Göransson continued: “No matter where you were born, or what country you’re from, you connect with ‘This is America’. It speaks to people, it connects right to your soul. It calls out injustice, celebrates life, and reunites us, all at the same time.”
Glover grew up in Stone Mountain on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, where the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) white supremacist group had flourished a century ago. Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned the city in his famous speech, “I Have a Dream”.
"It is a very segregated place. [...] The land right next to the mountain is full of old white people who will never move, but around that it\'s a very suburban black area," Glover said in an interview with The Guardian.
The small house where Glover grew up was always crowded. His parents fostered abandoned children and adopted two. His upbringing, Glover believes, has given him many painful memories, as well as humor. It was here that his creativity developed.
In addition, he also often listened to songs from rapper Eminem like “Kim”, full of violence and murder. “The song made me realize that darkness could fall on anyone. That\'s why comedy is needed,” he said.
He studied dramatic writing at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, after which he developed his writing talents. Glover wrote a script for The Daily Show and also for the famous comedy series 30 Rock. Later, he also wrote and starred in the Atlanta TV series.
Glover started rapping in 2003, inspired by LCD Sound Systems and Ghostface Killah. However, he became truly enthralled after watching the bands Rage Against The Machine and Justice perform. He then created his own moniker, Childish Gambino, as a channel of musical expression.
"Rap used to be silly and now it\'s sillier than ever and I find that idea very freeing," he told The Guardian.
Donald Glover Jr.
Born: Sept. 25, 1983
Albums (as Childish Gambino):
- “Awaken, My Love!” (2016)
- Because the Internet (2013)
- Camp (2011)
Awards:
- Four Grammy awards, “This is America”, 2019
- 100 Most Influential People of 2017, Time Magazine
