No its Roscoe's Wetsuit...
Why'd you say that?
I don't know.
Lets jump right in.
Some Logistics
Because The Internet dropped December 6, 2013. (Staggered release) U.S official release was December 10th. Promotions for the album started with his short-film, titled Clapping For The Wrong Reasons, which featured several people who actually appear in the album.
Gambino and Chance collabs are always nice..
The single given to the public was 3005- a good choice. Seeing as the rest of the songs have obscure names, I'm not sure if we as a public would've been ready. The album was recorded throughout 2012 and 2013 in a rented mansion. (Chris Bosh's??)
Content:
Because The Internet has some deep meaning. There is not a single wasted line or throw-away verse. If Gambino needed a break in a bar, the track would literally stop. There are several songs in which these pauses increase the dramatics of the song. When Childish Gambino said this would be his most "honest release to date" he was not kidding. Songs such as Life: The Biggest Troll are lyrically important to the game, and while not necessarily innovative, they are necessary to push other artist to step up their writing skills. This album was content heavy; Zealots of Stockhom (Free Information) is rich with truths and cries of help from Gambino. The listener cannot help but help but reach out.. to relate to him.
Flow:
The flow of this album is unmatched. Having an album compared to the
likeness of a mix tape is usually a bad sign, however, in this comparison
Childish Gambino turns the tables. His flow is relaxed and his story is told
in full. He does not trip over any words. While he does speed up how much
he says per beat, per bar- he does not rush the flow at all. Not many artist
can relate their verses that quickly and still sound lazy. Gambino literally
talks to his fans, just shoots the breeze with them. As mentioned earlier
there are noticeable pauses in some tracks like he even takes a breath
while rapping. Two thumbs up for that, man.
Beats:
Because The Internet is mostly self-produced, with help with Community sound producer Goransson. If you didn't know how I felt about self-production... I hate it. Childish Gambino, you can take a pass. Yeah, self production was necessary here. This man kept it one hundred from start to finish. This album actually showcases Gambino's musicality- songs such as 3005 and Pink Toes have these lighthearted and catchy beats. This album will stand out against the trap-heavy-and-hard or big-showy-club production seen this year. The sound of each song bleeds into the next and Gambino's verses on top of his own beats: hand and Glover fit...
I see what you did there...
Did you read the screenplay?
I did. Did you? I recommend the screenplay. I heard it was 75 pages- untrue. It is actually 72. More like 65 because most pages are blank with only a sentence. Dope is all I can say. Childish Gambino is a talented artist all around and this is a weird screenplay, as far as screenplays and scripts go, but this is to be read alongside the album. I listened to the album, could bang that alone, sure; It was hot. While reading the dark but authentic screenplay, the album became an intersting backdrop. Does young Gambino have a future as a composer in Hollywood? I'm not sure but his fans in the music realm would sure miss him.
The screenplay has themes:
Life and Death
Meaning Of Life
Sanctity of Relationships
Drug Abuse In America
Deterioration Of Relationships
Violence and Violence Desensitization
Yeah it's very comprehensive. Most importantly Gambino writes about how we are all ... slaves to the internet. We don't exist in our own right anymore, our worth is based off of how many hits we can get on social networking sites- or how much we can keep up with what the media and the internet says is important.
SPOILER
Within the script the main character, played by him, captures a death in a video intended for the internet, most likely. How ironic he also captures his own death within this script, posted to the internet.
The Verdict?
This album gets a 6/5. This is arguably one of Gambino's best releases and one of my favorite albums. This album, while coming so late in the year, is one of the best albums released in 2013. Childish Gambino is not that big an artist, taking into account his sales and everything else he dabbles in, but he is hanging with the greats after this album. The amount of people he shouted out and sampled in his screenplay and album is beautiful too. He definitely respects the rap community and music community as a whole. This album is intelligent as well as an easy listen. Versatile and varied- you can play this whenever. Break Up? Riding to work? Babysitting? Angry at Mom? Doing Homework? Because The Internet is that album.
It was hard for me really sit and write on this album without sounding too biased. I mean Gambino was so raw and very honest over some eclectic and chill beats. But.. this music is somewhat obscure to be considered pure "rap". I mean dude can rap, but its sentiment is not hard. Someone debate with me LOL, anyway... A1 album with an A1 message; I mean how're you even reading this post?
Because The Internet
Shout Out to The Adventure Time Line in the Screenplay: UNACCEPTABLE
