Childish Gambino Appreciation Post

Around this time last month, December 6th to be exact, rapper Childish Gambino released his last official album, “Because the Internet”- a long awaited album since his debut 2011 album “Camp”.  If you weren’t a fan of Childish Gambino before “Because the Internet”, then you were definitely one after. This album generated the most buzz, especially with his single “3005”- a seemingly upbeat song, with actually sad lyrics as Bino questions existence (heard a lot in verse two). Peep the sad rapper and a deteriorating bear in his video here.

Since it’s been a year since BTI, lets take a look back at Gambino’s top 5 lyrical moments in this album.

1. “Still spitting that cash flow: DJ Khaled/ I got a penthouse on both coasts: pH balance”– from “Sweatpants”

Rap Genius Explanation:

• This is a play on the traditional term for pH balance, which is usually applied to determine how acidic a solution is, pH in this case standing for penthouse. To balance out the fact that Gambino already has one penthouse on one side of the country, why not get a second one on the opposite and have an equal balance? The gang rivalries of the East and West Coast (Bloods vs. Crips) also resembles the pH scale as it goes from red to blue.

2.”   Got more likes than a white girl talking”– from “Worldstar”

Rap Genius Explanation:

• “More people like him, favorite his tweets, and like his Instagram pictures than the amount of times a stereotypical white girl uses “like” in her sentences.”

3. “Got no patience, cause I’m not a doctor/ Girl why is you lion, girl why you Mufasa”- from “3005”

Rap Genius Explanation:

• “Bino plays on the “patients/patience” homophone to say that he doesn’t have the tolerance to help other people with their problems because he has enough to deal with on his own.”
• “Another homophone usage — Mufasa was a lion from Disney’s The Lion King, but this girl is constantly lyin’ to him.”

4. “Got her hair done, French braids now she ASAP/ Bino so insensitive, she asking, “Why you say that?!” – from “Sweatpants

Rap Genius Explanation:

• A reference to ASAP Rocky who is known for his braids. Here’s his hair unbraided lol.

5. “Heathen, it’s a struggle just to keep breathing/ Existential asthmatic, puff puff pass addict/ Craftmatic, making moves but they sleeping on me/ We can kick it like it’s FIFA, homie/ Nevertheless, I got that fresh like it was Crest/ Grind cause I’m stressed”- From “Zealots of Stockholm/ Free Information”

Rap Genius Explanation:

• “It is a struggle to continue to exist. Donald is also having a hard time breathing due to his asthma and the fact that he is smoking as shown in the next line”
• Gambino’s craft, while being on another level is being slept on (overlooked, underrated, etc). Craftmatic also refers to adjustable bed. Note the play on words with “craftmatic” (a bed) and“sleeping on me”.
• FIFA—> Soccer, kick as in also relax/ chill.
• “Crest is the freshest toothpaste. Also, teams in FIFA have club logos, also known as “crests”.”
• “This is a double entendre—He is grinding his teeth from all his stress. This is also a reference to grinding weed. Most people smoke weed to escape from their stress and relax.”

Those, in my opinion, are my favorite moments. Even though they’re just small parts of the songs, those lyrics have a lot of meaning behind it and it’s fascinating to see. Bino’s an interesting rapper in the sense that he is extremely lyrical. Did I miss any good ones? Add on with a comment!

Since his last album, Childish Gambino has released his mixtape “STN MTN” and his EP “Kauai”, if you haven’t checked those out, you definitely should when you have the chance.

By Daisha Lewis