Childish Gambino

luka

Well-known member
black people have come to occupy the role the proletariat did for middle and upper class Marxists.
 

luka

Well-known member
if i do a list of the top of my head of what black music represents to me and the things i have learned from it...

blithe sophistication (e.g. george benson)
ecstactic religious communion (gospel tradition)
spiritual seeking and aspiration (eg coltrane)
Rebel Music (eg Bob Marley)
the Stag o' Lee archetype
Technical excellence. mastery of musicianship
afro-futurism
humanist compassion (eg curtis mayfield)
emotional literacy and expressiveness
righteous anger...
dovetailing into political militancy
extreme altered states and psychedelic voyaging (eg george clinton)
conceptual continuity (clinton again, wu tang)
occulted and hermetic wisdom (wu, sun ra)
libidinal energy and and sexual liberation
ache of unrequited desire
gleeful ignorance/immaturity/id
highbrow, high art, high concept avant gardism (cecil taylor etc)
shameless cornball sentimentality (lionel richie)
warm, organic, natural, unaffected, soulful (on the one hand)
cold, posthuman, hard, uncompromising (on the other)
continuity of tradition and respect for the ancestors (on the one hand)
uncompromising pursuit of the future (on the other)
sophisticated, urbane, louche (on the one hand)
raw, untutored, passionate (on the other)

taken as a whole black music expresses and embodies every potential of the human spirit,
unsuprisingly, given that, taken as a whole, it represents one of the major creative achievements
of civilization. one of the strongest and most vital of all artistic lineages.

but it's not reducible to any one aspect. it can, and does, do everything.
 
Last edited:

luka

Well-known member
you can have a tweet like this say

which is predicated on an unspoken -black people lol your job is not to be nerds its
to represent a mythic unmediated masculinity to me by mostly talking about
guns and your dick-
 

luka

Well-known member
kanye and gambino both profit from the same supposition
that is, that what they do is important because of the platform they have,
not because it is original, startlingly brilliant and unexpected
but becasue it's a famous person doing it. Dean Blunt, (who i have never listened to,)
wouldnt get the same response for the same moves becuase, who the fuck is that\?
 
Last edited:

luka

Well-known member
not so long ago i heard someone say they hate African music because it doesnt situate itself in an oppositional relationship to Babylon in the way Jamaican music does.

now that's indisputably (and flamboyantly) ignorant and yet valuing and finding inspiration in that oppositional stance is not, in itself, a bad thing. it might lead you to turn into The Clash, but as a starting point i dont consider it contemptible.

what seems more thorny is a failure to grasp that while the image of black people has come, for historical-political reasons, to symbolise resistance (among a 1000 other things) its not an intrinsic biological propety or some sort of moral imperative all black musicians have to live up to (or be declared inauthentically black)

again see zhao et al on the 50cent thread.
 
Last edited:

luka

Well-known member
kamilia bazzi
‏ @kamiliabazzi
May 8

#ThisIsAmerica will go down in history. Will be played in future classrooms & put in textbooks



Kristina Sullivan
‏ @Stinaaa_sul
May 9

Okay but everyone needs to watch #ThisIsAmerica rn. Like everyone needs to sit and reflect on what happens here and we need to actually fix it


Brennan March
‏ @BrennanMarch
May 8

I think that everyone making memes about about the #ThisIsAmerica video and commenting on how good the dancing is are just furthering the point the video was trying to make. Western society has a serious problem and I think the majority of the public refuses to see that...
1 reply 21 retweets 116 likes
Tiffany Williams
‏ @TiffanyTeaches
May 8

Sza's cameo. She's a woman. She's silent. She's watching us and the action and looking gorgeous while doing it. Could her cameo be a commentary on black women being forced into the "I'm so pretty" role? No adlibs from her. Seen but not heard?#hiphoped #ThisIsAmerica


Mashaal Mir
‏ @MashaalMir
May 9

Did you catch all the themes in Childish Gambino's “#ThisisAmerica”? Check out my piece about the different layers & nuances of the music video


Mizy Musthafa
‏ @MizyMusthafa
May 9

I love Childish Gambino’s #ThisIsAmerica so much - it has given so much for us to delve into. The symbolism, culture, and history.

Not just another song with just another video.
3 replies 29 retweets 126 likes


LindaCochina.
‏ @_marmaid
May 9

Peep your current favorite "woke" celebrity (w the all seeing eye on his jacket) do the baphomet salute at the Illuminati Ball. #ThisIsAmerica


IWantSeparationBecauseOfYourRacism
‏ @Separate_Now
17h17 hours ago

#thisisamerica video - Looking at the white reactions to this video on Youtube, they seem to think this video is just about blk-on-blk crime. Even the choir scene most if not all of them thought it was about something else -e.g Las Vegas shooting. They have ZERO insight/empathy.


Jensen Rubinstein
‏ @Jensensayyys
May 10

Jensen Rubinstein Retweeted INSIDER

This video is truly a piece of art. Childish Gambino for a Pulitzer Prize 🏆 #ThisIsAmerica
 

luka

Well-known member
Tara L. Samples
‏ @TaraLSamples
May 11

I see Waffle Houses across the country closing in the very near future. Bad management = unemployed employees who need a job to take care of their families. #ThisIsAmerica
 

luka

Well-known member
Tyler
Tyler
1 hour ago
I see a lot of comments praising the 17 seconds of silence as a respectful thing to do but I don’t think that was the point at all. During the 17 seconds you can still hear gunshots and violence happening, then at the end he lights a cigarette apathetically. It shows how 17 seconds does nothing and people don’t really care about it. The 17 seconds happens and violence continues. I believe it’s satire in order to show how useless 17 seconds of silence is as opposed to actually doing something about violence in America
454
desireewhy
desireewhy
49 minutes ago
true.
Mr .DarkNC
Mr .DarkNC
45 minutes ago
That’s what the shooting is that’s what they heard in the shooting my dude
2
Oliver 2000
Oliver 2000
43 minutes ago
A song and video designed to give the impression that "this means something" "this means something" when in reality it meant nothing. Says something about society when deliberately inaudible and random incomprehensible lyrics and the strong atmosphere created in this song/video that says "this is deep, provocative and meaningful" is enough for us to fill in our own connotations about racism etc. Watch the lyric video. Look, what they had in mind was how can this song/video be a hit, successful and popular. The 'meaning' was obvious, that people are too focused on dancing and arbitrary things in America and are not seeing the problems in the background. However it was put across very poorly, in fact it wasn't put across. It was actually conforming to society, and would have been more provoking if he had said the opposite of this video, something I kind of respect Kanye for. This is what people want to see. Something that genuinely has a message about society is usually not. What's more the gist of the message was total bullshit, that social media is distracting us from the reality of people getting shot with Kalashnikovs in the background? And if anything shootings get too much attention and are glorified (mainly for personal gain), people across America aren't supposed to just carry on living their life's after things such as the Charleston massacre? But I suppose some meaning can be derived from it and it was a nice video.
8
Apollyon
Apollyon
35 minutes ago
That is a joint not a cigarette.
4
stevenmael
stevenmael
30 minutes ago
Pearls before swine.

bobhijita
bobhijita
25 minutes ago
that's a spliff not a cigarette. i like your interpretation of the 17 secs. makes a lot of sense. The spliff is about numbing.
 

luka

Well-known member
Bubba Hotep
18 minutes ago
Honestly how can anyone understand shit from that garbage. Plus I’m one of those people that gonna go about his day like normal no matter what happens. What is everyone supposed to just stop what they are doing when something bad happens and each person in the world think of ways they could solve that problem. Please that’s the problem with society today. Everyone acts like they care so much and just want what’s best for not just them but everyone. Again please I’d prefer not to see no violence but unless it directly effects me then I don’t give a fuck. Just like the majority of people but a lot of that majority want to put on a show like they care. This video does nothing but show what most people think already. Blacks blame all their problems on someone else and it ain’t never any of their own doing. Take some responsibility and stop with all the world must stop shit when something happens. I got my own problems I ain’t losing sleep over nothing. Especially something happening to other people

Punan Habit
Punan Habit
10 minutes ago
Its hard for most to tell whats really going on behind the gun violence situations in America as depicted in this video, so I'll break it down for you. A communist named "Soros" has funded and promoted most major recent gun violence situations behind the scenes for 1 main purpose... to create a reason to try and strip us of our gun rights - The 2nd Ammendment. Why? So we cant fight back during a time of takeover, which a group of evil people (families) that stem from the progressive liberal left have been planning for over 100 years. Most people are just tools that have been helping to advance the progressive lefts agenda unknowingly for decades. You've been progressed for 1 reason only - to keep you quiet, complacent, and submissive as they carry on with their "fundamental transformation" of America. How? Through your beloved media for one, tarded education system for another, social strife, broken family unit, etc. I know its hard to understand what Im saying here, but these gun violence situations have been planned and staged in the hopes of making enough people think that weapons are evil, so they could garner enough support from voters in order to enact unconstitutional legislation that strips us of our 2nd Ammendment right. You've been used and dont even realize it. What are you gonna do when you cant fight back all of a sudden, cuz you willingly allowed some enemies of the state to fool you into giving your most important protection up... your weapons?? You wont get the chance to get them back afterwards, and we'll wind up like citizens of some other unfortunate countries it has already happened to!

Think outside the box people, and consider what Im telling you, because you wont get it from the mainstream

Ja Herra
Ja Herra
1 minute ago
Bubba Hotep Yes exactly you said the best. He made this song and video to get money nothing more. He crafted it to make all the sheeps go crazy and generate all the buzz because they feel like they have to in order to qualify as a "good person". You will get jumped in the comments because people see you aren't agreeing with their bullshit and they see a great way of getting likes on their comments and in that way they pat each other in their backs for being such great human beings. Everyone acts like they care only because they feel like its the way to get acceptance. And then there are we who feel like we must say/do the opposite everytime to get noticed.

basil and tea leaves
basil and tea leaves
57 minutes ago
I think the last scene where he runs away symbolizes how if someone’s opinion on politics are different, everyone seems to go after that person.


EMEZETA MUSIC
59 minutes ago
HELLO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WITH LYRICS AND MUSIC (THE MOST SIMILAR TO THE ORIGINAL) I INVITE YOU WITH ALL THE HUMILITY OF THE WORLD TO SEE THE MADNESS THAT RECORDES YESTERDAY AND IS ALREADY IN ALL SOCIAL NETWORKS 20 MINUTES AWAY AND IS GENERATING GOOD ANSWERS, THAT WAIT TO SEE YOU ALSO AND GIVE YOUR OPINION ON MY WORK! THIS IS AMERICA, A SHIT !!!

HOLA SI LES INTERESA SABER QUE SIGNIFICA CON LÍRICA Y MÚSICA ( LO MAS SIMILAR AL ORIGINAL ) LOS INVITO CON TODA LA HUMILDAD DEL MUNDO A VER LA LOCURA QUE GRABE AYER POR LA MADRUGADA Y YA ESTA EN TODAS LA REDES SOCIALES HACE 20 MINUTOS Y ESTA GENERANDO BUENAS RESPUESTAS, QUE ESPERAS PARA VERLO TU TAMBIÉN Y DAR TU OPINIÓN SOBRE MI TRABAJO! ESTO ES AMÉRICA , UNA MIERDA!!!
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
Still not seen this but his funk/soul album (or at least stay woke) was a 100 times better than any of his half baked/post kanye cringe hip hop stuff. I like him as a personality/actor though. He should do more on that side of things and stop rapping. Musically he's pretty derivative (as a singer he's good but not that distinctive). The music he makes just seems like a side thing he does to show he can.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Seems that the first series of 'Atlanta' (which I started watching tonight -only halfway through, no spoilers please) already did everything that 'This is America' is trying to achieve, but much better. Gets across a hallucinatory and surreal vision of what it is to be black in America in the 21st C - I thought it was/is brilliant, showing not telling.
 

Leo

Well-known member
season 2 is darker and weirder, and they occasionally focus an entire episode on a single character. really good.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
started watching Season 2, very into it.

Loved the way Season 1 closed with Outkast's Elevators. Perfectly downbeat. The Migos guest appearance was great too and unexpectedly well done (I'd read nothing about the series beforehand). And the Azealia Banks Snapchat joke...the reality being weirder than anything in the series
 
Top