Muffled funk
Not to be trusted
pay more attention to what else is out there, beyonce, beyonce sister, beyonce's husband.
Last edited:
thats unfair in my opinion. The music video was supposed to depict the culture of america and gun violence, black issues, police issues amongst a host of other things. If you think the actual song is trash then fine , but i dont think the point was for you to be playing it in your car and thinking it was some mad beats. It was to me an incredible way of showing just how our culture reacts to the wrong things and idolises the wrong things and really makes you think which is what i imagine is what he was trying to portray from the first second of the video. I think that is why online its getting the reviews it is getting. Not because it is musical genius, but the way he is trying to bring across his message.Watched it. Video was good, song was trash. People online saying how it's a masterpiece and that he's a genius. Just goes to show how low the bar is these days.
Can't help it if they're all great and happen to be related to one another.pay more attention to what's else is out there, beyonce, beyonce sister, beyonce's husband.
Yes.pay more attention to what's else is out there, beyonce, beyonce sister, beyonce's husband.
well you are saying people need to go out there and look out for more artistic music videos that have deep messages then you list world famous artists who are all related that everyone knows and whos videos have 10xs as many youtube views as glover.Yes.
Fela Kuti, Oshun, Trayvon Martin, Malcolm X, Warshan Shire, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, black women’s stereotypes, black women’s hair, police brutality, race vs class.
And literally dozens more topics & references are made by Beyoncé, her sister and her husband.
Is that a problem?
I dunno, I really like the music in it (as I do in the ‘Saturday’ one from SNL) which doesn’t seem to be sampled (though he has a couple producers on it - notably Doomsday) and the Trap beat is appropriately visceral and grimy for the message. The only thing that lets it down are the lyrics IMO. But then his actual rapping has always been the element of the Gambino persona I’ve liked the least.In the case of Gambino I think he’s more skilled in TV than music, we’re all gushing about the music video but very few are gushing about the actual song..
Well have you seen the videos? Or caught the references I spoke about?well you are saying people need to go out there and look out for more artistic music videos that have deep messages then you list world famous artists who are all related that everyone knows and whos videos have 10xs as many youtube views as glover.
It seems like you don’t like samples? You said something about kanye’s usage earlier.I dunno, I really like the music in it (as I do in the ‘Saturday’ one from SNL) which doesn’t seem to be sampled (though he has a couple producers on it - notably Doomsday) and the Trap beat is appropriately visceral and grimy for the message. The only thing that lets it down are the lyrics IMO. But then his actual rapping has always been the element of the Gambino persona I’ve liked the least.
Which I suppose plays into your point.
So obvious really and I didn't even notice that one.With that being said, my biggest takeaways from the video;
1 - he looks exactly like Fela Kuti, coupled with the african dances - it actually reminds me of africa, even the uniform the kids are wearing
2 - the church massacre
3 - guns are treated better than the bodies of those he kills
4 - the kids are watching, while being ignorant to what's around them
5 - jim crow pose
6 - cops bring the most chaos in the back
7 - there is no escape
8 - suicide/mental health (someone killed themselves at some point)
9 - abandoned cars (traffic light arrests/killings maybe?)
10 - mass incarceration
11 - get out
12 - black people dance and sing through it all, despite this.
I love samples. It’s more that I wish more people were aware of where they came from.It seems like you don’t like samples? You said something about kanye’s usage earlier.
No idea’s original - Nas.I love samples. It’s more that I wish more people were aware of where they came from.
There can be a great deal of talent in sampling (especially if several are used to create a distinctive new peice) Though I’ll always rate someone writing a good original piece of music (as Glover and his co-writer Ludwig Goransson have done on his latest albums) over it. For obvious reasons.
Me too. I’ve made beats. It doesn’t devalue the worth of Hip Hop one bit. I’m just not going to say RZA is as talented as Michael Jackson, is all.No idea’s original - Nas.
Samples are what built hip hop, and they keep good music alive, imo. I love a great sampled beat especially if it’s relevant to the topic in the song.
I think the idea of Michael’s talent being unreachable is outdated personally.Me too. It doesn’t devalue the worth of Hip Hop one bit. I’m just not going to say RZA is as talented as Michael Jackson, is all.
Okay, substitute Jackson for Prince, or Bowie or anyone of that ilk. Point being...I think the idea of Michael’s talent being unreachable is outdated personally.
Similar to Jordan in the NBA, everyone knows Bron is more talented, but the icon of Jordan & his influence and inspiration will never be surpassed, same with MJ.
And as someone’s whose both made sampled beats and plays instruments, you’re never going to convince me that sampling requires as much talent as the actual creation of music.If we’re going to appraise someone’s talent, I think it matters whether they actively write their music. 9 times out of 10, at least...
Artistry isn’t necessarily only about talent though.Okay, substitute Jackson for Prince, or Bowie or anyone of that ilk. Point being...
And as someone’s whose both made sampled beats and plays instruments, you’re never going to convince me that sampling requires as much talent as the actual creation of music.
This isn’t a criticism of Hip Hop whatsoever. The art form is sound. I’m just wary of how much credit we apportion for certain parts of it.
I’d probably agree. And I’m not saying there’s no artistry or talent in a heavily sampled tune. I’m just saying I think there’s less.Artistry isn’t necessarily only about talent though.
Prince and Bowie are more talented than MJ from an objective standpoint.
Well I’d include lyricism in a similar talent bracket tbf. Great lyricism is great poetry which is great writing. Sampling is akin to a dramatically different reading of someone else’s poem. It’s interesting, and has its own merit. But someone still had to write it first.But what good is it if you can write all your music and yet not as many people resonate with your words?
Amongst the current crop of rappers he’s comfortably 2nd tier.I’d probably agree. And I’m not saying there’s no artistry or talent in a heavily sampled tune. I’m just saying I think there’s less.
Well I’d include lyricism in a similar talent bracket tbf. Great lyricism is great poetry which is great writing. Sampling is akin to a dramatically different reading of someone else’s poem. It’s interesting, and has its own merit. But someone still had to write it first.
And in the end, the lyricism is really what defines Hip Hop to most people. And what elevates it to art.
Which in a way (bringing it back, brining it back now!) is why im surprised I don’t like Glover’s rapping more. It should be his forte.
The commentary is a critique to All Americans. Including Black Americans. The idea that Black America can only aspire to 'get money' is a patently untrue narrative. It's one that's believed by Black Americans at a rate that would be called racism if adopted by white people. America is decades behind most developed world countries in those terms.I thought the main take away was supposed to be about how easy it was to miss what was going on in the background in America. The first couple of times I watched it, I was focusing on Glover making a fool of himself with his paunch. All the stuff out-of-focus was exactly that... outside of my focus. It was only on the third and subsequent viewings that I noticed the rest of the video.
Black America can only really aspire to 'get money' by being entertainers for the rest of the nation, whilst the underlying horrors of the black experience get lost in the haze. Black Panther, Obama and Jay-Z doesn't change that.
Great point.The commentary is a critique to All Americans. Including Black Americans. The idea that Black America can only aspire to 'get money' is a patently untrue narrative. It's one that's believed by Black Americans at a rate that would be called racism if adopted by white people. America is decades behind most developed world countries in those terms.
Easily.Amongst the current crop of rappers he’s comfortably 2nd tier.
In a more talented grouping of he’s definitely third tier..
I don't really see what he's trying to highlight or what the 'visceral statement' is.
1 - he looks exactly like Fela Kuti, coupled with the african dances - it actually reminds me of africa, even the uniform the kids are wearing
2 - the church massacre
3 - guns are treated better than the bodies of those he kills
4 - the kids are watching, while being ignorant to what's around them
5 - jim crow pose
6 - cops bring the most chaos in the back
7 - there is no escape
8 - suicide/mental health (someone killed themselves at some point)
9 - abandoned cars (traffic light arrests/killings maybe?)
10 - mass incarceration
11 - get out
12 - black people dance and sing through it all, despite this.
This guy explains it really well - follow the threadPerhaps this is one of the "art" videos, I don't really get. Catchy music, nice moves and that's it. Don't really get the buzz about the theme or the setting. Violence and shooting in America is not really a novel theme by any stretch.
Wiki says "is a surreal, visceral statement about gun violence in America". Surreal? You probably can't get more real than this in a legal video. I don't really see what he's trying to highlight or what the 'visceral statement' is.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
I noticed it, I am astute af ^______^There’s also Death riding a pale horse at one point, which no one notices on first viewing, because Donny & the kids are dancing in front of it.
It's bewildering to me that the self-styled 'Best Nation on Earth' was;Great point.
And further to it, especially on the narrative of black Americans, they have only been ‘free’ for maybe 3 generations - the first black child to attend a ‘whites only’ school is barely in her 60s iirc.
In comparison to the 100s of years of generations who were enslaved.
With that being said, who can blame them for wanting to celebrate?
With that being said, my biggest takeaways from the video;
1 - he looks exactly like Fela Kuti, coupled with the african dances - it actually reminds me of africa, even the uniform the kids are wearing
2 - the church massacre
3 - guns are treated better than the bodies of those he kills
4 - the kids are watching, while being ignorant to what's around them
5 - jim crow pose
6 - cops bring the most chaos in the back
7 - there is no escape
8 - suicide/mental health (someone killed themselves at some point)
9 - abandoned cars (traffic light arrests/killings maybe?)
10 - mass incarceration
11 - get out
12 - black people dance and sing through it all, despite this.
Yes they are. I've been asked about a dozen times the last couple days "coach, have you seen the new Gambino video!?!"It's great that such a short video can have such a phenomenal impact. Guaranteed there are teenagers everywhere googling things like 'Jim Crow' as we speak. That's the power of intelligent communication right there.
Have you listened to 'Awaken, my love!' in entirety?Redbone and 3005 are the only songs of his that i like, Atlanta was OK, i dont see the hype with this guy. Abit overrated
Its a bit too subtle for my liking. Like in English class where teachers ask what random things in a book mean, when it may well mean feck all but they want to force fit a beautiful poem in their heads.
I missed the horse in the background.
I'd say it's the opposite. It's extremely layered but it's very in your face. 30 seconds in a man is executed.Its a bit too subtle for my liking. Like in English class where teachers ask what random things in a book mean, when it may well mean feck all but they want to force fit a beautiful poem in their heads.
Great track though.