This is America - Childish Gambino

[clive gash]

Kanye’s still two or three records better at the moment.

[sloopjohnc]

Kanye’s still two or three records better at the moment.

Oh, definitely. He's 20 years into it.

[clive gash]

And about two out of it.

[sloopjohnc]

It's almost like he predicted Kanye going crazy.

Yeah, who could have seen THAT coming?

Not like I have to worry about it, but I'd think twice about dating or marrying a Kardashian if my NBA contract contract were coming up or I was putting a new album out.

[Jumper K]

Kanye’s still two or three records better at the moment.

He’s no Kendrick though.

[clive gash]

Kanye’s still two or three records better at the moment.

He’s no Kendrick though.

Who’s no Q-Tip.

Yay! Rap Russian Doll time!

[Jumper K]

Kanye’s still two or three records better at the moment.

He’s no Kendrick though.

Who’s no Q-Tip.

Yay! Rap Russian Doll time!

Starting off with Bushwick Bill.

[Count Machuki]

He’s no Kendrick though.

Who’s no Q-Tip.

Yay! Rap Russian Doll time!

Starting off with Bushwick Bill.

Gentleman, gentlemen, please. It's been firmly established that nobody beats the Biz.



I gotta find the time to watch this video. We can talk Dadrap any time.

[Sneelock]

it's one hell of a video.

[sloopjohnc]

it's one hell of a video.

Last night, I was talking to my daughter about the video and her response was, "It's only white people tweeting positively about it."

I asked her what she meant and she said black folks are asking Glover why he's showing black people getting shot when it's already happened in real life. They don't need to see that, she said they're commenting.

I get it - the black church choir is a pretty strong image for african-american folks and to gun 'em down with a semi-automatic rifle might cause some consternation.

[Sneelock]

I get it too. I might even agree on some level. If somebody shot up a church choir shirtless and dancing tomorrow - it would change how everybody feels about it.

the singer and the children are dancing viral dances completely oblivious to the violence around them and the violence the singer himself is committing. at the tail end - they are fleeing in terror. what are they fleeing from?

it's thought provoking. it's a strong statement and very artistically done - stopping for the cigarette. LOL. I'd like to think anything that gets people talking about these issues is good art. what issues? our attention spans, man. our place in the world around us. I understand the violence makes this tricky but I'm thinking maybe the song stands on it's own. it might be "the song of the year" by the end of the year in a lot of ways. we'll see.

[jimboo]

Good video ,awful record.

[Sneelock]

For some reason it reminds me of "hey, ya"
it sort of gets me at that level.
sometimes I hear something and it strikes me as being "of it's moment".
I don't know how well that stuff ages but it's a great feeling if a song starts pollinating in the culture and you like it.

[sloopjohnc]

Another interpretation.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/do ... mg00000004

[Sneelock]

He uses the g-word.

[sloopjohnc]

His producer explains the video: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ib ... mg00000067

Now I'm really confused.

[toomanyhatz]

I don't think that really contradicts any of the other explanations I'm seeing. It's the mark of good art when there are multiple interpretations, all of them provocative, that might be "right."

In the previous one they talk about him being shirtless. I thought of the "new minstrelry" as being, in part, about physicality. It used to be that the "white" version of the black experience involved a dumbing down/playing to racial stereotypes. Now it's more about physicality. Blacks didn't have the foothold in organized sports they have now during Jim Crow; I'm assuming Glover is commenting on that being a mode of black entertainment geared toward whites (it's a generalization that modern athletics is a case of blacks "performing" for whites, but there's certainly SOME truth in it...)

[driftin]

It's an excellent video, if a little on the nose with its message but it's really creative, well told, and I like how it's set the internet abuzz with trying to decipher all of its hidden meanings.

As a song I wasn't convinced at first but somehow it's wormed its way into my brain and I'm finding myself repeating it. I think it's that heavy bass line that does it for me.

[sloopjohnc]

I'm not going to go on much longer about this song, but i was thinking about it this morning in regards to social or political statements made in pop music and as it relates to art.

Pop music is commercial art, for the most part, and rarely ever reaches ART with a capital A-R-T. I think one of the problems with that is pop artists are mostly vague and not ambiguous. That's a tough thing to do in art. I think some pop music did that very well during the psychedelic era and post punk.

Also, pop musicians are pretty simplistic when it comes to making political statements. Songs come close to diatribes and aren't very open ended in their perspective.That's where the ambiguity part comes in with art.

Good art should show and not tell and pop music doesn't do that very well. Good art makes you look inward and reflect on the artist's intentions and doesn't shove a viewpoint down your throat. Some really good art can overcome that, like Picasso's Guernica, for example, and some reggae does that very well, but for the most part it comes down to preaching.

Childish Gambino's video and the song contain some pretty sharp lyrics and images, but from my perspective, he is letting the viewer and listener decide how to interpret it and put them together. Not telling you how should think.

[Sneelock]

I agree with all that but did Beyonce at the Super Bowl “tell us how to think”?
I think black crossover artists putting feelings about race into their art is a really great thing,
The video we’re discussing is a splendid example. Judging by all the attention it’s getting It might be the most accomplished example.I don’t think it’s the only example.