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Mon Jan 22 2024
5
Ah, my submission.
So this is my favorite album from my favorite artist. I think it is important to know that part of my submission is the context in which this album came out. It comes out with a screenplay, a narrative tour set, and an ARG of sorts along with it. I highly recommend the Dissect series on this album, it is quite good.
The album by itself is a blending of the excellent writing and delivery of rap by Donald, the enigmatic and unique production supporting, and the strong narrative 5 act structure tying everything together.
Altogether, this album is one I'd say also Bridges the gap between his earlier "nerd rap" and later funk, gospel, and Experimental eras, and bends genre to the fullest without breaking it.
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Mon Jan 22 2024
5
It's been a couple years since I've listened to Mr. Glover in full album format and I forgot just how good this is. Cheesy pun-filled lyrics, cool ass dreamy/spacey production, concept and thought. Issa goodun.
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Sun Jan 14 2024
4
This is a great album, but not his best work. I remember when this album came out. This was back when he was "that actor trying to rap". Honestly, out of his four studio albums, this is mildly better than his debut album, and far behind Awaken, My Love. But the songs are catchy and memorable. Well written, too. Pretty much every song gets my toe tapping and my head bobbing. No denying Donald's talent. Sad that he says that he's done making music. Hope that's not true. He said back in 2020 that his next "musical project" would be huge. Hoping that's another CG album.
4.5/5, but rounding down to 4 because only because Awaken, My Love! is better at a 5/5.
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Fri Jan 19 2024
4
Fuck. Yes. I've been a fan of the Gambino since Werewolf Bar Mitzvah (spooky! scary!).
My immediate thought is that this isn't as good as Awaken, My Love! or a lot of his earlier albums and EPs (I love Camp and the 2011 EP so much).
But then I put it on and it's just so fucking good.
Donald's career is always one to watch. He's one of those people that is just unbelievably good at everything he does, and I always wish he did MORE of that thing. I wish he did MORE stand-up, I wish he did MORE comedy acting, and I wish he did MORE rapping/music writing.
But I'm glad for what we have.
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Fri Jan 19 2024
4
First half loaded with bops, second half kind of but overall forgot how good this album was. US making a strong showing here in the user albums
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Tue Jan 23 2024
4
C'est bon , plus de 1h mais quand même il y de la bonne musique très diversifié dessus. J'ai bien aimé ça sort du lot de tout les rappeurs/artistes pareil de ces années 4
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Tue Jan 30 2024
4
The concept ends up light, in positive and negative senses. None of Gambino's movements are particularly tight, but they do add flow to a record with plenty of it already. Most interesting is the pulling-in of the noisy and disturbing; As soundscapes, they're less of a shock and more of a capsize. But Because the Internet maintains pop appeal through, and has no drop-offs beginning, middle, or end.
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Sun Feb 04 2024
4
Started on the fence with this, feeling like it might be mostly derivative, and if the lyrics were saying all that much, fast and failed though the flow might be. By the final triptych I'd it had brought me around though.
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Mon Feb 05 2024
4
Gambino should have an album on this list, but my pick would probably be Awaken, My Love! - it's significantly more polished than this project. Still, there are a few bangers on this thing, and maybe if I had listened to this when I was 16 I'd have a closer connection to it. 7/10
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Mon Feb 05 2024
4
8/10. Definitely had some moments where I was vibing with it, but it didn't rock my world either. I feel like the bits that stood out to me were often just the tracks I'd heard before, but there was cool stuff that didn't sound familiar as well. I can imagine a world where I grow to really enjoy this album.
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Sat Feb 10 2024
4
I think Donald Glover is one of the most incredible talents around. I just love his TV shows, Atlanta and Mr & Mrs Smith, and his music is pretty fly as well. I’m not a huge fan of rap but I can appreciate the excellent production and performance here
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Thu Feb 15 2024
4
From this period onwards I'll take Donald Glover over Kanye. Mostly familiar with him as an actor and hadn't listened to any of his music really, but this is an entertaining mess of an album. Keeps you on your toes, and it definitely got a few audible laughs out of me.
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Fri Apr 19 2024
4
Huge unforced error on my part not to listen to this whole LP - bumped '3005' all the time back in high school, but foolishly neglected the rest of the album.
This is the closest I've come to giving an LP 5 stars on my first listen, mainly for the outstanding electronic production that makes this album's beats sound fresh even a decade later. The melodies are strong and memorable, the drums aggressive and punchy, and the synth choices attention-grabbing without distracting from Gambino's involved flows. I could easily listen to this album as an instrumental version and rock out, which stands in contrast to other rappers' beats which often skew heavily rhythmic and sometimes forgettable.
If I did that, though, I'd be missing out on Glover's perfect wordplay. There were times during my listen yesterday that I had to stop working and just listen to the lyrics in fear I'd missed some small nuance or slight of hand that was crucial to the story Gambino was telling. There are so many lexical nooks and crannies in the flows here that one could easily get overwhelmed, but Glover has no problem firing off info at a crisp machine-gun pace before hitting rapid changeups and mirroring the sketch voices of rap's glory days. Each verse has clearly been thought out and planned to the smallest syllable, but Donald makes them sound effortless and casual even when he's hitting the more acerbic, spitting verses (i.e., the entirety of 'Sweatpants').
The only thing keeping this album from perfection (to me) is the quieter, less demanding final third that fails to live up to the high standard of what precedes it. That being said, the whole album is still an absolute joy to listen to in full, thanks in part to the artistic attention to detail that's been so thoroughly paid to each and every granule of the production space. Top to bottom (or vocals to beats), this thing is a densely constructed piece of art that rewards listeners for paying attention and taking notes while maintaining an overwhelming sense of carelessness and fun – if that isn't good music, then what the hell is?
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Fri Apr 26 2024
4
So much weird shit on this one. But an undeniable classic
Even though 3005 is like the only song that's enjoyable.
4
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Thu Feb 15 2024
3
Childish Gambino will no doubt be added to future editions.
Overall though, I find this album kind of meh. It's there, doesn't say a whole lot to me. But it all sounds fine.
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Sun Mar 03 2024
3
I can appreciate that Donald Glover is super talented, but this just isn't my cup of tea. 3 stars.
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Mon Mar 18 2024
3
I can really get into this kinda hiphop, especially because of it's social consciousness.
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Wed Jan 31 2024
2
Way cooler than I am
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Thu Feb 22 2024
2
I had the urge to stop this album during the first 2 songs. But as always, I push through the end. Luckily there was the occasional song which I liked. But not a high ranking album for me
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Tue Mar 05 2024
2
Didn't like it
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Sat Apr 13 2024
2
He was funny on community but this is not my thing. 2/5.
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Fri Apr 12 2024
1
Why would anyone give 5 stars for this shite? 🤣
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