Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 ALBUM REVIEW
(A/N: Some of the tracks in 3.15.20 are timestamps, so I’ll just name the tracks as they were rumored to be and put the timestamps [in brackets] to tell you the actual times.)
Donald Glover needs no introduction. Actor, rapper, singer, writer… He can do it all. I first discovered Childish Gambino through his 2013 album Because the Internet, which has slowly become one of my favorite rap albums in recent memory. His debut album Bonfire left a lot to be desired, although we do have the legendary “Bonfire” and the underrated “Heartbeat” off that project. What truly made me love Gambino’s music is his last full-length project, “Awaken, My Love!”, a freakish and psychedelic acid trip that should have gotten so much more praise and attention than it got. It’s been nearly four years since that project, though. Since then, he’s dropped the Grammy-winning phenomenon “This is America” and starred in big-budget films like Disney’s Lion King remake and had a small role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He’s also created an amazing show on FX, Atlanta. Right before this godforsaken pandemic, Gambino live-streamed a mysterious project titled Donald Glover Presents. It took the world by storm, then it was gone for an entire week. Then, it dropped a week later as 3.15.20, titled after the day the live-stream happened. This was the album that fans have been waiting for. Was the four-year wait for Donald Glover’s return as Childish Gambino worth it? Eh, I guess you’ll have to continue to find out.
3.15.20 is an R&B album with hints of soul, rap, and even some industrial thrown in for fun. “Vibrate” [12.38] is a woozy R&B banger with a surprisingly awesome feature from recent collaborator 21 Savage, “Why Go To The Party” [39.28] is a trippy piano-driven track where Glover’s lyrics are reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody” or even Bill Wurtz videos on YouTube, and the lead single “Feels Like Summer” [42.46] is one of the best tracks here with its introspective lyrics, but feels lacking without its powerful music video. Also, “Algorhythm” is an absolute banger with its futuristic and bass-heavy beat.
There are quite a bit of problems with 3.15.20, sadly. The tracks that I didn’t mention above just seem like demos or b-sides to something else. “Time” with Ariana Grande was always a track that I was hot and cold on, but I eventually decided that it just doesn’t wow me. “Beautiful” [19.10] has a great message in the beauty of who you are, but how the beat sounds is so grating to me that I almost skipped it when I was listening through it for the first time. “We Are” [0.00] is the most annoying track on the entire record. I didn’t plan on listening to Glover sing “we are, we are, we are” with reverb for 3 minutes, but I guess that happened. That awful Ed Sheeran and Khalid song that says “we are” better than Glover does.
As an album, 3.15.20 heavily disappointed me. It felt like a precursor to something that we’ll never get since the ‘Childish Gambino’ persona has been retired for the time being. While I have been coming back to tracks like “Algorhythm” and “Vibrate” [12.38] and “Why Go To The Party” [39.28], none of the other tracks have left a huge impression on me. If this truly is the end of Childish Gambino, this is not the way I imagined it would be.
5/10
Stream 3.15.20 here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
The cover is actually blank, and this is the concept art that was shown during the live-stream one week before it dropped on streaming services.
Donald Glover needs no introduction. Actor, rapper, singer, writer… He can do it all. I first discovered Childish Gambino through his 2013 album Because the Internet, which has slowly become one of my favorite rap albums in recent memory. His debut album Bonfire left a lot to be desired, although we do have the legendary “Bonfire” and the underrated “Heartbeat” off that project. What truly made me love Gambino’s music is his last full-length project, “Awaken, My Love!”, a freakish and psychedelic acid trip that should have gotten so much more praise and attention than it got. It’s been nearly four years since that project, though. Since then, he’s dropped the Grammy-winning phenomenon “This is America” and starred in big-budget films like Disney’s Lion King remake and had a small role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He’s also created an amazing show on FX, Atlanta. Right before this godforsaken pandemic, Gambino live-streamed a mysterious project titled Donald Glover Presents. It took the world by storm, then it was gone for an entire week. Then, it dropped a week later as 3.15.20, titled after the day the live-stream happened. This was the album that fans have been waiting for. Was the four-year wait for Donald Glover’s return as Childish Gambino worth it? Eh, I guess you’ll have to continue to find out.
3.15.20 is an R&B album with hints of soul, rap, and even some industrial thrown in for fun. “Vibrate” [12.38] is a woozy R&B banger with a surprisingly awesome feature from recent collaborator 21 Savage, “Why Go To The Party” [39.28] is a trippy piano-driven track where Glover’s lyrics are reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody” or even Bill Wurtz videos on YouTube, and the lead single “Feels Like Summer” [42.46] is one of the best tracks here with its introspective lyrics, but feels lacking without its powerful music video. Also, “Algorhythm” is an absolute banger with its futuristic and bass-heavy beat.
There are quite a bit of problems with 3.15.20, sadly. The tracks that I didn’t mention above just seem like demos or b-sides to something else. “Time” with Ariana Grande was always a track that I was hot and cold on, but I eventually decided that it just doesn’t wow me. “Beautiful” [19.10] has a great message in the beauty of who you are, but how the beat sounds is so grating to me that I almost skipped it when I was listening through it for the first time. “We Are” [0.00] is the most annoying track on the entire record. I didn’t plan on listening to Glover sing “we are, we are, we are” with reverb for 3 minutes, but I guess that happened. That awful Ed Sheeran and Khalid song that says “we are” better than Glover does.
As an album, 3.15.20 heavily disappointed me. It felt like a precursor to something that we’ll never get since the ‘Childish Gambino’ persona has been retired for the time being. While I have been coming back to tracks like “Algorhythm” and “Vibrate” [12.38] and “Why Go To The Party” [39.28], none of the other tracks have left a huge impression on me. If this truly is the end of Childish Gambino, this is not the way I imagined it would be.
5/10
Stream 3.15.20 here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
The cover is actually blank, and this is the concept art that was shown during the live-stream one week before it dropped on streaming services.
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