Childish Gambino Video America
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- May 9, 2018 - Donald Glover's music video for 'This is America' is a jarring work of art that addresses gun violence, entertainment, police brutality, and black.
- Dec 21, 2018 Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' music video set the pop culture world abuzz for its political tone. (RCA Records) In 2009, she suggested Murai pitch a treatment for a video.
With “This Is America,” Childish Gambino pulls off a musical tightrope act. The video and song use the candor of trap to ground the rapture of black joy, and thus the ambivalence of the.
from the album This Is America ·Lyrics Terms of Use
Advisory - the following lyrics contain explicit language:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
We just wanna party
Party just for you
We just want the money
Money just for you
I don't wanna party
Party just for me
Girl, you got me dancin' (yeah, girl, you got me dancin')
Dance and shake the frame
We just wanna party (yeah)
Party just for you (yeah)
We just want the money (yeah)
Money just for you (you)
I don't wanna party (yeah)
Party just for me (yeah)
Girl, you got me dancin' (yeah, girl, you got me dancin')
Dance and shake the frame (you)
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This is America
Don't catch you slippin' up
Don't catch you slippin' up
Look what I'm whippin' up
This is America (woo)
Don't catch you slippin' up
Don't catch you slippin' up
Look what I'm whippin' up
This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy)
Look at how I'm livin' now
Police be trippin' now (woo)
Yeah, this is America (woo, ayy)
Guns in my area (word, my area)
I got the strap (ayy, ayy)
I gotta carry 'em
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go into this (ugh)
Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla (woo)
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go get the bag
Yeah, yeah, or I'ma get the pad
Yeah, yeah, I'm so cold like yeah (yeah)
I'm so dope like yeah (woo)
We gon' blow like yeah (straight up, uh)
Photos
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me
Get your money, Black man (get your money)
Get your money, Black man (get your money)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Black man
This is America (woo, ayy)
Don't catch you slippin' up (woo, woo, don't catch you slippin', now)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy, woah)
Look what I'm whippin' up (Slime!)
This is America (yeah, yeah)
Don't catch you slippin' up (woah, ayy)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy, woo)
Look what I'm whippin' up (ayy)
Look how I'm geekin' out (hey)
I'm so fitted (I'm so fitted, woo)
I'm on Gucci (I'm on Gucci)
I'm so pretty (yeah, yeah)
I'm gon' get it (ayy, I'm gon' get it)
Watch me move (blaow)
This a celly (ha)
That's a tool (yeah)
On my Kodak (woo, Black)
Ooh, know that (yeah, know that, hold on)
Get it (get it, get it)
Ooh, work it (21)
Hunnid bands, hunnid bands, hunnid bands (hunnid bands)
Contraband, contraband, contraband (contraband)
I got the plug on Oaxaca (woah)
They gonna find you that blocka (blaow)
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
America, I just checked my following list and
You go tell somebody
You mothafuckas owe me
Grandma told me
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Black man
1, 2, get down
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me, 'Get your money'
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Black man
You just a Black man in this world
You just a barcode, ayy
You just a Black man in this world
Drivin' expensive foreigns, yeah
You just a big dawg, yeah
I kenneled him in the backyard
That probably ain't life for a dog
For a big dog
Song Discussions is protected by U.S. Patent 9401941. Other patents pending.
Wait. It's a different kind of bop. It turns into a gore-ish spectacle that juxtaposes homeland terrorism and riots in the backdrop of outwardly happy people doing the latest dance moves with impeccable quality.
Curiously, none of the dancing people, who are all in uniform, are seemingly touched by all the violence. They dance and dance, either willfully ignoring the violence around them or perhaps prayerfully ignoring the violence surrounding them. Or distracting from it.
Either way, whether you call this dancing cooning or surviving, it's a strategy for dealing with death. Plus the subject matter is super timely given Kanye West's recent tweets (or performance art, if you believe the latest theory). The video, directed by Hiro Murai and produced by Doomsday with Ibra Ake and Fam Rothstein of Wolf + Rothstein, is best watched several times so that you can see what's happening in the background.
The video became a trending topic several times over as fans unpacked its secrets. Many parents would also argue it is not safe for children to watch, so be mindful as you view it.
Here are five more things worth noticing about this video.
- All the guns are handled with care. Every time someone is shot, the gun is taken away carefully and cradled. Meanwhile, the person shot is either left there or dragged away on the ground, not picked up. Also, the guy who collects the guns is dressed in a polo shirt and ironed khaki pants. Quite respectable.
- SZA makes a cameo. Near the end, as Gambino dances on old cars, SZA sits on a car in a lovely dress, hair half up and half down. In a post shared to Instagram, she wears flip-flops. It would appear another song is a'coming.
- Old cars. 'This is America' gives careful attention to the types of cars used in the video. Nothing is new or modern. All of the makes and models are mid- to early-'90s, if not '80s, cars. This speaks to the whole idea that a fair number of Americans aren't driving new whips; many people are pushing boxy cars that still have tape decks. Luxury vehicles often seen in rap videos are noticeably absent from this one.
- There are references to killing terrorists and terrorists killing us. Both the Charleston Church Massacre and a man who is shot in the back of the head, which is covered in a cloth bag, speak to the variety of gun deaths that occurs on American soil or as the result of American politics.
- The dancing. Gambino references at least 10 ultra-popular dances, both old ones and new ones. One of those dances was the Gwara Gwara, which originated in South Africa. What's remarkable is that the dancers nailed each performance, and you could interpret that in one or two or three ways. One, they are clueless and dancing. Two, they have a clue and dance to keep from crying. Three, they are jamming for the camera or for social media video and know their dancing is a distraction, a salve or an invisibility cloak. Keep in mind the dancers were not shot, nor were they chased by the police. Given Glover's droll sense of realistic humor on FX's Atlanta, it would not surprise me if all three interpretations are correct, because often that is life in America.
Donald Glover also stars as a young Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story. He is known for his ability to pack nuance — if you choose to see it, that is — into his performance art and writing.
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