With the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef dying down, many artists will likely emerge from the smoke to drop their own albums. One of them is long time artist Childish Gambino, the rap-performer alter ego of Donald Glover. Gambino’s album is long awaited, as his last album was released back in 2016, Awaken, My Love!.
The album Atavista dropped on the morning of Monday, May 13. This came after Glover took an eight year break from making music to pursue his acting career.
“It’s different but it still sounds like Childish Gambino, which is something I like to hear. I like when an artist tries new things, but still somehow manages to have a little bit of their roots or sound in it,” claims senior Alex Markham.
According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, Atavism is the “recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, approach or activity.” This fits the style of the album, as it’s a polished version of a past album from Glover, that was titled 3.15.20, and taken off Spotify shortly after the release of Atavista.
Leading up to the album’s release date, Glover gave many fans hints over social media. Glover famously remarked to a fan “it’s a rollout dummy” after promoting his Instagram live for his ‘listening party’ of the album.
The album featured many different artists from many different genres. Artists such as pop star Ariana Grande, to R&B artist Summer Walker, to rap star 21 Savage. “ My favorite feature was probably the 21 Savage feature,” Junior Dean Bernas shared.
From the title track to the final track, fans had an overall positive first impression from the album. One that was well liked by fans was the lead track titled “Atavista.” Atavista leads the entire album with over 1.8 million streams.
One song that transferred from both albums was fan favorite “Human Sacrifice.” Human Sacrifice talks about themes related to loneliness, and the desire to be an emotional fulfillment in other’s life. It can be described from the lyrics, “I cannot explain the feeling, I’m alone.” This shows the struggles that one can suffer from loneliness, and that people need to communicate their emotions to others.
“I’d recommend it, If you are open to it, If you aren’t open to trying new things, particularly music, I wouldn’t recommend it just because it is different.” said Markham. Glover experimented with newer types of music, such as alternative hip hop and alternative R&B. This proved to work for him, as fans loved this new style.
“I thought it was a good album. It wasn’t his best work, but it was still pretty good, I still enjoyed it. There were some good songs. There was a mix of experimental rap, to lyrical rap, to pop. It was a great experience and a great listen.” expressed Bernas.
Overall, Childish Gambino experimented with newer types of music and different styles, but it still sounds like the Childish Gambino that fans know and love.
