The fact that it sounds so different from anything he’s ever released before could be described as experimental. The sound of “Camp” is wholly different from that of “Because the Internet,” and that of “Awaken, My Love!” Hence, it would make sense for “3.15.20” to be dashed with the same amount of unruly experimentation that’s made every Childish Gambino record so delightfully unique up until now. Perhaps Gambino is just too avant-garde and the album too forward-thinking for this day and age? Or perhaps this latest work is a travesty of sounds, an album so conceited by its ability to achieve celebrity-status during a time of crisis that it doesn’t care if it sounds good, bad or simply okay as long as it’s out there for the masses to access.Ĭhildish Gambino has always been known for his tenacity when it comes to experimenting with projects. Every song clashes against one another, producing the sounds of an interminable brawl that I wish could be punished for assaulting my ears. And yet, cries of despair and emotional oomph also feel out of place due to the discordant sounds Gambino has decided to attach to them. Attempts at recreating the tribal rhythms Ludwig Goransson forged so brilliantly for “Black Panther” feel entirely out of place within the framework of an album that’s concerned with emotional entanglement.

The element of surprise resided in the fact that his latest release sucked.Ĭomposed in a futurist vein that sacrifices the soulfulness of Donald Glover’s voice for robotic dullness, “3.15.20” (the dumbest album title to grace the music world in a while) ends up sounding like a failed attempt at making a bad Prince album. Unfortunately, the surprise factor did not arise from the fact that the drop had been unprecedented most Gambino fans already take him to be somewhat of an enigma. On March 21, Childish Gambino spontaneously dropped a new album.

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