“Because the Internet” a review of Childish Gambino’s 2013 Album

Because the Internet a review of Childish Gambinos 2013 Album

Gustavo Hernandez, Staff Writer

From acting in shows/movies like Community and Star Wars, and creating his own show, Atlanta, which is currently on in its 4th and final season. It’s clear that Donald Glover is an extremely talented person. One of his best works has to be 2013’s “Because the Internet”.

“Because the Internet” is the second album from Gambino & features artists such as Chance the rapper, Lloyd, and Jhene Aiko. The album was released on December 10th and along with a 72-page screenplay for the album, which is the script for the album’s movie and meant to be read alongside the album. “Because the internet” was also nominated for best rap album at the Grammys

Due to the album’s massive length, I’ll be reviewing the tracks that stood out the most to me.

Track 7: “III. Telegraph Ave. (Oakland by Lloyd)featuring Lloyd

In this song, Gambino talks about wanting to go reconcile with an old love interest, but on his way there, he starts to have second thoughts. A flaw I have is that the track feels kind of short, and it feels more like a Lloyd song then a Gambino song, the track could’ve benefited from having another Gambino verse. Otherwise, it’s a very good song, Lloyd’s first verse and Gambino singing alongside Lloyd is great.

Track 9: “V. 3005”

The lead single for the album, it’s an existential song about being afraid to be alone, although you might have not noticed the first time listening due to the song’s upbeat instrumental. According to an interview Gambino had with FUSE news, this is what he had to say:

“Everybody’s like, ‘It’s a love song,’”. “It’s kind of an existential thing. I’m just really scared of being alone. When I was little, there was a big dog down the street. I was really scared of it. But when I was with my sister, when I knew I had to protect her, I wasn’t afraid of the dog as much because somebody was there. I had a purpose…I kind of feel lost. I kind of lost that, I feel.”

A couple of flaws I have about this song are that some of the lyrics are kind of corny. An example is this line: “Got no patience because I’m not a doctor, girl why is you lying, girl why you Mufasa.” Although the song is still overall good.

Track 14: “I. Flight of the Navigator”

In this song, Gambino deals with the death of a close friend. When asked what inspired this song, Gambino said, I just felt really strange about death after seeing someone leave. Like it was a cruel joke”. A flaw I have about this song is that it feels like it goes on for longer than it should.

Track 18: “II. Earth: The Oldest Computer (The Last Night)” featuring Azealia Banks

In this song, Gambino feels like human life is too short for fulfillment. Throughout this song, he discusses the same themes that were discussed throughout the album (Love and isolation). At the end of the song, Gambino comes to the conclusion that nothing that we do really matters, life is just a code and Earth is just one big giant computer. A couple of flaws I have about this track is that I don’t really like the hook, it’s a little repetitive and feels lazy.

Track 19: “III. Life: The Biggest Troll (Andrew Auernheimer)”

In the final track, Gambino comes to the conclusion that despite being beautiful, life can be one cruel joke. This is my favorite track on the album.

Overall, despite its flaws like the album being a bit bloated, some songs either going on for longer than they should or being a lot shorter than they should have been, and a few tracks relying heavily on the screenplay, the album is very good, and its great tracks more than makeup for it.