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Get to Know Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino is a music persona played by Donald Glover. His first song as this persona was released in 2008.

Donald Glover outside the music persona works as an actor, producer and writer with his earliest appearance being in 2009.

Sadly, Childish Gambino as a persona has been retired since 2024

"Childish Gambino" by EWatson92 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

About "This is America"

"This is America" is a song written by Childish Gambino and Ludwig Göransson. The song was published May 6, 2018. The song talks about gun violence, police brutality and racism in America.

Despite the song not having anyone featured on it, it does sample a multitude of black rap artist. Such as, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Quavo, Blocboy Jb and Slim Jxmmi. All of these artists have gone to jail, except 21 Savage who only has allegations.

While all of these artists are sampled and played in the song. Their voices are only used as adlibs throughout different parts of the song. Everyone except Young Thug, who is sampled for the outro of the song and has two sampled lines in the second half of the song

Song Info

  • BPM is 120

  • "This is America" has an alternating time signature of 6/8 and 3/4

  • Genre is HipHop and Afro Beats

  • The length pf the song is 3:45

Song Form

I-Br-C-V1-Refrain-C-V2-Refrain-O

The refrain of "This is America" can also be considered a Choir Break as that's when the Choir sings for most of the song

Example of first Choir Break

This is AmericaChildish Gambino
00:00 / 00:15

Instrumentation

"This is America" consists of few instruments in comparison to other HipHop songs it has

  • Guitar

  • Bass

  • Percussion Instruments

  • Gospel-Style Choir

Arguably the most important Instrument on this list is the Choir. Whenever they sing the background music changes to fit. This changes the tone of the song to be more upbeat than it was before. The choir also helps with representation throughout the song. When thinking of a gospel-style choir you think of a black church since that is the typical style they use when singing

"160206-G-MR731-656" by US Coast Guard Academy is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

Lyrics and what they mean

"This Is America"

The lyric "This is America" is a lyrical hook. It's the name of the song and whenever Childish Gambino says it he says a lyric directly after it that is dark and grim.

This is AmericaChildish Gambino
00:00 / 00:30

Conclusion

In conclusion, Childish Gambino's "This is America" is a song that talks about racism, gun violence and police brutality. He uses lyrical hooks and allegories to fully convey this meaning. Despite being released in 2018 the meanings in this song are still prevalent seven years later.

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