There are some songs that are just beautiful to listen to in a calm and tranquil space that will elevate your heart and soul. Then there are others that, combined with their music video, help aid in the song’s subliminal messages and subtle references of our changing society. Childish Gambino is the archetype of this art form. Gambino, or Donald Glover, has continually spewed out profound and sonically-pleasing music. He takes every genre from hip-hop, R&B, rock and soul to create a mesmerizing song that seduces the ears of its listeners. Gambino adds to his songs by composing music videos of metaphorical and symbolic significance that he always leaves up to his fans to decipher.
In May, he released his popular “This is America” music video of him dancing while chaos occurred in the background. For many, the first watch was always focused on Gambino’s elegant dancing with school children surrounding him. After multiple viewings, viewers saw the hidden meanings in it, from the white horse symbolizing the Horsemen of the Apocalypse to Gambino shooting the church choir referencing the 2015 Charleston church massacre. Even his dancing was used to show how Americans are distracted by entertainment and black joy instead of focusing on the frightening reality of violence and discrimination of black Americans daily.
This summer Gambino released another song and a music video called “Feels Like Summer,” and instead of doing a performance, he relied on animation to capture his vision. It begins with him walking through a neighborhood and witnessing the activities of famous black rappers, singers and modern and past black figures. The entire mood of the music video is warmth and exuberance as the sky is red and glaring and people are outside enjoying the heat while it lasts. Gambino repeats, “You can feel it in the streets/ On a day like this, the heat/ It feel like summer” claiming how there is not just the heat but an aroma in the air. It makes people want to live out their lives and get out of the confines of their house.
Gambino goes on to say, “I feel like summer/ She feel like summer/ This feel like summer” reiterating how the heat does not make the summer, but the vibe of the season transforms individuals. The video has 2 Chainz taking a group shot of Meek Mill, Pusha T and Lil Wayne; The Weeknd, Ty Dolla Sign and Frank Ocean playing tug of war against A$AP Rocky, Solange Knowles and Willow Smith; and Lil Uzi Vert and Zendaya having their hair done by Oprah Winfrey and Tiffany Haddish. This is unity, love and compassion all within a few scenes of the video.
The video even captures Kanye West being comforted by Michelle Obama and Beyoncé wearing a shirt paying tribute to Fredo Santana, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. The scenes are all unexpected, but touch on how past and present are intertwined and how love and compassion brings the living and the dead together. The video has breathtaking animation and brings sorrow with jubilant arrangements of important black figures. Gambino says, “Seven billion souls that move around the sun/ Rolling faster, faster and not a chance to slow down/ Slow down,” showing how even with all this black love circulating, this moment will not last forever and we must cherish it as much as we can.
Kamal Morgan, an A&E Editor for the Voice, can be reached for comment at KMorgan20@wooster.edu.