For Gambino good music is Childs-play

So if you haven’t heard Childish Gambino’s new mix tapes then I hope it’s because you still have your ears tuned to ‘Because the Internet’. However time to put the old stuff aside because Bino has come out, pulled a Beyoncé and dropped 2 mix tapes (18 Tracks) of pure artistic brilliance. STN/MTN and Kauai takes us on a dream like tour of Childish Gambino’s psyche with an ever-so-crucial taste of Bino’s southern roots. This mix tape, in my humble opinion, is a true reflection of who the two-sided, multi-talented, expressive and creative person that Donald Glover/Childish Gambino is. I bring both names on the scene because this mix tape is a tale of two cities, it’s both sides of the coin, it’s a true combination of Donald and Bino. Childish Gambino has been on my radar since back in those bonfire days when a teammate of mine turned to me and said “check this man out.” I remember thinking that I had never heard anything like it, I’m not going to lie and say that I anticipated his success, because I didn’t. However, about a week later I turned on the TV and saw Bino on TV as Troy on the show Community and you can bet that I laughed my butt off. It was at this point that I knew that this man was one hell of an artistic talent. Gambino’s ability to express himself while taking risks with new types of sound while is incredible. You don’t have to go much further than STN/MTN and Kauai to see that Childish loves to put his creative lines on top of what I would call an unorthodox beats. Often times I feel as if mix tapes, albums all have a type of theme, whether it’s the melody of 808’s or the ‘I’m the man’ feel of Nothing Was the Same. However when listening to Childish I am surprised if any one song has the same feel as another, which is a good thing. STN/MTN brings us back to the old school hip-hop scene of Atlanta and embodies the heart and soul of the city and Gambino. This same mix tape has a fantastical, dream like feel to it. You know those dreams we all have as children of ourselves up on stage rapping/preforming? For me STN/MTN is a musical representation of what these dreams probably sounded like in Gambino’s mind way back when. Kauai then brings us back to the present day, Gambino gives us a coming of age style of music highlighting that the dreams of STN/MTN are now reality…and Kauai is what he’s going to do now that he’s made it. It’s probably appropriate that I now mention my favorite part of the mix tapes. Bino gave MY HOMETOWN a shout out on his track ‘Retro.’ If you don’t know already I’m from the Gold Coast, Australia, so this doesn’t happen often and you already know I was hype when I heard the line: “Down under surfing on the Gold Coast.” Needless to say, I made a scene. If you haven’t checked it out already then be sure that you do! And make sure you tune in to 95.5 WBRU every Sunday for the best music in New England. Drew Out.