Donald Glover is one of the most important artists of our generation, bridging the gaps between actor, writer, director, and musician. Recently he is known for his chart-topping single "Redbone" from the also chart-topping "Awaken, My Love!" , and the Emmy winning series Atlanta. I actually wrote a review for the pilot of Atlanta on my abandoned blogspot, which you can read here if you're a masochist. Or, if you want to learn more about Donald Glover and not hurt yourself in the process, check out KaptainKristian's video essay about him. Otherwise, let's get into our review of his somewhat-forgotten debut LP, Camp.
Camp was released in 2011 by Donald Glover under the name Childish Gambino, produced by both Glover and Community composer Ludwig Göransson. The production on this album is actually one of the best parts, although tracks like "LES" and "Heartbeat" do sound dated, it all sounds original and is what keeps the album driving forward. And being dated isn't always the death sentence for an album, take Kanye West's Graduation for an example. What brings this LP down isn't even Gambino's delivery, no, it's usually the lyricism.
In this album, Glover talks about how he struggles with 21st century racism, especially with his cousin, talking about how he resents Glover for not being stuck in the hood. These moments in the album tend to work the best, with lyrics like "The world sayin' what you are, Because you’re young and black, don’t believe ‘em", and "She don’t want me in a lifestyle like my cousin, And he mad cause his father ain’t around, He lookin’ at me now, like, 'Why you so fuckin lucky? I had a father too, But he ain’t around so I'mma take it out on you'". With this approach to racism, where he feels pigeonholed by other African-Americans and whites, he believes through his music and being true to himself he could speak to kids that felt like he did, and have them be as true to themselves as he is being on this album.
The apex of the album however is the track "Heartbeat", which is absolutely stellar. The production is minimalist and perfectly reflects the lyrics. Throughout this song Donald Glover displays anger, tenderness, love, sorrow, and even ends it with a bit of comedy. It's sexually explicit which just adds to how raw and emotional the song feels.
The album ends on a real high with "That Power", which goes from being an energetic rap to a melodic spoken work about what Camp means, and he admits how he's unsure what exactly what the song itself means. He comes off honest in this track, unlike when he does something similar in "All the Shine".
Those are the highs, but there are plenty of lows throughout the album. When it starts to stray from the synth-focused production and gets more gritty like in songs like "Bonfire" and "Backpackers" it gets obnoxious. It doesn't help that in these songs Donald Glover gets much more angsty and conceited. He mentions his dick five times throughout this album. It gets really old, and sharply contrasts with his sensitive side. I'm not saying that he shouldn't act like this, I'm just saying it doesn't feel natural like on "Heartbeat".
Revisiting this album for this review, i was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it's not as much of an artistic endeavor as Because the Internet, or as good as his most underrated project, Royalty, or as mature as either of them. But it is a solid album that has some highlights any Gambino fan shouldn't miss. Because of this, Camp deserves 7 out of 10 Childish Gambinos.