Gambino is a mastermind

The recent news of NBC’s shelving of “Community,” a show with a fierce fan base but overall poor ratings, meant that a few actors will be having a bit of an extended vacation. For Donald Glover, who plays Troy in the comedy, it just means he gets to spend more time as his other persona – rapper Childish Gambino.

For the past few years, Glover has released a number of mixtapes for free under his rap pseudonym, simply working on his craft. Now with his first full-length LP “Camp,” Childish Gambino proves he’s in this game to win it.

In the past, Gambino was known for his plethora of pop-culture knowledge with often obscure references thrown into each rhyme. It’s a style that polarizes Childish Gambino from the traditional hip-hop enthusiast, but brings along its own group of loyal fans, much like his tv show.

The first single released, “Bonfire,” was an instant indicator that not only was Gambino up to his old tricks, but that he’s on top of his game. In a track that references Princess Diana, PETA, Invader Zim, and Casey Anthony, Gambino still makes numerous dick jokes and uses an Oreo to illustrate sexual positions. Classic Childish.

But what separates “Camp” from his mixtapes is his honesty. Through the guise of Childish Gambino, we are told an awful lot about Glover’s struggles growing up too black for his white school or not black enough in his neighborhood because he had a loving family.

It’s a theme that pops up time and time again throughout the album and, above all the pop references, gives him the most credit as a fantastic lyricist.

The track “Outside” proves just how important his childhood is to him, as it’s the opener to the album. “I used to dream every night, now I never dream at all/I hope that it’s cause I’m livin’ everything I want,” Gambino anguishes on the very first bar.

Don’t worry, though, fame isn’t all bad. Glover’s love of women, particularly Asian ones, is well documented. “Camp” adds quite a bit of material to that documentation, rapping on “Firefly” that “girls who use to tell me I ain’t cool enough now text me pics saying ‘you can tear this up’.”

The standout tracks of the album are easily “Heartbeat” and “L.E.S.” – both about women. “Heartbeat” is an obvious pick to get quite a bit of radio time (with quite a bit of censoring first) but it really should be experienced with headphones, volumed turned up, at least once.

While Glover’s flow is at times lacking, his maturity as a lyricist, allowing for racial undertones and dick jokes to coexist in peaceful harmony, making “Camp” a solid debut album. Combine all that with the insane amount of pop culture references peppered throughout the whole album, it quickly becomes apparent that multiple listens are necessary.

For some that may be a daunting task, but Childish is always fun, and now with his extended vacation, who knows how good he could become?