Childish Gambino - 'Because The Internet' [Review]

Childish Gambino's latest Because The Internet, much like the actor-writer-rapper behind the album, just can't seem to decide what it wants to be.

On the lyrics end, is it a Buzzfeed-esque pastiche of all things '90s? Is it a celebration of the seemingly random aspects of internet culture? Is it yet another album from Glover full of straw men who won't accept him into the hip-hop community? Is it a small piece of an over-arching multimedia art project? The truth is it's all of these things, and the result is as confusing and messy as that sounds.

Stylistically, Glover's latest features a lot of the same sort of pun-filled punchlines as his earlier mixtapes and debut album. However, any fan who is being honest with themselves will admit that the schtick began to wear thin on Camp. "I ain't f--kin' with you n-ggas like apartheid" is one step away from a 2 Chainz groaner and features a quarter of the fun as Tity Boi's joyous, self-aware delivery when it comes from Gambino.

If the album has a bright side, it's the production. While the sample-clash style that Gambino and Ludwig favor throughout the album can be disorienting, it does lead to quite a few great moments. The beats on "Crawl", "Worldstar" and "Shadows" are incredible when they are allowed to breathe, but more often than not Glover cuts a working groove short to insert another sample and flex his own cultural knowledge. 

Altogether, the tumblr-ized, nostalgia-fueled Because The Internet feels like it was made more to receive a wave of "sick reference, bro" Jonah Hill .gifs than to function as a coherent album.

Considering that Glover writes scripts for a living, we know he can craft a story. It's a shame that we're on album number two and we're still waiting for that to seep into his music.