Childish Gambino, real name Donald Glover, came out of left field when he released his funk, soul and definitely not rap album Awaken, My Love two weeks ago. The standout track from the LP has been "Redbone" since it was shared as a single. To promote the album, Glover brought the funk from "Redbone" to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon wearing only shiny silver pants.
Gambino appears first with a spotlight on his shirtless frame with his band behind him in low red light. They usher in the funky, jazzy beat as he starts to coo the words "daylight, daylight." The lights around him change back and forth between a warm blue and red. A wall of lasers appears between his backup singers and the drummer and musicians in the front including the guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and Glover.
You can hear that he really sang with his natural voice on this album. He said in an interview with Triple J that he used almost no vocal pitching, which is really impressive for a rapper to hit the notes he did, but this performance demonstrates that he can sing in many different styles and octaves.
It is a powerful and brilliant performance that shines just as much as his pants. There is some shredding at the end of the guitarist as well.
Awaken, My Love was released on Dec. 2. It was initially met with some skepticism by his fans and hip-hop listeners in general. Since then, it has widely acclaimed by critics and now generally accepted as powerful revival of 1970's era funk and soul, with modern elements.
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