Donald Glover Jr AKA ‘Childish Gambino’ has dropped his latest single ‘This is America’ and we can’t get enough of it. It has clocked more than 40 million views on YouTube since its release on 5 May and its live rendition on Saturday Night Live alone has garnered another 2 million views.
It isn’t just the ‘I-can-sing-along too’ acapella segment, or the dope rap verses, but the ingeniously crafted music video that’s got everyone talking, doing double-takes and analyzing.
If you haven't seen it yet, you better ‘get with it’.
Each frame of this 4 minute music video is loaded with real-life references -- both historic and current -- that speak of America’s constant struggle with racism, police brutality, gun culture, and the state of black culture in entertainment.
The video is so full of layered messages that fans of the artist have replayed it multiple times to fully comprehend it. Those who did, took to social media to explain it to the rest.
The Hidden References In ‘This Is America’
The Shooting of Trayvon Martin:
The Jim Crow Reference:
American Gun Culture:
The Confederate Army Pants:
Dancing is a Distraction:
The Charleston Shooting:
Biblical Reference of Death Riding a White Horse
Black Culture in Entertainment and its Implications:
One shouldn’t miss the many ad-libs of famous African American artists that feature in the video. When you juxtapose this against the backdrop of a recent comment made by Kanye West in a TMZ interview on how slavery was actually a choice, the irony of it all isn’t lost on us.
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