The multifaceted Childish Gambino (a.k.a. Donald Glover) is at it again. With his latest album “Because The Internet” still very much hot and fresh out of the oven, he released two more tremendous bombshells on the world. These two pieces are a mixtape called “STN MTN” and an EP called “Kauai.” A continuation of Because the Internet, this double-headed musical monster is supposed to be listened to as a joint project.
On Oct. 2, “STN MTN” was released out of blue and—get this—for free. The following day, Kauai was made available for purchase and through Spotify.
The mixtape/EP shows the two faces of Gambino. In “STN MTN,” his dreams of home bring out his more aggressive flow, a feeling we get on past tracks such as “Bonfire,” “WORLD STAR” and “Crawl.” In contrast, the reality of Kauai is light, heavily vocal and ethereal. The softness of songs like “Pink Toes”, “3005” and “Kids (Keep Up)” can definitely be felt throughout Kauai. Taking this musical odyssey as it is designed sheds new light upon the contrast of Gambino’s world and on Gambino’s mind itself.
When we first fall into the mixtape “STN MTN,” Gambino’s musical murmurs purr through a hazy mix of ever-changing radio stations. We find ourselves amidst the whirling subconscious of Gambino. We find that he had a dream: a dream of running his hometown of Atlanta. But, above all else, Gambino dreams of his own Gangsta Grillz mixtape.
And that’s exactly what the “STN MTN” dream sequence becomes. Childish Gambino brings his usual hearty wit to the table along, with a vibe that can only be linked with the R O Y A L T Y mixtape. But this time legendary producer DJ Drama is in the studio with him to help Gambino claim Atlanta as his own and get his face carved into Stone Mountain.
He also brings in up-and-coming MC Kari Faux on a remix of her track “No Small Talk.” Faux’s melodic flow dominates the song and with wordplay like “rap game sriracha man you know I’m saucy,” she raps with a wit similar to Gambino.
He then brings the whole R O Y A L T Y gang on “AssShots” and the whole crew (including the younger Glover, Steve and R O Y A L T Y ranter Swank) all spit fire. He ends the mixtape with a nod to Lil Wayne and a thanks to DJ Drama with a Gambino style-flow “Go DJ” remix.
The mixtape itself is classic Atlanta hip hop, big booty and bling beats, a long step away from Because The Internet. Yet Gambino brings his comfortable internet-esque feel, his constant trash-talking and his ingenious referencing (a half dozen done within a second or two on “Move that Dope”) to a whole new field of sound.
“Kauai” is the wake up from the Gangsta Grillz album dream. “Sober” opens the EP. The song begins radiantly with a bright ping of keyboards as the backdrop for beautiful vocals from Gambino. But it changes swiftly, with heavy sub that warps the easy vibe we get in the beginning. We hear gulls and the tide in “Pop Thieves,” a tune full of longing. The song also features Jaden Smith doing a very Gambino-esque narration to close the track. Smith is a surprising feature on Gambino’s part, but he stays sweet till the end and proves his worth. The next track, “Poke,” again features Stevie G. Lover, his younger brother. With such similar flow, they sound on point and in some parts, it’s hard to distinguish the two.
“Late Night in Kauai” starts exactly where “Pop Thieves” left off: a drum beat and Jaden Smith talking over with the same flow and painting a similar scene. With hefty verses such as “Got the top down in the back we could fall out” and “We are becoming God” (10x), Gambino sums up the points of his EP. It also becomes increasingly apparent that Childish’s tone becomes light and vocal to tackle his deepest ideas and then switches to hard and driven he gets when he delves into his more vain desires.
Gambino ends the EP with an ambient, beachy relook at Because The Internet’s hit track “V.3005.” It is a smooth and easy ending, keeping the theme of tropical vibes in line.
In this mixtape—and later—EP we are presented with a compilation of Gambino. You can get tastes of Because the Internet, R O Y A L T Y and Camp. At the same time, we see whole new aspects of the two-sided Gambino coin. But the freshness of the mixtape/EP leaves us wondering, what’s next for Donald Glover?
