"Awaken, My Love!" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 2, 2016 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:57 | |||
Label | Glassnote | |||
Producer | ||||
Childish Gambino chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from "Awaken, My Love!" | ||||
|
"Awaken, My Love!" is the third studio album by the American actor and singer Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released by Glassnote Records on December 2, 2016. Consisting of tracks being sung rather than rapped, its fusion of psychedelic soul, funk and R&B influences was considered a bold departure from the predominantly hip hop style of his prior work. The album was produced by Glover and his longtime collaborator, Ludwig Göransson.
"Awaken, My Love!" received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200. The album was supported by three singles, "Me and Your Mama", "Redbone" and "Terrified". It received Grammy Award nominations for Album of the Year and Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. The single "Redbone" also earned nominations for Record of the Year, Best R&B Song, and won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance.
On June 17, 2016, after a hiatus from social media, Glover tweeted "pharos.earth", a link to download his new app. The app itself placed the user in outer space looking at a small blue planet while a clock counted down to zero. The app then had the user crash down from space, placing them on a map that was located on Joshua Tree, California. The app then showed the dates of his upcoming performances in Joshua Tree, where the user could also purchase tickets. The concert festival was to debut the album and give the audience the "full-album experience". From September 3 to 5, nearly three months before the release of his album, Glover held three concert performances at Joshua Tree to debut the album. Glover wore glow-in-the-dark paint on his braids and a pink and yellow skirt, with his bandmates wearing similar attire. He performed eleven songs during the concert with minimal rapping, mainly featuring a funk/jazz style. [7] [8]
Glover modified his Pharos app upon its release so that users could watch the success of his first lead single, "Me and Your Mama" at Joshua Tree through a phone virtual reality lens. [9]
The cover of "Awaken, My Love!" features a photo by New York City-based creative director Ibra Ake, in which model Giannina Oteto wears a beaded headdress designed by Laura Wass of WXYZ Jewelry. [10] [11] Prior to the album's release, the cover artwork was included as an easter egg in the episode "Juneteenth" of Glover's FX series Atlanta . [12] The cover artwork is also a nod to the cover of Funkadelic's 1971 album Maggot Brain . [13] For years, Oteto has accused Ake and his team of avoiding legal contact to actually receive payment for her contribution to the project, and that she's not alone in the fight. "We received low pay. [They] promised residuals. But [we] never received anything... After years of lies and silence then finding out statute of limitation complications... it's been an exhausting, emotional, and overall sad thing to deal with. So it took so much from me especially the fact that we all worked on it with so much love and being proud to represent black artists. All of my lawyers' communications have been ignored by [Childish Gambino] and his team. #bittersweet." [14]
"Me and Your Mama" was released as the album's lead single on Beats 1 radio and the iTunes Store on November 10, 2016, [15] [16] while "Redbone" was released a week later, premiering on Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1. [17] [18] On September 19, 2017, "Terrified" was sent to urban contemporary radio as the album's third single. [19]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.4/10 [20] |
Metacritic | 77/100 [21] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The A.V. Club | A− [3] |
The Guardian | [22] |
The Irish Times | [23] |
Mojo | [24] |
The Observer | [25] |
Pitchfork | 7.2/10 [26] |
Q | [27] |
Rolling Stone | [28] |
XXL | 4/5 [29] |
"Awaken, My Love!" was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 25 reviews. [21] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [20]
Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone wrote that ""Awaken, My Love!" is an enthralling trip into the land of funk", [28] while Dan Bogosian from The A.V. Club wrote "Is Childish Gambino suddenly the new Prince, a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist always ready to keep the world an arm's length away from knowing what he's thinking? Is he D'Angelo, a soul god fighting against his first image with all-time great music? No. He is Donald Glover, a man who can perform and write comedy, act in drama, and drop a truly wonderful album on short notice with all the influences and instructions spelled out". [3] Perry Kostidakis of the FSView & Florida Flambeau wrote that "with each successive album, Childish Gambino has exhibited phenomenal growth, but no more than on his latest release. Unflinchingly ambitious and boldly different, "Awaken, My Love" calls back the sounds and themes of the 1970s funkadelic movement to provide a wholly original, emotional and immersive musical experience", [30] with The Guardian 's Gwilym Mumford adding "only the limitations of his voice occasionally let him down – he doesn't quite have the range to nail Awaken's more ostentatious vocal lines. Still, it's a minor gripe when there's so much here to enjoy". [22] Jon Pareles of The New York Times said, "It's at once a homage and a parody, equally aware of that era's excesses and its glories, of the way that the most memorable 1970s R&B merged sensuality, activism, humor, toughness, outlandishness, futurism, soul roots, wild eccentricity and utopian community spirit. That's an extremely high bar, but at its best, "Awaken, My Love!" recalls many of those virtues". [31] Tim Sendra of AllMusic said, ""Awaken, My Love!" is a stone-cold blast from beginning to end". [1]
Matthew Strauss of Pitchfork said, "There are times, however, when that nodding feels more like mimicry than anything else. Maybe he'll figure out how to smuggle Donald Glover's heart into Childish Gambino's brain eventually, but if he hasn't figured out what he wants out of Childish Gambino yet, it's increasingly rewarding watching him try". [26] Scott Glaysher of XXL said, "Childish Gambino gets definite props for pushing the envelope and refusing to operate within any genre confinements on this refreshing 49-minute trip through the funkadelic 1970s. While these blurred lines make this album a little hard to follow, "Awaken, My Love!" proves his versatility as a rapper turning over a new leaf". [29] Kitty Empire of The Observer said, "Throughout, Glover's genre fluency is unimpeachable; the only minor drawback is the overmannered air of some of these period pieces, where there could be more straight-up abandon, as on the persuasive 'Me and Your Mama'". [25] Vice negatively described the album as "pure Funkadelic cosplay". [32] Critic Robert Christgau regarded the album as "a seriously overrated piece of romantic P-Funk retro that owes its Grammy nomination to Atlanta". [33]
Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Clash | Clash Albums of the Year 2016 | 22 | |
Exclaim! | Exclaim!'s Top 10 Soul and R&B Albums Best of 2017 | 7 | |
Pigeons & Planes | Best Albums of 2016 | 43 | |
Variance | 50 Best Albums of 2016 | 15 |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
Best Urban Contemporary Album | Nominated |
"Awaken, My Love!" debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 101,000 album-equivalent units, marking the third highest debut of the week. [39] It was the fourth best-selling album of the week, selling 72,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. [40] The album was also streamed 41.5 million times in the first week. [41] It is Glover's highest-charting album. [39] As of December 28, 2016, the album has sold 151,000 album-equivalent units, with 100,000 in physical album sales. [42] On September 27, 2018, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of a million units in the United States. [43]
All lyrics written by Donald Glover, except "Zombies" by Glover and Ludwig Göransson; all music composed and produced by Glover and Göransson, except where noted. [44]
No. | Title | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Me and Your Mama" |
| 6:19 | |
2. | "Have Some Love" |
|
| 3:44 |
3. | "Boogieman" | 3:36 | ||
4. | "Zombies" |
| 4:41 | |
5. | "Riot" |
| 2:05 | |
6. | "Redbone" |
| 5:26 | |
7. | "California" | 2:45 | ||
8. | "Terrified" | 4:15 | ||
9. | "Baby Boy" | 6:22 | ||
10. | "The Night Me and Your Mama Met" |
|
| 3:34 |
11. | "Stand Tall" | 6:10 | ||
Total length: | 48:57 |
Notes
Sample credits
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [44]
Musicians
Production
Design
Managerial
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [65] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [66] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
France (SNEP) [67] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [68] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [43] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Jerome Eugene "Bigfoot" Brailey is an American drummer, best known for his work with P-Funk, which included the bands Parliament, Funkadelic, and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Donald McKinley Glover Jr., also known by his musical name Childish Gambino, is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick Comedy, a comedy group, Glover was hired by Tina Fey to write for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock at age 23. He gained fame for portraying college student Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014. From 2016 to 2022, he starred in the FX series Atlanta, which he created and occasionally directed. For his work on Atlanta, he won various accolades including two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as two Golden Globe Awards.
Camp is the debut studio album by American rapper Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released on November 15, 2011, by Glassnote Records. After releasing four mixtapes and three independent albums, Gambino signed a deal to Glassnote, making Camp his first album on a major record label. The album was co-produced in its entirety by Gambino's longtime collaborator Ludwig Göransson.
"Heartbeat" is a song by American rapper Childish Gambino. It was released on November 15, 2011, by Glassnote Records as the second single from his debut studio album, Camp (2011). The song was written and produced by Gambino himself along with Ludwig Göransson.
Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson is a Swedish musician, composer, conductor, songwriter, and record producer.
The discography of American hip hop recording artist and actor Childish Gambino comprises five studio albums, fourteen mixtapes, and four EPs. After releasing his first five mixtapes and EP independently, he signed to Glassnote Records and released Camp (2011), his first album on a major record label.
Because the Internet is the second studio album by American rapper Donald Glover, under the stage name Childish Gambino. It was released on December 10, 2013, by Glassnote Records. The recording process began in 2012 and ended in October 2013. Recording primarily took place at a mansion owned by basketball player Chris Bosh, which Gambino rented. The album features guest appearances from Chance the Rapper, Jhené Aiko, and Azealia Banks, with production primarily handled by Gambino himself, Stefan Ponce, and Ludwig Göransson, among others.
"3005" is a song by American rapper Childish Gambino from his second studio album Because the Internet. The song was released on October 22, 2013 as the first official single from the album. It peaked at number eight on the UK R&B Chart and 64 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
STN MTN / Kauai is the combined release of the seventh mixtape and second extended play (EP) by American recording artist Childish Gambino. The STN MTN mixtape was released on October 2, 2014 as a free download from DatPiff, while the Kauai EP was made available the following day through online music stores by Glassnote Records. They are each considered dual sides of a concept album that are unified by a cohesive story line, and come ten months after Glover's second studio album, Because the Internet.
"Me and Your Mama" is a single by American singer Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released on November 10, 2016 worldwide, and is the first single from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!"
"Redbone" is a song recorded by American singer Childish Gambino, the stage name of Donald Glover. It was released on November 17, 2016, and serves as the second single from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!" The song received three Grammy Award nominations including Record of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, eventually winning the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. In 2021, it was ranked No. 383 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"Terrified" is a song by American singer Childish Gambino from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!". It was sent to urban contemporary radio as the album's third single on September 19, 2017.
Darkness and Light is the sixth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and pianist John Legend. It was released on December 2, 2016, by Columbia Records, as well as his last album to be released with GOOD Music, following the end of his five-album contract with the label.
"This Is America" is a song by American rapper Childish Gambino. Written by Gambino, Ludwig Göransson, & fellow American rapper Young Thug and produced by the former two, it was released on May 6, 2018, at the same time that Gambino was hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live. The song also features backing vocals from fellow American rappers Slim Jxmmi of Rae Sremmurd, BlocBoy JB, Quavo, and 21 Savage. The lyrics and accompanying music video, reflecting the core of the Black Lives Matter movement, confront issues of ongoing systemic racism, including prejudice, racial violence, the ghetto, and law enforcement in the United States, as well as the wider issues of mass shootings and gun violence in the United States. Originally, Gambino intended it to be a diss record towards Canadian rapper Drake.
Summer Pack is the third extended play by American actor and musician Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released by Wolf+Rothstein, Liberator Music and RCA Records on July 11, 2018. It contains only two songs, "Summertime Magic" and "Feels Like Summer". The EP was produced by Glover and his longtime collaborator, Ludwig Göransson. It was revealed to the public via social media shortly after its release in a surprise manner.
The This Is America Tour was the fifth concert tour by American recording artist Childish Gambino. The tour began in the summer of 2018, playing over 30 shows in North America and Europe.
Liberator Music was a record label owned by the Mushroom Group. It was founded in 2006 by Nick Dunshea and Michael Gudinski in Melbourne. The label was the international recording division of the company and is home to artists such as Childish Gambino, CHVRCHES, alt-J, Andy Grammer, FIDLAR, Steve Aoki, Garbage, AJR, We The Kings, Wolf Alice, Kylie Minogue, Gengahr, Faith No More, Day Wave, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Fontaines D.C., and IDLES.
3.15.20 is the fourth studio album by the American actor and rapper Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was initially uploaded to the website donaldgloverpresents.com on March 15, 2020, before being taken down 12 hours later. After a countdown, it was released to streaming and download services under the title 3.15.20 on March 22. It is therefore interchangeably referred to as both 3.15.20 and Donald Glover Presents.
"Time" is a song by American singer Donald Glover, under the stage name Childish Gambino, from his fourth studio album 3.15.20 (2020). It was re-recorded and rereleased on the album Atavista (2024). The song features guest vocals by fellow American singer Ariana Grande and background vocals by American gospel musician Brent Jones and his backing group The Best Life Singers. It was produced and written by Glover and Grande, along with DJ Dahi, Ludwig Göransson, and Chukwudi Hodge. Australian songwriter Sarah Aarons is also credited for writing and British producer Jai Paul provided miscellaneous production.
Bando Stone and the New World is the fifth studio album by American rapper Childish Gambino. Released on July 19, 2024, through RCA Records, it is also the soundtrack album to his upcoming film of the same name.