Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series that focuses on the official video of Childish Gambino's 2018 Hip Hop composition "This Is America".
This post showcases the official video of Childish Gambino's "This Is America". The lyrics for this song and notes about genuis.com.'s video and lyrics are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/05/selected-comments-from-lyricalhubs-vlog.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II showcases LyricalHub's Vlog post entitled "The REAL Meaning of Childish Gambino - This Is America Will Shock You". Selected comments from that vlog's discussion thread are included in this post.
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The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Childish Gambino (Donald Glover, Jr.) for his creative legacy. Thanks to all those who were involved in composition and this video. Thanks also to genuis.com for the transcribing these lyrics and sharing notes about the meaning of these lyrics and this video.
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WARNING: This video contains two very violent scenes of people being killed by gun fire.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: #10 ON TRENDING
Childish Gambino - This Is America (Official Video)
Donald Glover, Published on May 5, 2018
“This is America” by Childish Gambino http://smarturl.it/TcIgA
Director: Hiro Murai
Producer: Doomsday with Ibra Ake and Fam Rothstein of Wolf + Rothstein
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Statistics: as of May 9, 2018 at 2:12 PM
#10 trending [Twitter]
total views - 51,577,818
total likes - 1.9M
total dislike -89,000
total number of comments: 199,041
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LYRICS AND NOTES ABOUT CHILDISH GAMBINO'S "THIS IS AMERICA"
From https://genius.com/Childish-gambino-this-is-america-lyrics
This Is America
Childish Gambino
Produced by: Childish Gambino & Ludwig Göransson
Album: CG4*
This Is America Lyrics
[Intro: Choir]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
[Bridge: Childish Gambino & Young Thug]
We just wanna party
Party just for you
We just want the money
Money just for you
I know you wanna party
Party just for me
Girl, you got me dancin' (yeah, girl, you got me dancin')
Dance and shake the frame
We just wanna party (yeah)
Party just for you (yeah)
We just want the money (yeah)
Money just for you (you)
I know you wanna party (yeah)
Party just for me (yeah)
Girl, you got me dancin' (yeah, girl, you got me dancin')
Dance and shake the frame (you)
[Chorus: Childish Gambino]
This is America
Don't catch you slippin' up
Don't catch you slippin' up
Look what I'm whippin' up
This is America (woo)
Don't catch you slippin' up
Don't catch you slippin' up
Look what I'm whippin' up
[Verse 1: Childish Gambino, Blocboy JB, Slim Jxmmi, Young Thug, & 21 Savage]
This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy)
Look at how I'm livin' now
Police be trippin' now (woo)
Yeah, this is America (woo, ayy)
Guns in my area (word, my area)
I got the strap (ayy, ayy)
I gotta carry 'em
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go into this (ugh)
Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla (woo)
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go get the bag
Yeah, yeah, or I'ma get the pad
Yeah, yeah, I'm so cold like yeah (yeah)
I'm so dope like yeah (woo)
We gon' blow like yeah (straight up, uh)
[Refrain: Choir & Childish Gambino]
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me
Get your money, Black man (get your money)
Get your money, Black man (get your money)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Black man
[Chorus: Childish Gambino, Slim Jxmmi, & Young Thug]
This is America (woo, ayy)
Don't catch you slippin' up (woo, woo, don't catch you slippin', now)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy, woah)
Look what I'm whippin' up (Slime!)
This is America (yeah, yeah)
Don't catch you slippin' up (woah, ayy)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy, woo)
Look what I'm whippin' up (ayy)
[Verse 2: Childish Gambino, Quavo, Young Thug, & 21 Savage]
Look how I'm geekin' out (hey)
I'm so fitted (I'm so fitted, woo)
I'm on Gucci (I'm on Gucci)
I'm so pretty (yeah, yeah)
I'm gon' get it (ayy, I'm gon' get it)
Watch me move (blaow)
This a celly (ha)
That's a tool (yeah)
On my Kodak (woo, Black)
Ooh, know that (yeah, know that, hold on)
Get it (get it, get it)
Ooh, work it (21)
Hunnid bands, hunnid bands, hunnid bands (hunnid bands)
Contraband, contraband, contraband (contraband)
I got the plug in Oaxaca (woah)
They gonna find you like blocka (blaow)
[Refrain: Choir, Childish Gambino, & Young Thug]
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
America, I just checked my following list and
You go tell somebody
You mothaf&&kas* owe me
Grandma told me
Get your money, Black man (black man)
Get your money, Black man (black man)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Get your money, Black man (get your, Black man)
Black man
(One, two, three, get down)
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me, "Get your money"
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
Black man
[Outro: Young Thug]
You just a Black man in this world
You just a barcode, ayy
You just a Black man in this world
Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy
You just a big dawg, yeah
I kenneled him in the backyard
No probably ain't life to a dog
For a big dog
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*This word is fully spelled out in the lyrics on that page.
About “This Is America”
Dropping amid ongoing political and cultural tumult and turmoil, Childish Gambino’s “This is America” appears to be a commentary on black life in America and American culture as a whole. It contrasts popular culture’s perception of black experience and its often brutal reality by juxtaposing happy, carefree choruses and dark, aggressive verses.
This contrast may also allude to the cyclical shifts in mood whenever there is a shooting in America. One second, the entire nation is in an uproar, the next, they are happy and unconcerned, placated by pop culture trends.
In the music video, directed by frequent Gambino collaborator Hiro Murai, Gambino portrays this comparison by dancing around gleefully, seemingly unbothered by the chaotic scenes of violence in the background. However, in the short film’s final scene, Gambino is seen running frantically through a darkened warehouse trying to escape the mob that now chases him, a reminder that if America chooses to remain ignorant to its problems, eventually they will catch up to us.
“This is America” is Gambino’s first single since he dropped the 2016 studio album Awaken, My Love!. The song’s release coincided with Gambino’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he performed the new track, along with another one titled “Saturday.”
[...]
Are there any good essays to read about "This is America"?
Yes! Some strong early analyses include Doreen St. Felix’s “The Carnage and Chaos of Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’” in The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-carnage-and-chaos-of-childish-gambinos-this-is-america and Frank Guan’s “What It Means When Childish Gambino Says ‘This Is America’” in New York Magazine.http://www.vulture.com/2018/05/what-it-means-when-childish-gambino-says-this-is-america.html
Why is he running at the end of the music video?
One theory suggests that Gambino is running from The Sunken Place, a concept developed in Jordan Peele’s film Get Out. In a tweet, Peele explained the meaning of The Sunken Place:
Jordan Peele
✔
@JordanPeele
The Sunken Place means we're marginalized. No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us.
12:12 AM - Mar 17, 2017
[…]
Glover believes we have cultivated a culture in which we emphasize the trivial social issues around us unaddressed.
It’s also worth noting that Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya introduced Glover’s performance of “This Is America” on Saturday Night Live. The scene is also perhaps reminiscent of the “running” scene in Get Out.
[...]
Why is there a white horse in the music video?
A brief scene in the music video portrays a hooded figure riding on a white horse through the chaos behind Bino. One theory suggests that the horse alludes to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the first of which was white.
The white horse is typically referred to as Conquest, which is sometimes construed as Victory–because the horse is white, Donald may be using it to symbolize white power over blacks. Different interpretations of the horse name it Pestilence, Evil, and War, all of which may embody the position of blacks in the equation.
The white horse or pale horse can also connote apocalyptic symbolism related to Revelation Chapter 6:
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and the name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him…
[...]
What is the meaning of the dancers in what appears to be school uniforms?
The video has multiple references the dancers in the school uniforms are referencing the Florida shootings and other harmful events that have happened to school students.
"This Is America" Track Info
Written By Ludwig Göransson & Childish Gambino
Ad-Libs Aminé, 21 Savage, Young Thug & 3 more
Recording Engineer Kesha Lee, Ludwig Göransson, Alex Tumay & 1 more
Mix Engineer Mixed by Ali
Video Director Hiro Murai
Additional Vocals Young Thug
Mastering Engineer Mike Bozzi
Release Date May 6, 2018
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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.
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