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Donald Glover announced his intentions at the start of his incredible show Madison Square Garden, his hip-hop alter ego, Childish Gambino, on Friday night.
"It's the last Childish Gambino tour," he said, before telling viewers that if they just wanted to film songs on their phones, they should go home. "This is not a concert. This is the church. "
Then he set out to prove it with a 90-minute concert that inspired his messages of unity and mix of hip-hop, funk, soul, gospel, world beat and rock. The "This Is America" tour is the culmination of all the potential that the Grammy-winning Gambino has shown, combined with all the artistic talent that Glover has won in his other works.
His narrative talent was directly exposed, as he explained how he would go to Madison Square Garden to see hip-hop as a student at New York University, and symbolically build the series around two new songs. . He unveiled an awesome new song, still untitled, about the community ("We shine louder in the dark") and spirituality ("Oh, super mind … can you lift me up?") While he was raised to 20 feet a small scene. This was immediately followed by "This Is America" - his strong candidate for the song of the year, which captured the dichotomy of today's minority artist life – which immediately brought him back to the Earth.
It is not surprising that the show is visually stunning, as the Glover "Atlanta" show won 16 Emmy Awards on Monday, but the minimalist scenography – essentially Gambino on an empty stage with spare light sculptures – made the whole evening looks like an exhibition of modern art. His band, for the most part, was in an orchestra pit, although he was occasionally joined on stage by four dancers-performers.
Gambino's reminders show how much he has developed as an artist. "Sober" has become a real Prince-ly show, with a roaring guitar solo. And Gambino has always been a talented rapper, but it's staging and his new delivery of his first hits "3005" and "IV. Sweatpants, from the 2013 "Because the Internet" album, which puts them on par with the provocative suite of the five songs he produced from the 2018 Grammy-nominated album "Awaken, Mon Amour ".
The tour, which includes a second show at Garden Saturday night, could mark the end of Gambino. But it seems that Glover is just beginning.
SETLIST: Algorythm / Summertime Magic / I. The worst guys / II. Worldstar / Tall Stand / Boogieman / Have Love / Riot / Terrified / Feels Like Summer / Untitled / This Is America // AGAIN: Sober / 3005 / IV. Sweatpants / Redbone
Glenn Gamboa is Newsday's music critic, covering news and entertainment events since 2000.
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