Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, is finally back. After stunning us with his immense, bluesy new track Me And Your Mama just a week ago, he has now debuted Redbone, on the Annie Mac show on BBC 1 Radio. The previous single had premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 program.
Continuously challenging expectations and pushing boundaries, it’s clear that those who attended PHAROS festival were right when they reported a lack of hip-hop. Redbone again continues down the 70s-inspired groove-rock route, delivering a woozy, synth-based cruiser with the kind of slight pitch-shifting Frank Ocean did so well on Blonde, putting Gambino’s voice slightly higher than normal, creating a kind of androgynous, ageless tone. I compared Me And Your Mama to an Alabama Shakes song, but Redbone seems to take cues from Tame Impala as much as it does D’Angelo.
The track is laced with beautiful detail, with layer upon layer of rhythmic, carefully toned instrumentation building throughout; a person favourite phrase comes toward the end, when the glorious gospel-y pianos go head to head with the stompy synths.
Childish Gambino will be releasing his new album, Awaken, My Love! in two weeks, on December 2, 2016. Lucky Australian fans will be among the very first in the world to hear the songs performed live, as he will be touring for Falls Festival and Sydney’s Field Day across the New Year period.
The full tracklist can be found below:
1. Me and Your Mama
2. Have Some Love
3. Boogieman
4. Zombies
5. Riot
6. Redbone
7. California
8. Terrified
9. Baby Boy
10. The Night Me and Your Mama Met
11. Stand Tall
Image: Glassnote