By Riley Morrison ’16
THE ROUNDUP

Childish Gambino—Because the Internet

5 out of 10

Childish Gambino’s newest album “Because the Internet,” released Dec. 6, has a few nuggets of gold, but more than half doesn’t come close to his previous efforts.

Childish Gambino is a stage name for New York-based actor and comedian Donald Glover.

His previous album “Camp” was critically panned and it’s difficult to see this album going much farther.

However, the listener has to keep in mind that the new album is not only an album, but a soundtrack for his screenplay of the same title.

The bizarre piece of writing, 75 pages long, is some explanation as to the profusion of songs on the album with seemingly meaningless series of sounds.

On the other hand, there are definitely some solid tracks.

“Sweatpants,” the eighth song on the album, gives the listener what they’re looking for.

The verses are full of references, jabs and and inside jokes that make the song well worth the Internet searches for lyric meanings.

The lead single, “3005,” is another of the four or five songs that carry the album.

Its R and B hooks could be mistaken for Frank Ocean’s, while the fast-paced raps are reminiscent of the earlier songs on “Camp.”

Other good songs are “No Exit,” “Zealots of Stockholm(Free Information),” and “Life: The Biggest Troll.”

“No Exit” is a quality track for its beats and bass, the second, “Zeolots,” for its political reflections and the third, “Life,” because it sums up the Internet.

In this one song Gambino manages to tip his hat to Rick Rolling, Tyler Durden and Ackbar.

Conversely, there are some awful songs on the album.

“Worldstar” sounds like a mashup between Kendrick Lamar and elevator music, while “Dial Up” combines bells and electronic beeping into a 45-second long experience of pain.

In addition, there are some tracks that simply run far too long.

In fact, almost every song has an outro that persists for about 30 seconds.  All of these could easily be cut off, making a considerable improvement.

All in all, I wouldn’t recommend purchasing the whole album unless you are a serious rap fan, Internet meme fan or a combination thereof.

However, the singles mentioned above are certainly entertaining and worth a listen.