Childish Gambino remains as eclectic as ever in “Bando Stone and The New World.”
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TOP 5 SONGS
5. A Place Where Love Goes
Give me “A Place Where Love Goes” when I’m in a Vegas nightclub after I won a 100k parlay I wasn’t supposed to win.
The energy in “A Place Where Love Goes” is impeccable. The track boasts a heart-pumping beat with thrilling synths, 808s, jungle elements, and exhilarating vibes. As for Childish Gambino, he delivers both dark and invigorating vocal performances, emphasizing overcoming trials and tribulations and embracing moments where you feel most alive. The track is simply a lot of fun to listen to.
4. Cruisin’ (Ft. Yeat)
Childish Gambino uses Yeat perfectly in this track.
After you hear “Cruisin’,” you’ll wonder why Childish Gambino wasn’t compared to Yeat earlier. All jokes aside, in the track, Gambino delivers this edgy, slightly mumbly, extra-emotional vocal performance that perfectly layers on top of the synth-heavy, atmospheric production beautifully. As for Yeat, his part fits over the production as well as he relies on his signature robotic, unconventional rap style. Both artists do a fantastic job of sounding like people who took mushroom sandwiches and got a glimpse of the afterlife.
READ OUR TOP 5 CHILDISH GAMBINO ALBUMS
3. Yoshinoya
Yoshi’s loyalty to Mario isn’t brought up enough.
For fans of Childish Gambino’s rap side, “Yoshinoya” is sure to deliver. In this track, you get a cold and colder version of the Atlanta star. The cold version offers a numb but catchy section that emphasizes loyalty and denounces phony individuals. In contrast, the colder version hits with a hard-hitting, confrontational section that takes shots at his enemies (perhaps Drake) and the bad seeds in the rap game. All in all, you get kill-a-rapper Childish in this banger.
Who’s almost 50 and dressing like a HypeBeast? Which white boy tried to diss him?
2. In The Night (Ft. Jorja Smith & Amaarae)
GloRilla: I would’ve shot Jolene.
In “In The Night,” Childish Gambino tries to woo a girl he’s interested in, urging her to leave her boyfriend because he senses she’s no longer into him. Jorja Smith, playing the girl, agrees, admitting she’s been thinking about Gambino while kissing her current man. As expected, things take a turn for the worse, as often happens with infidelity. Despite the toxic lyrics, the vocal performances from Gambino, Jorja, and Amaarae are soothing, enticing, intoxicating, and spicy. Their voices layer beautifully over the silky, island-inspired, dance-ready production.
1. Lithonia
I think Childish Gambino spelled Lithuania wrong…
“Lithonia” rides on a divine, piano-driven, edgy rock beat that will make you shout ‘amen’ while feeling the urge to smash every guitar in sight. Childish Gambino delivers an unapologetic, carefree performance with passionate vocals that delve into themes of liberation, lost love, and neglect. I’m enamored with the track; I only wish I had more context to grasp its meaning fully.
SONG-BY-SONG RATING
1. H3@RT$ W3RE M3@NT TO F7M (3.5/5)
2. Lithonia (4.5/5)
3. Survive (Ft. Chlöe) (3.5/5)
4. Steps Beach (4/5)
5. Talk My Shit (Ft. Amaarae & Flo Milli) (4/5)
6. Got To Be (4/5)
7. Real Love (4/5)
8. In The Night (Ft. Jorja Smith & Amaarae) (4/5)
9. Yoshinoya (4.5/5)
10. Can You Feel Me (Ft. Legend) (3/5)
11. No Excuses (4/5)
12. Cruisin (Ft. Yeat) (4.5/5)
13. We Are God (4/5)
14. Running Around (Ft. Fousheé) (4/5)
15. Dadvocate (4.5/5)
16. Happy Survival (Ft. Khruangbin) (4/5)
17. Place Where Love Goes (4.5/5)
RGM RATING
(B-)
If this is Childish Gambino’s last project, he went out with a bang.
Let’s start this summary giving kudos to the production. I love the backdrops Childish Gambino uses in this project. They’re richly layered, genre-blending, vibrant, and only occasionally incorporate trap vibes, creating a sonic landscape that lets Gambino experiment freely. The results are strikingly futuristic and pure.
I’ve moved beyond wishing for rap tracks from Childish Gambino and am now fully on board with him as a singer. Fortunately, he delivers plenty of singing across this project, showcasing his R&B, rockstar, Teezo Touchdown, and The Kid influences (Wait, did Teezo steal Childish Gambino’s aura?). With his unique voice, Gambino offers unforgettable, soul-stirring performances that stand out. For fans of his rap side, you do get moments in which he spits sprinkled throughout the project.
When you strip away the layers of Childish Gambino’s lyrics on this project, you’ll find that the themes aren’t all that complex or profound. He touches on everyday topics like entanglements with taken partners, deep love, spiritual connections, and living life to the fullest. What sets his delivery apart is how he presents these themes in a style that feels poetic and complex.
With the Childish Gambino experiment reportedly ending, I think it’s dope that he left us with a project that showcases the most advanced and evolved version of himself. Let’s see what Donald Glover has for us next.
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
