Album Review: 03.15.20 by Childish Gambino

Not many people in 2005 would have guessed that an up-and-coming comedian attempting to remix Sufjan Stevens in his dorm room would headline Coachella. Not many would’ve guessed reading Pitchfork’s 1.6/10 review of Camp, that Childish Gambino would go on to sweep the Grammys just a few years later. 

The multi-talented Donald Glover’s ‘Childish Gambino’ project has been a rollercoaster of surprises, this is no different with the surprise drop of his alleged final album: 03.15.20. 

Although it’s comprised of 12 individual songs, 03.15.20 is intended to be consumed as a 57-minute, single-track opus. A mixture of Yeezus style hype tracks and ballads reminiscent of Awaken My Love, Glover’s spontaneous release delivers a fusion of hip hop, pop, and funk. Vocal filters are plentiful and a range of artists (Ariana Grande and 21 Savage among them) are featured. It’s a musical experience that will feel familiar to many of his fans, while still bursting with originality. 

The ‘experience’ opens with a 3-minute atmospheric track, cleverly named ‘0.00’ after it’s timecode within the album. Much like Glover’s other album openers, the track sets the mood. It’s eerie and digital. 

‘Algorhythm’, which first appeared on the ‘This Is America’ tour, is Glover’s boppy but grim manifesto on the effects of the internet on humanity. His robotic vocal musings are juxtaposed with a catchy techno beat and a plea for the audience to give in and dance. Throughout the album, Glover continues to pose philosophical questions, embarking on a musical self-help journey (note: the studio version does take a brutal machete to the ending of this song).

The tropical ‘Time’ is reminiscent of Glover’s Summer Pack EP. Peppered in between extended instrumentals and Glover’s ponderings, Ariana Grande’s bars help to spice up a somewhat repetitive yet enjoyable track. Alternatively, 21 Savage’s verse on ‘12.38’, helps shape one of the best songs on the album. Six and a half minutes of funky R&B, flawless falsettos, and tight rhymes; ‘12.38’ feels as polished as the album gets. 

Bouncing from cultural critiques to an ode to his lover, Glover deftly changes focus throughout the album. At one point, he explodes into heavily-distorted animalistic vocals, going to war with a Yeezus-esque pastiche beat on ’32.22’. 

In a surprise twist, ‘35.31’s’ celebratory tone sounds like a Hannah Montana song about selling drugs (think ‘Hoedown Throwdown’). It’s something different for Glover but it’s catchy and a nice addition. In contrast, Glover dives into the Mariana Trench of sadness on ‘39.28’. Starkly different from its live incarnation, there’s no pop song to follow the first verse, with Glover instead candidly exploring his father’s death. A band 6 hopeful in the HSC might argue that the song’s stilted nature reflects grief, but there’s plenty of sadness to be had without deconstruction (note: R.I.P Human Sacrifice).

Glover’s final two songs, while personal favourites are also the most thematically consistent of the entire album. ‘47.48’ is a funky earworm about living in the moment and ignoring external chaos –bang on in contextual relevance), while ‘53.49’ is a proclamation of love for life and Yeezy while putting Glover’s vocal talents on display. Linking these two songs proves to be the album’s most endearing moment, as Legend, Glover’s Son, asks his Dad: “Do you love yourself?” 

Overall, I like but don’t love 03.15.20 I’m not convinced it’s the powerful single-track opus it hopes to be. While it’s abundant in clever transitions and solid songs, it somehow feels disconnected as a whole. I also can’t put a finger on why yet but I find this to be the hardest Childish Gambino album to connect with; “It’s an incredibly weird first-world music problem”.

Many people question if this really is the final Childish Gambino album. Redditors have pored over HTML code and a handwritten note released with the album, looking for hints for what’s in store next. The development of Childish Gambino, from a self-conscious punchline-popping rapper, to a pondering parent, is probably the most wholesome journey a rapper can have. If this really is it, then ‘53.49’’s’ upbeat message of self-acceptance is a fitting curtain closer.