Interest piqued and renewed

So my friend died.

That’s why I’ve been missing for a bit. You see, she and I bonded the most over music and she was probably the biggest supporter of this here bloggery. It was difficult to write anything knowing that she wasn’t going to read it. But last Friday I heard something I know she would have been all over, and so, here I am.

Wy, that’s her name, was always big on the musical works of one Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover. When Freaks and geeks came out, she was fan numero uno. I personally have never been blown away by Mr. Glover. Don’t get me wrong, he’s an incredible lyricist. Case in point:

The thing with him is, often, I find his delivery to be a little too “swagged out” for my taste. Bino, as his stans call him, is a COOL kid, and (to my own musical detriment) I am just naturally averse to that.

Too cool for my school...

But then, at the end of last week, he dropped his long awaited free mixtape “STN MTN/ Kauai”. I had seen a bunch of interviews he had given when he was promoting his “Because the Internet” LP last year, and it seemed that as a man and an artist, Bino has been going through some changes. So, mostly out of curiousity, I decided to listen to the mixtape and see how the changes had translated to his work, if at all.

Started out pretty meh, first two tracks went by as background noise…then, out of nowhere, a lovely 80s piano progression…

“Sober” is the simple, melancholic RnB cut from the mixtape that has renewed my interest in Gambino’s work. Something about it is very Michael Jackson. Not sure what. This track sounds like one of those songs that one grows up with, and loves, without really understanding why and without ever asking, “who sang this?” It’s complete all on its own. I would absolutely love it if Bino did an entire collection of RnB…no rapping. I think he’s very good at expressing emotion sonically.

Anyway, I’m sure Wy is bumping this on the regular and is smiling down at me like, “Shaaaaaaz I told you! We fux with this shit!”

Good one Wy. J