Coronavirus AKA COVID-19 AKA Rony Tony has really put my life at a standstill.
I used to do stuff like go to museums, comedy shows and listen to dates explain Astrology. Most importantly I used to use music as a soundtrack to all of these moments. Songs would have a sentimental feeling to them if I could associate them with moments. Now I’m stuck in the house and all I can do is reflect on the times I could leave. I’ve been thinking about a lot, and I hope it’ll help me grow.
For example, I spent a lot of time hating on Donald Glover.
I hated his line up, I hated his stand up, I hated his success. I was an all around hater. People would ask me why I hated him so much, I would try to give complicated reasons but at the end of the day it was jealousy. Every reason I gave for why he sucked was just a quality I shared with him. “He does this whole black nerd thing” check, “he’s awkward and doesn’t try not to be awkward” check, “he acts like just because he dates black women now he’s better than everyone else” oh that’s a double check right there. I hate Donald Glover because he’s like me, but better. A lot better. All I really got over homie is a stronger hairline but I put Bigen in my shit so this might not last too much longer. He’s one of the most talented men of our time and his influence will be seen within the next decade. Because I was a hater, I never gave him too much of a chance musically, however I would always give his albums a spin. No matter how negative I felt towards homie, I would listen to his albums from start to finish.
So with that, lets get into his newest album “3.15.20”
It’s interesting.
Musically Donald Glover reminds me of Quentin Tarantino, he’s a student of his influences and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a foot fetish nigga either. Childish Gambino wears his influences on his sleeve and he constantly pays homage to them throughout his albums, much like Quentin does with his movies. If you’re unfamiliar with the original pieces you’d think this was his natural creativity, however it speaks volumes that he can showcase them in such a personal way. I compare Donald Glover albums to fresh outfits where you see the brand-name on every piece of clothing. It’s like a Gucci Sweatsuit worn with a Gucci hat and some Gucci Sneakers. This is music you’d listen to while you paint, or tie dye shirts or duck your landlord. It’s hipster as fuck, but in like a good way. What’s also really interesting is, this album is mostly optimistic, while he does sound lost at points, he sounds like he’s in control. It wasn’t til the second to last song where I heard Donald talk to his child where I realized he’s got Dad energy. He has responsibilities that ground him in a way he wasn’t grounded before.
I don’t have much of a problem with this album, if anything I’m upset that I can’t listen to it outside thanks to Rony Tony. This would be the perfect album to listen to while I walk aimlessly through the city because the weather is kind of nice and I need to kill 2 hours. Unfortunately I can only listen to this album while I walk from my bedroom, to the kitchen, back to my bedroom, then to the living room, then back to my room. So it hits like a low-key depressive episode. Like you know the ones that hit you hard enough that you start cleaning but not hard enough to keep you in bed all day? This album is good for those.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen with COVID-19, it seems like we’re going to be stuck inside for a while. By the time this ends I have the strong feeling we’re all going to walk out the house scruffy with uninspired hairlines. When that happens, I’ll be excited to walk aimlessly, so I definitely think “3.15.20” will come in handy.
I give “3.15.20” 6.5 “why do you keep calling it Rony Tony” texts out of 8.