 Genius Meanings
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Childish Gambino – Stand Tall
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“Stand Tall” sees Donald Glover recount some advice his parents gave to him as a child. It is a reminder to stay positive in times of hardship and uncertainty; and most of all, to
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Childish Gambino – Be Yourself (Stand Tall)
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I used to play the fool all by myself / You used to make me feel real good / I used to eat my food all by myself / I used to do the dishes too / I used to break your heart all by
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Childish Gambino – Baby Boy
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On “Baby Boy,” Donald addresses his son, born earlier in 2016. He expresses joy at this new chapter in his life, but also has fears as a new father, whether from external pressures
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A Guide To The ’70s Classics That Inspired Childish Gambino’s ‘Awaken, My Love!’
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Sly Stone, Funkadelic, Shuggie Otis, and more.
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Childish Gambino – Redbone
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“Redbone” is about paranoia and infidelity in a relationship. As a slang term, “redbone” distinguishes a lighter-skinned black person of mixed race. Bino fears that his efforts to
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Childish Gambino – 53.49
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“53.49“ is featured as the final track of Gambino’s 2020 album 03.15.20, and has him rejoicing about life, and what it means for both him and his children. Gambino previously
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Childish Gambino – Me and Your Mama
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On November 10th, 2016, following an elongated reprieve from the musical world, Childish Gambino premiered “Me and Your Mama” on Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio with Zane Lowe. The
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Giovanni Johven (Ft. Childish Gambino2 & Kalii Uchis) – TERRIFIED TANGO
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[Verse 1: Giovanni Johven] / Fear in my heart, I can't deny / Terrified of this world, I can't hide / Visions of violence, echoes of pain / In this concrete jungle, where hope
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Childish Gambino (Ft. Just A Band) – Who No Know Go Know
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[Verse 1: Childish Gambino] / He stood in front of me / Everything that I was and what I wanna be / Shots fired, over a hundred G's / And if it wasn't be you, then who's it gonna
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Childish Gambino (Ft. Ariana Grande) – Time
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“Time” features Childish Gambino and Ariana Grande wrestling with a lack of direction and trying to find meaning in the world. Gambino expressed similar themes of uncertainty on
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Childish Gambino – Zombies
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“Zombies” details how others around you can be vultures and eat off your success. The zombies are mindless creatures trying to take what you have, namely, a brain that can think
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Kendrick Lamar – HUMBLE.
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On the ironically braggadocious track “HUMBLE.” Kendrick Lamar challenges his competition. It was released a week after the first promotional single, “The Heart Part 4,” with a
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Childish Gambino – Freaks and Geeks
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The second track off of Gambino’s debut EP, which ended up being his most loved songs he’s ever released.
When Camp was released, it was re-released onto the deluxe edition of the
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Tré Burt – Funny Story (Song for Eva)
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[Verse 1] / There ain't no one that can easily say / Of how it all started anyway / I might as well make it up myself / Figure it could only do me well / Might as well throw it in
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Kelly Clarkson – I Don't Think About You
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“I Don’t Think About You” is the 11th track of Kelly Clarkson’s 2017 album “Meaning of Life” and is the second radio single.
The soul-infused power-balled chronicles losing a
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Epic Rap Batles of History (Ft. Mr. Jay (RB) & MultiSuperVids) – Luigi vs Slender Man
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[Intro] / Ah shit, looks like we got a source rap battle! Today's match is: / Luigi / VS / Slender Man / BEGIN! / [Verse 1: Slender Man] / I teleport to the scene, I’m pretty tall
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JJ Shadow – MOONLIGHT
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Part 1: / [Verse] / Well, what the fuck you want from me? / Open up your heart into uncertainty / Never really learnt to breathe / I don't know why you're writing this shit / I
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Childish Gambino – Have Some Love
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In “Have Some Love,” Gambino calls upon his fellow brothers to appreciate and love one another, as times are getting rougher.
This song seems to be very clearly influenced by
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Kendrick Lamar – HiiiPoWeR
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The first song released from Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80, “HiiiPower” talks of self enlightenment through reflection and active work. It constantly touches on racial subjects
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Childish Gambino – Riot
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The song itself sounds like songs directly from the post MLK Jr, Sly and the Family Stone era with very big guitar and screaming sounds from Childish Gambino during the singing
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Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem & Sam Dew – Savior
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On “Savior,” Kendrick teams up with Sam Dew and Baby Keem to inform his listeners about the brokenness of society. The song comes directly after “Savior (Interlude),” which Baby
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Mike Firm – The Atheist
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[Verse 1] / Those eyes filled with fire don't cease to amaze me / When I turn to move away, they capture me / Meditate, levitate, and ponder a bit / Asking for forgiveness, washing
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OutKast – Hey Ya!
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“Hey Ya!” is the first single from André 3000’s half of OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below double album. André said the following about the concept of this genre-bending song:
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Josh Osho (Ft. Childish Gambino) – Giants
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[Verse 1: Josh Osho] / Ordinary days but these ain't ordinary times / I lost to making waves, I know there's something on our minds / We need something so beautiful when you feel
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Childish Gambino – Terrified
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“Terrified” describes Gambino’s realization of the fact that the woman from “California” is the one for him, and the fear of falling in love while he pleads the girl not to run
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Childish Gambino – Boogieman
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Gambino conjures a new version of the traditional ‘bogeyman’ used to scare children into behaving. The “boogieman” is a portmanteau explained here. He uses this image to illustrate
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Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools (Drank)
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On this lead single from good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick addresses the psychological connection between peer pressure and alcoholism. What sounds like a club anthem is actually an
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Liam Bailey – Hold Tight
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[Verse 1] / Stand tall / We strong enough to fight / This is real what we have / The good fight is in the silent mode / Let it breathe / Breathe and let it out / This is just a
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UGK (Ft. OutKast) – Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
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The Underground Kingz (Bun B, Pimp C) and the Outkasts (André 3000 and Big Boi) unite in a classic track about the women in their lives. There are two stories about actually
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LL COOL J – I Need Love
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“I Need Love” is LL Cool J’s first big hit, peaking at #14 in the US and reaching the top 10 in five European countries.
It is considered the first rap ballad to be an
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Aminé – Caroline
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Portland-born rapper Aminé has been simmering with underground releases, but he appears ready to break into the mainstream with his viral hit ”Caroline.”
He described the song to
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Wu-Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M.
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Arguably one of the most iconic songs in hip-hop, the underlying idea of “C.R.E.A.M.” is found in its title—cash rules everything. The timeless piano riffs and background vocals
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Cordae (Ft. Mudi (USA)) – All That Glitters
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“All that Glitters” references the saying, “All that glitters is not gold”. Cordae reflects on his own memories of good times and struggles as a youth trying to make money, though
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JAY-Z – What More Can I Say
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In the “street single” off of The Black Album, Jay contemplates the retirement he had promised himself after the album’s release. He also uses this song to boast (though many of
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Spose – Fresh Raps
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Sprinkling in savory ingredients such as literary allusions, clever punch lines, and a hell of a lot of internal rhymes, Chef Spizzy Spose presents us with a freshly-baked batch of
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MF DOOM – Hoe Cakes
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The second track off the MM…FOOD album makes use of some pretty sick beatboxing throughout.
“Hoe Cakes” (spelled “hoecakes”) is an African American food from the 19th century
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JAY-Z (Ft. Alicia Keys) – Empire State of Mind
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The Blueprint 3’s third single is a love song to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' home city of New York, which is also known as “the Empire State.” The title alludes to the Billy Joel ballad
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Kanye West (Ft. Lupe Fiasco) – Touch the Sky
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Produced by Just Blaze, using a slowed down sample from Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up”, a style that Kanye also employs.
This song notably features Lupe Fiasco’s first big
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VIBE MAGAZINE (Ft. Jhené Aiko) – VIBE Summer 2014 Cover Story: Jhene Aiko
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VIBE recently gave Jhene Aiko the second cover of their Summer 2014 issue (Mack Wilds, August Alsina and Ed Sheeran have the first). Inside the cover story, Aiko shares her
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Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem – Forever
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Four of hip-hop’s heavyweights take turns going in over a hard beat by Boi-1da.
During his Detroit stop on his Summer Sixteen tour, Drake brought out Eminem to perform his epic
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