This is a take on analyzing Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America.’ It discusses the music video, lyrics, and history behind the project.

The Hidden Meaning in Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’

“If it makes you nervous- you’re doing it right.” -Donald Glover. On May 6th 2018, Donald Glover released the song and music video titles ‘This is America’ under his musical pseudonym, Childish Gambino. Within the first hour of its release, ‘This is America’ reached nearly one million views, and by the end of the first 24 hours, the video had 12.9 million views. It is clear this piece of art took the world by storm instantly. It wasn’t just because Gambino is a well established artist, but because this song is something special. It is way more than a song and music video, but is a message and call to awareness regarding real life in America for African Americans. Both the song and video are filled with hidden meanings, references, symbolism, and a much more serious notation. This was a risky thing for Childish Gambino to do, but it is clear he had a message he wanted to get across, and what better way to do it? Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ is not only a song but a message about gun violence, police brutality, and life as an African American in America. It is so interesting to pull apart the lyrics and music video and try to decipher what Gambino really meant with every word and action. 

But first, who is Childish Gambino? Better known as Donald Glover, he is one of the most accomplished artists of our time. He is involved in everything, everywhere. Most known for acting and music, Glover is also a writer, producer, DJ, comedian, and much more. Glover supports endless Grammy’s, Emmys, Critic Choice Awards, and many, many other awards. He is constantly creating and working on new art for the world. One thing Gambino is known for is his relationship with social media. He is often seen disappearing from social media for long passages of time and is known for not being the biggest fan of it. In an article written by Josephine Chu for Medium, Chu discusses Gambino’s heated conversation about social media that occurred at a Golden Globes watch party. “Glover called the internet “horrible in every way,” Friend writes. He disappeared from social media in 2014, a year after the release of his album, Because The Internet. Explaining why he deleted his accounts, Glover said he “felt like social media was making me less human, and I already didn’t feel that human.” (1) Donald Glover does not need the internet to maintain his status, which is something many other artists are extremely envious of. In fact, the unknowingness and anticipation of what he is going to do next keeps his fans involved even more than if he were to post updates everyday. 

Although Gambino is known for doing whatever he wants, I still think his specific relationship with social media is integral to the production of ‘This is America’ and everything would be so different without it. Of course social media was a huge part of the video’s success, but I feel like if Gambino spent months anticipating the song and releasing little bites of it like other artists do, it would not have had the massive impact that ‘This is America’ had. In an article written by Gabbi Calabrese at Arkansas Tech University, she writes 

“The circumstances surrounding the video’s release are worth noting too. Glover did not spend time online building buzz for the song. Instead, he waited for the perfect opportunity — when he both hosted and performed as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.” He knew how to reach an audience without turning to Twitter or Instagram to promote his work, which, of course, isn’t to say that social media wasn’t instrumental in the video’s popularity.” (1)

The fact that Gambino does not have to solely rely on social media means he can release more ‘risky’ things like ‘This is America’ without fear of hate and losing his career. Personally, I remember when this video came out. I was a freshman in high school and it definitely took me and my peers by storm. On the release day we watched it in my history class and discussed our thoughts. I used to watch it multiple times a day for weeks. I was infatuated on how someone could create something so meaningful in such a captivating way. I saw a lot of people feeling the same way, loving the video, but I also saw people hate it. They didn’t understand why people thought it was so cool and treated ‘This is America’ as just another song. Like everything, the release took over social media and soon came every single person’s thoughts and opinions on the matter, plastered all over. Most likely for the better, Gambino did not address any comments, good or bad. In fact he has still not given his side of the video and specified what he really meant by it, but instead enjoys leaving it up for interpretation by the people, which I also think is very smart. Once you start telling people “Oh actually that’s not the meaning, it’s this instead” they lose interest and don’t want to create their own meanings on the piece anymore. The state America was in at the time of the release is also very important. It was 2018 and Donald Trump was president, there was little to none gun regulation, and as always people of color, especially black people, were being treated poorly in the country. It is crazy how this video predated the death of George Floyd and the major Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. It is further proof that this video is timeless in America and always relevant. 

A lot of people get caught up in the music video component of ‘This is America’ but the lyrics are just as complex. Thousands of people, including myself, have come up with their own meanings to the lyrics and music, but there are a lot of common themes among us. One thing I find super interesting is the very beginning of the song. We start off with this light, fun sound. A very traditional Black sound with implements of a gospel chorus and African music. We hear Gambino sing “We just wanna party, Party just for you, We just want the money, Money just for you (Yeah). I know you wanna party, Party just for free. Girl, you got me dancin’ (Girl, you got me dancin’) Dance and shake the frame (Yeah)” This could represent the complex relationship between dancing and partying and the violence that so many Black Americans experience. Constantly on social media we see black dances and songs blow up and people of different races will start doing them. Just as often we see black people unjustly killed or treated poorly by people of different races, but it doesn’t blow up like the dances. Black people are expected to perform, entertain, and coast through the deaths of their people with no problem. This nice melody is abruptly cut off with a much darker tone of music and Gambino repeats “This is America, don’t catch you slipping now.” As I was explaining before, black people cannot be ‘caught slipping’. They must be on at all times, or else they get put into danger. In the next verse Gambino says “Police be trippin’ now (Woo) Yeah, this is America (Woo, ayy) Guns in my area (Word, my area) I got the strap (Ayy, ayy) I gotta carry ’em” alluding to police brutality and the glorification of guns in America. He even mentions Guerilla Warfare which usually involves a smaller fringe group, like a civilian militia, combating a larger military force. In the refrain we hear a classic Black gospel choir sound sing “Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody You go tell somebody. Grandma told me Get your money, Black man (Get your— Black man)” Genius writes “The lines point to the hard truth behind a grandmother’s encouragement: even if he succeeds in getting his money, as an African American, he will still be discriminated against. They also draw out the complicated relationship between success—especially as an entertainer—and suffering.” (1) Most of these lyrics repeat or maintain the same idea, emphasizing the message of the words, as the music gets more and more intense. In the outro, the music softens and we hear Gambino sing 

“You just a black man in this world. You just a barcode, ayy. You just a black man in this world Drivin’ expensive foreigns, ayy You just a big dawg, yeah I kenneled him in the backyard No, probably ain’t life to a dog For a big dog” 

These lyrics are flat out, a black man is just a barcode. Even though Gambino is a successful black man and can afford nice things now, that does not negate his struggles with racism in America. Even though he’s a ‘big dawg’ he can be kenneled and put down at any moment simply for his race, and is that really a desirable life to live? There is no denying the genius and impact these lyrics have, even without the music video.

Now as much as I’d love to discuss every small detail in the ‘This is America’ music video, there is just too much involved to hit everything. The video is packed with symbolism, everytime you watch you pick up on something new. The thing we consistently see throughout the video is Gambino’s character dancing with exaggerated facial expressions and movements. He is often seen dancing with a group of young black kids in school uniforms. While they dance together, there is complete chaos in the background. Cars on fire, policemen, people running, but they don’t seem to notice. This goes back to the theme that comes across in the lyrics that says how black people must keep going and performing no matter what is happening in the background. After every crazy incident, Gambino and the kids go right back to dancing. The first major shock occurs at the beginning of the video. The first screen is a chair with an acoustic guitar on it. Then we see a black man pick up the guitar and start playing. Gambino is then revealed and dances with heavy expression. The man with the guitar now has a bag over his head, Gambino pulls out a gun, strikes a showman’s pose, and shoots the man straight through the head. He then hands the gun to a boy who grabs it with a red cloth and continues dancing. It is believed that the pose Gambino takes is a reference to Jim Crow, an old blackface character, relating the movement to segregation and the endless mistreatment of black people. The gunshot goes along with the change up in the music and Gambino looks into the camera with the line ‘this is America’ as he hands the gun off. The swiftness that everything is done with can be related to how swift people will push black deaths under the carpet. Later in the video we pan to gospel choir singing. Gambino enters, dancing along, then seconds later is tossed a rifle and shoots the choir. He again hands off the gun to a boy with a red cloth, and escapes as everyone runs towards the scene. This has appeared to be a reference to the massacre in a Charleston church where a white man killed nine black choir members and got away with it. In a journal titled “Slaying New Black Notations” written by Ladan Osman, she writes

“The video begins by annihilating a root in black music. Moments later, Gambino slays the heart of a black optimism. And he keeps dancing, assuring us there’s no sanctuary. Not in Noble Savage platitudes, not in a Mammy, not in any Magical Negro. His dancing repulses us, but this satire isn’t as grotesque as killing nine people, then having the stomach to eat Burger King” (2)

Osman also mentions how we are uncomfortable seeing a black man portray these actions. “The point is that our inattentiveness is designed to maintain a system which allows some citizens to act as a virus while others become viral in death.” (Osman 2) The final scene is also an eye opener. We see Gambino’s character running like hell, eyes wide open, full of terror.  Dr. Lori Brooks, a professor of African-American studies at Fordham University, breaks down every part of the music video in a video from the channel ‘Insider Edition’. Dr. Brooks talks about how this is a rare sighting. Often when we hear stories of African Americans who were killed unfairly by the police, it is after they have passed. We don’t get to see that terror in their eyes because no one was there with them. Dr. Brooks puts it as “I think one of the most powerful statements of the video is that we see a black man clearly with the look of terror in his eyes which i think is extremely extremely moving.” (Minute 10:16) I had never really thought about this before, especially not while watching the music video. Rewatching and listening to ‘This is America’ so much during this analysis has reminded me of how potent it really is. I am still finding new things and conjuring new questions everytime I watch. It is completely captivating and relevant, even four years later. It never stops to amaze me.

The piece of art, ‘This is America’ impacted so many people in such a powerful way. There is no denying Childish Gambino’s brilliance when it comes to this project. As Art Grayson puts it in their journal titled ‘Childish Gambino’s “this is America” is a matter of cultural importance’, 

“From the black opening frame with its white lettered, cursive title, to the final chase scene, we are shown the major components of America brought to bear, as viewed by Gambino, and by the Black America for/to whom he speaks, are concerns of place and importance, beauty and ugliness, joy and violence, and other dichotomous pillars of the Black experience. Its prima facie is a meticulous display of perspective and symbolism.” (1)

 It is clear Gambino had many important messages to get across about racism, gun violence, and the mistreatment of African Americans in America, and those messages got across. ‘This is America’ greatly impacted social media and music as we know it today. With an insane current amount of 830 million views it is safe to say ‘This is America’ is still relevant and referenced across the internet today. Thousands of people have tried to decipher the deeper meaning of every inch of this opus. There are few other projects as impressive as this one, hats off to you, Gambino.

Works Cited
Calabrese, Gabbi. “Is Donald Glover Selfish for Staying off Social Media?” Study Breaks
Magazine, 17 July 2018,
https://studybreaks.com/culture/music/donald-glover-social-media/
“Childish Gambino – This Is America (Official Video)”) (“Childish Gambino – This Is America
(Official Video)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY
“Childish Gambino – This Is America Lyrics.” Genius, 6 May 2018,
https://genius.com/Childish-gambino-this-is-america-lyrics. Accessed 23 April 2022.
Chu, Josephine. “Donald Glover Blames Social Media For Making Him ‘Less Human.’” Medium,
9 March 2018,
https://medium.com/@thriveglobal/donald-glover-blames-social-media-for-making-him-l
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Grayson, Art. “Childish Gambino’s “this is America” is a matter of cultural importance.”
Childish Gambino’s “this is America” is a matter of cultural importance, Harvard
University, 6 May 2018, https://scholar.harvard.edu/art/subpage. Accessed 24 April 2022.
Osman, Ladan. “Slaying New Black Notations.” JStor, Board of Regents of the University of
Oklahoma,
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https://www-jstor-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/stable/pdf/10.7588/worllitetoda.92.
4.0040.pdf. Accessed 24 April 2022.
“The Hidden Meanings Behind Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ Video.” YouTube, 15 May
2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWTBTRGfKew. Accessed 23 April 2022.