Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover, an actor, comedian, and rapper known for playing Troy in “Community,” released the single in 2018. But what is “This is America” really saying?
Listening to the song alone is not enough to convey the complex social and political themes Glover illustrates to his audience – watch the video.
The song starts out harmless — there’s a sweet, lighthearted chorus, and a man is shown sitting in a chair and picking up a guitar. The camera pans to Glover, who’s standing further away in an empty warehouse, and he dances to the music.
Then, he walks over to the man in the chair, pulls a gun from his pants, and shoots the now-covered man in the back of the head, reciting, “This is America.”
The first verse begins, and Glover sings along, dancing all the way, as a group of Black children in school uniforms joins the entourage.
Chaos ensues in the background of the warehouse as Glover dances on.
Pointed lyrics like “Don’t catch you slippin’ now; Guns in my area; Yeah, this is guerilla” imply that Glover’s America is one filled with violence, as the characters in the background chase each other, hang out on rusted cars, and pull weapons on each other.
The next scene shows a Black chorus providing the sweet chorus in another room. Glover walks in, shuts the door, is tossed some sort of assault weapon, and mows down the chorus. Blood spatters the walls. Glover dances on, away from the scene.
A police car, lights on, pulls up to the scene of the shooting. Cops and other background characters run to the victims, weapons bared.
The initial chaos ensues, and Glover’s entourage of children reappears, smiling and dancing joyfully as people fall from perilous heights, children are neglected, and cars burn in the background.
Glover delivers his final line, “I got the plug on Oaxaca, they gonna find you like baka!” and the background and entourage run screaming as Glover holds his hands to mimic a gun.
He then lights a cigarette, climbs on top of a car, and continues haphazardly dancing as the camera pans out to all of the cars abandoned in the chaos.
The final scene shows Glover sprinting in the dark, fear in his eyes, running with a group of people from something.
This video highlights the Black experience in our country. There are endless joys, as illustrated by the entourage of dancing children and the chorus singing. But there are also endless terrors. Gun violence rampages. Gang wars divide. Black children live in perilous conditions, and the parties in charge fail to act.
This is America. Don’t get caught slipping now.