![]() ![]() Why is white innocence and black innocence not valued equally in our American democracy? In “Boogieman,” Glover makes clear that in the mind of some authority figures, black skin makes an African American a perpetrator, a presumed criminal. With the rash killings of unarmed black men by officers sworn to protect and serve, the meaning of innocence weighs heavy on many Americans’ minds. As a result, when Awaken, My Love! incorporates lyrical spin on the productions of Childish Gambino’s African American musical forebears, homage to the collective black liberation movement is paid.Īs I listen to Glover’s words with a resistance writer’s mindset, I hear a man imploring police not to falsely judge him. Parallels between the 1970s and recent social uprisings made Parliament’s Funkadelic album resonate with him: “There’s something about that ’70s black music that felt like they were trying to start a revolution.” The power of music had him seriously considering how society overturns systems. ![]() “Boogieman” and “Riot” in particular paint images of black people who, in the eyes of those who wish to dismiss their humanity, are metaphorical monsters.Īs Donald Glover was writing Awaken, My Love!, he had a global revolution on his mind. ![]() If you consider poetic tropes and archetypes from African American culture as you think about the intentions behind the album’s verses, you’ll see that the traditions of black liberation and the lyrical protesting of the dehumanization of blackness resonates. Amid his poetic verses are allusions to metaphorical monsters that call to mind police violence, marches, and riots. Lay back as you listen to Awaken, My Love! by Childish Gambino, and thoughts of social turmoil will disturb your rest. The Black Aesthetic is often universally pleasing, but beneath the verses documenting aspiration, empowerment, and fear is a call for cultural revolution. When poetry is set to music, harmonious beats relay liberating feelings that transcend history and culture. Great writers such as Amiri Baraka and Nikki Giovanni wrote of freedom and the rhetoric of the Black Aesthetic. In times of social turmoil, African American poets disseminate messages demanding change. ![]()
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