“Awaken, My Love!”

"Awaken, My Love!" is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist Childish Gambino, released on December 2, 2016 by Glassnote Records. The album's release was preceded by two lead singles, "Me and Your Mama" and "Redbone." Consisting of tracks sung rather than rapped, its fusion of psychedelic soul, funk and R&B influences was considered a bold departure from the predominately hip hop style of his prior work. The album was produced by Glover and his longtime collaborator, Ludwig Göransson.

Singles

"Me and Your Mama" was released as the album's lead single on Beats 1 Radio and the iTunes store on November 10, 2016, while "Redbone" was released a week later, premiering on Annie Mac’s Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1.

Critical reception

"Awaken My Love!" received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has received an average score of 81, based on ten reviews. Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone wrote that ""Awaken, My Love!" is an enthralling trip into the land of funk," while AV Club wrote "Is Childish Gambino suddenly the new Prince, a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist always ready to keep the world an arm’s length away from knowing what he’s thinking? Is he D’Angelo, a soul god fighting against his first image with all-time great music? No. He is Donald Glover, a man who can perform and write comedy, act in drama, and drop a truly wonderful album on short notice with all the influences and instructions spelled out. It was easy to sleep on the nerd rap of Childish Gambino before." Perry Kostidakis of the FSView & Florida Flambeau wrote that "with each successive album, Childish Gambino has exhibited phenomenal growth, but no more than on his latest release. Unflinchingly ambitious and boldly different, Awaken, My Love calls back the sounds and themes of the 1970s funkadelic movement to provide a wholly original, emotional and immersive musical experience," with Guardian Club adding "only the limitations of his voice occasionally let him down – he doesn’t quite have the range to nail Awaken’s more ostentatious vocal lines. Still, it’s a minor gripe when there’s so much here to enjoy."

Track listing

All tracks were produced by Childish Gambino and Ludwig Göransson, unless otherwise noted.

External links

• https://awakenmylove.com