"Awaken, My Love!" | ||||
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Studio album by Childish Gambino | ||||
Released | December 2, 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2015–16 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:57 | |||
Label | Glassnote | |||
Producer | ||||
Childish Gambino chronology | ||||
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Singles from "Awaken, My Love!" | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10 |
Metacritic | 77/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
The A.V. Club | A− |
The Guardian | |
The Irish Times | |
Mojo | |
The Observer | |
Pitchfork | 7.2/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
XXL | 4/5 (XL) |
"Awaken, My Love!" is the third studio album by American rapper Childish Gambino. It was released on December 2, 2016, by Glassnote Records. 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.
"Awaken, My Love!" received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200. It also debuted at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was supported by two singles, "Me and Your Mama" and "Redbone".
On June 17, 2016, after a hiatus from social media, Glover tweeted "pharos.earth", a link to download his new app. The app itself placed the user in outer space looking at a small blue planet while a clock counted down to zero. The app then had the user crash down into space, placing them on a map that was located on Joshua Tree, California. The app then showed the dates of his upcoming performances at Joshua Tree Hill, where the user could also purchase tickets. The concert festival was to debut the album and give the audience the "full-album experience". From September 3 to 5, nearly three months before the release of his album, Glover held three concert performances at Joshua Tree Hill to debut the album. Glover wore glow-in-the-dark paint on his braids and a pink and yellow skirt, with his bandmates wearing similar attire. He performed eleven songs during the concert with minimal rapping, mainly featuring a funk / jazz vibe.
Upon its release, Glover updated his Pharos app so users could watch the performance of his first lead single, "Me and Your Mama" at Joshua Tree through a virtual reality lens on the phone.