The musician Childish Gambino had a great night on Sunday, even if he wasn’t there to see it. He nearly swept the awards he was eligible for, winning four out of the five categories he was nominated in. He was the biggest winner of the night without even being in the room.
The rapper’s track “This is America” won for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Rap/Sung Performance, and Music Video. The song is controversial but timely, dealing with issues of race, gun violence, and inequality.
The video hits all of those themes even harder, and has led to an avalanche of speculation online over each and every detail. People pick apart everything from the clothing people are wearing to the type of moves the dancers in the foreground use in order to find symbolism and deeper meaning. Childish Gambino has declined to give any more interpretation of the video and song’s meaning, saying they speak for themselves. So yeah, of course the Internet is going to run with it.
The musician, also known as Donald Glover, is known as a man of many talents. Beyond his very successful music career, he is an actor who gained prominence on the show Community. Since then he began to write and star in the FX comedy Atlanta, which is just as critically acclaimed as his music.
So where can he go from here? We’re thinking his next move will be curing cancer or becoming the first man on Mars.
