How Childish Gambino created his own world through music.
Ten years ago, Childish Gambino released Because the Internet, a highly conceptualized album that blended the thin line between our online and offline lives: an “offline-online” reality where one world has consequences toward the other.
The full media rollout of Because the Internet was methodical and dense. It was accompanied by a 75-page screenplay, 2 short films, 3 music videos, multiple in-character social media profiles and a website containing hidden tracks in its code which all served to provide an nonlinear narrative for the album’s 19 tracks. Through this promotional material, Donald Glover emphasized the importance of building a cohesive world through media & experiences rather than just “dropping an album”.
Donald Glover’s Career
Because the Internet marked the moment when Childish Gambino was finally accepted by the mainstream. The success of 3005 was just the gateway into the world of BTI. In order to fully understand how BTI came to be, it’s vital to understand the influence of Donald Glover’s career trajectory.
Prior to BTI, Donald Glover pioneered YouTube sketch comedy with Derrick Comedy (2005), wrote for 30 Rock and acted as Troy Barnes in Community up until he left fully for personal reasons in 2013. His start as one of the first ‘internet comedians’ is an important factor to consider in relation to BTI’s conception. Glover was one of the first stars to truly experience the birth and rise of the internet while also witnessing the impact it had in our daily lives. He was heavily active on Twitter from the launch of the platform and was known to consistently interact with his followers.
In 2011 album Camp under the alias Childish Gambino to highly negative reception, with the album receiving a 1.6 rating from Pitchfork. The album is focused on telling a cohesive narrative but was filled to the brim with angst towards the rap industry, women and society which made the success of his 2012 mixtape Royalty a welcome surprise.
Royalty was a mixtape that ditched the narrative/comedic approach of creating a rap album and focused on raw rapping. It embraced many names that Camp scorned and embraced through its feature list, featuring artists such as Nipsey Hussle, Bun B, RZA, Ghostface Killah, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Chance the Rapper and Danny Brown. This album was well received in the rap community and served as a precursor to Childish Gambino’s success.
The culmination of mainstream rejection following Camp, the acceptance from the underground music scene following Royalty and overall confliction of the two following his personal decision to leave Community paved the way for Because the Internet.
The Worldbuilding of Because the Internet
Donald Glover’s career trajectory and unique position in the music industry, as an internet comedy writer turned famous actor turned rapper, directly contributed to the conception of the protagonist of BTI’s universe, The Boy.
The Boy is a rich and famous internet troll who wouldn’t be out of place in today’s era of the internet. 3 years before Donald Trump normalized internet outrage coverage by tweeting his way into a presidency, The Boy’s character was already gaining mainstream popularity by trolling on Twitter. He, once again, reflects the “online-offline” reality by doing this.
Donald Glover dressed as The Boy in every single one of his public appearances and interviews leading up to and after the release of BTI. This was done intentionally to contribute to his world building and characterization of BTI’s “online-offline” ethos. The Boy wasn’t just a fictional character, he existed in reality through Childish Gambino.
The screenplay for BTI was released alongside the album on the now defunct website becausetheinter.net. What I personally did on my first listen was physically print out the entire screenplay to read alongside the album while playing the tracks when the screenplay directed me to, which further solidified the “online-offline” concept.
The story of the screenplay follows The Boy and explores the themes of existentialism, internet culture and, oftentimes, nothing at all. It’s meant to accompany the short film Clapping for the Wrong Reasons and is worth reading alongside the album if you haven’t before.
It begins with the line, “You can’t live your life on a bus…” which is meant to be a direct response to the monologue in the ending track of Camp, That Power where the protagonist realizes he never grew up because he refused to get off a figurative bus from summer camp. Because the Internet serves as a turning point in Donald Glover’s career where he decided to ‘grow up’ from his past angst and naivety.
Prior to the release of Because the Internet, Donald Glover became more reclusive from the internet and began to explore a multitude of other creative endeavors such as film, the TV show Atlanta, a funk album in “Awaken, my Love” and more. He fulfilled his goal of growing up.
‘Till 3005
As I’ve gotten older I can acknowledge that this album still has some of the angst and corniness found in Camp. But I can’t deny that the world building and ethos of Because the Internet as well as Donald Glover’s personal growth left a monumental impact on me and my own creative endeavors.
Here are some of my takeaways from Because the Internet:
- Create a world with every project you release and include your audience in that world. Its message will have more impact.
- Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Explore your ideas and sharpen your skills in different mediums.
- Everyone deserves the opportunity to change without criticism.
- Roscoe’s Wetsuit.
Happy 10 years to Because the Internet.
