Because the Internet
| Childish Gambino
Because the Internet
Because the Internet is the second studio album by American rapper Donald Glover, under the stage name Childish Gambino. It was released on December 10, 2013, by Glassnote Records and Island Records, and then four days later in North America by Glassnote and Universal. The recording process began in 2012 and ended in October 2013. Recording primarily took place at a mansion owned by basketball player Chris Bosh, which Gambino rented-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
As the artist intended requires an hour of fully plugged in attentive reading, embedded You tube clip viewing, and listening.
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Noisey
The raps are self-conscious; not pandering. They’re overt; not obnoxious. They’re cheeky; not annoying.
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The Guardian
Soul-searching, set to a dark, synth-based backdrop. Worth hearing.
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Rolling Stone
Wields his nerdiness with newfound confidence, spitting meditations on Internet culture with fluency and ease.
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Hot New Hip Hop
One of the most groundbreaking hip-hop albums to drop in recent memory. And it's all because of the Internet.
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Rockhaq
An engaging album, written by a person who has experienced fame in a way that turns some artists selfish
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Time
The dedication that Glover has seemingly displayed in the project is admirable.
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Spin
But it sounds like nothing more than a talented guy reciting erratic ideas and fragments of phrases scrawled on unconnected Post-it notes,
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Sputnik
Might honestly be the most varied hip-hop album I’ve ever listened to, and yet it works in a weird, harmonious way
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Focus Hip Hop
All I remember is being in love with this album.
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Hip Hop DX
Childish Gambino still manages to mostly hold our attention
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AV Club
Serious about his music, and he’s willing to take some chances
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Music Feeds
If lyrics are anything to go by, Gambino is on the money
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Clash Music
Reality bites. But sometimes it kisses you better afterwards and points out there’s a wonderful world outside
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Slant
He’s translated much of that bitterness and rejection from his peers into weirdly self-serious satires
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XXL Magazine
From prelude short-film to the script to the music—proves Gambino can carve himself a place as an viable figure in the genre
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HHS Media
Definitive proof that Glover is capable of recovering from a terrible album
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Page 31
Nothing like you’ve heard this year, let alone anything you’ve heard before.
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The Pulp
Flows and rhymes that emphasize his talent.
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Paste Magazine
Folks who love him dearly are calling it the best thing since seasonings for food.
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The Daily Beast
If it sounds a little pretentious and heavy-handed at times, that’s because it can be
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The Fader
It was this opportunity to live so fully inside an artist’s idea of the world, even if just for one night, that made me feel free
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LA Times
But it's all done in service of documenting the rootless, distracted millennial male mind.
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Under the Radar
Ambitious and daring.
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Neon Tommy
Gambino is making headlong rushes at the brick wall of future of music and art. The boundaries are falling, and the results are by no means unimpressive.
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Look at This Music Graph
A solid yet confusing album, There is plenty of interesting tracks to be heard and cleaver rhyming
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Vibe
If the world wide web needed a soundtrack for 2013, Childish Gambino’s Because The Internet would be it.
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Bearded Gentleman Music
A rollercoaster of various emotions—there are moments of incredible joy, and there are moments of unbearable sadness.
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Kurrent Music
“Because The Internet” does not disappoint.
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The National
The skippy flow of a stand-up and couplets that hit like a well-delivered punchline.
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The Collegian
Even at the brim of this conceptual album, with only having listened to it for two days, it is obvious that there is so much here
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UATrav
Creative and insightful, but overproduced and long.
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The Lines of Best Fit
Which strives for greatness but is, ultimately, about as deep as a paddling pool.
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Music Connection
Elevates the artist to a new level of street cred with fresh beats, well-thought samples and a lyrical flow
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Beat
It’s ambitious and loaded with guts.
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Music OMH
It’s well worth sticking with
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I Hip Hop
His obsession with attention has left only a forgettable mark.
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CHWomp
Easily one of the best pieces of art to come out this year.
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Me Plus TV
Filled with songs that not only contain Gambino’s signature clever humor, but also poignant thoughts and self-reflection
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Brent Music Reviews
One of the year’s more interesting, creative efforts.
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Popstache
In short, he made a masterpiece.
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The Daily Cougar
Possibly the best concept-driven album of this year and it marks as Gambino’s best work so far.
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Uproxx
His charisma, his humor, his vulnerability You simply can’t take your eyes off of him.
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North Hampton Gent
It is an album that must be revisited time and time again and has something for everybody.
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Complex
Overall, this sounds good. Impressively ambitious. Cueing it up again...
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Its All Dead
Glover’s own struggles and self-awareness. It excels on every level and has solidified Childish Gambino
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Everydejavu
Artists effectively bring social issues and stories into their music, and that’s exactly what Gambino does
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Emertainment Monthly
I still discovered gems and bits that I’d missed that make me smile
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Exclaim
What is largely a great album.
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Rap Reviews
Glover can make art and still have fun
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The Ithacan
Glover is pushing his talent in every possible direction,
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Rap Indie
The vibe of the album is very upbeat.
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Nairaland
I must commend the unconventional concept and the overall flow of the album.
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Las Vegas Weekly
The rapper struggles to focus his occasionally brilliant music ideas.
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Consequence of Sound
Maybe it’s because of his taste, or because he is trying too hard to stand out, or because of his hubris, or because he has lost touch with reality, or maybe it is because of the internet. F.
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Medium
There are literally only two songs worth listening to, and they’ve both been linked above (unfortunately their official videos also contain some tail-end bleeding into other tracks — might want to skip those). I really hope that Donald Glover quit acting in Community for more than…this.
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The Needle Drop
While Because The Internet is much more likable and ambitious than Childish Gambino's last commercial effort, Camp, this album is not without its hangups. 5/10.
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The Know
Glover’s follow-up hones in on that unique gameness for risk and establishes Childish Gambino as a project to watch—even as it breaks its opening question wide open.
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Vox
Overall this album is brilliant. The concept comes across clearly, the musicality is thorough and some of these songs have the potential to make it into my top-25 most played.
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The Line of Best Fit
Because the Internet, like Camp before it, fails to bring the sparkle that Glover has displayed in his comedy writing to his music. 5/10.
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Pretty Much Amazing
Because The Internet is just a giant non-sequitur, a pop culture gag reel that relies a little too heavily on flippancy to ring true.
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All Music
Gambino's got the good stuff. 4/5.
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Pueblo Pulp
Despite some setbacks, Because the Internet shines through here and there.
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Irish Times
It sounds like he’s still carving his own niche, but this is an impressive step on his journey. 3/5.
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PHS Pantera
It is clear that Gambino put a full two years worth of effort into perfecting this work for his fans.
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Community Edition
It’s his combination of story telling and cleverness that separates him from every other hip-hop artist. Because the Internet lacks that special ingredient.
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RHS Today
Overall, this is not my favorite album by Gambino, but it is definitely worth listening to.
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The Koalition
This LP is his best work to date.
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Arena Music
Free from the confines of expectation, Donald Glover can seemingly surprise listeners with each and every vision.
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Soul in Stereo
It’s a multifaceted album for a multifaceted generation. 4/5.
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The Edge
Six years later, Because the Internet is still as relevant as the day it debuted. 4/5.
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Washington Post
After plenty of twists and turns, we're left to wonder.
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Jakob's Album Reviews
For the most part, I really do enjoy this album. 8.7/10.
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El Modena Frontline
Glover has made a great second album that only solidifies himself as a legit rapper.
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Daily Press
"Because the Internet" carves a place for him in today's Web-addled indie-rap world, even if some offline fresh air might do him some good as well.
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Spectrum Pulse
Childish Gambino still succeeded in making an interesting album, and I'll take that over boredom any day.
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Nostalgic for the Present
Because The Internet is the album that finally made me love Gambino’s music. 4/5.
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Courant
"Because the Internet" carves a place for him in today's Web-addled indie-rap world, even if some offline fresh air might do him some good as well.
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Blast Magazine
Overall, Because the Internet was a huge step for Gambino. It shows him as a serious artist.
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Rapdose
The complexity of the beats and lyricism shows throughout the album giving pure enjoyment. 8.5/10.
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Too Many Blogs
It’s not going to set the world alight though, and it’s not bad except for a couple of very good tracks and its strong finish.
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Speculator Vision
The album serves as a stepping stone for Gambino, showing a serious musical side as opposed to his more joking previous efforts. He will have his work cut out for him next album.
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Guestlist
With more concentration on connecting everything ‘BTI’ could be a stronger album but what it stands for already places it on another level to most albums of today.
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EXPhits
Because the Internet had a couple of songs that I don’t care for (“Worldstar”, some of the singing songs) but it’s good overall. Definitely a step up from Royalty. I like it. 7.6/10.
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303 Magazine
Childish Gambino’s Because The Internet should be near the top of your “to do list.” 4/5.
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Badger Herald
Childish Gambino needs to figure out who he is on ‘Because the Internet’.
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Surviving the Golden Age
The screenplay is interesting, and Glover has proven himself a talented writer, but in the context of the album it is an inedible flower that compliments the presentation of the plate, but adds little substance to the dish as a whole. The 6.5/10.
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The Music Ninja
From pure hip-hop to R&B, rock, and electronica, this album ironically depicts Donald Glover’s complete career transition from an actor to a musician.
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Tone Deaf
A meandering, directionless album.
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Cypher Avenue
Four to Five nice ass tracks out of 19 just doesn’t do it for me. 2.5/5.
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Boston Globe
A tour de force.
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