triple j Pick of the Week
Showing off the fact that artists don’t need to conform to traditional release schedules with music these days, Childish Gambino surprised fans late last week when he dropped online not only a free mixtape, but the very next day unleashing the brand new Kauai EP, which accompanies the mixtape as a two-part release.
Featuring the single Sober, which could be the loved up summer jam of 2014/15, Gambino croons to an almost Pharrell-meets-Jackson level of smoothness, while lamenting his lost love over a chilled out infectious beat before diving deep into classic Gambino spaced-out territory half way through the cut. Despite being considered an outsider by some of his peers, and perhaps because of this, his new dual mixtape/EP release highlights just how progressive the 31-year-old rapper is, and how his take on music is so unique and unpredictable.