I'm about to unload some heavy, HEAVY shit on you. I'm determined to be as coherent as possible. I got more thoughts on all this than I can probably put into words, but I'm going to try. For you. For Gambino. For me.
First off, Childish Gambino is the rap alias of Donald Glover, an extremely talented and expressive individual. Glover has written for 30 Rock, starred in Community (currently catching up on this show, already possibly my favorite TV comedy), wrote and performed his own stand-up special, and, of course, seen his career as a hip-hop artist take off in the past 3 years. Gambino truly "made it" with his 2012 album Camp, though he was dropping awesome songs prior to that.
December 2013, Gambino's latest full-length album drops. It is titled Because the Internet, because, well, Beck told him to do so. December 2013, not only does the album drop, but so does an accompanying 75-page screenplay and 23-minute video that serves as a prelude to the album. These two additional components were made available on the official website for the album, becausetheinter.net (clever name right?). Unfortunately for those of you about to Google search that URL, Glover has shut down the website (as well as his social media accounts) for reasons unknown to the public. The screenplay can still be found on genius.com.
So there's your background, now comes the "my journey" part of the title of this post. I was a big 'Bino fan after listening to Camp and some of his other fairly popular early songs (shoutout to Hylas for putting me on). He was a fun rapper, you could tell he had roots in comedy (besides doing stand-up, Glover also gained notoriety for his work in the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy), and , above all else, he could seriously rap. His flows and rhymes were on par with a lot of the other up-and-coming rappers I was listening to at the time.
Gambino earned a spot on my watch list, and when BTI dropped, I instinctively purchased it off iTunes (yeah, purchased. I have no problem compensating my favorite artists for the hard work they produced for our entertainment). Full disclosure, first listen through, I thought it was very "eh". Only track that really caught my attention was the final one, Life: The Biggest Troll. I thought it was a disappointment because I didn't hear those classic hip-hop elements that I was used to hearing. The lyrics were incoherent and all over the place, the production threw me off completely (neither good or bad), and it just seemed to my naive mind that the once-promising Childish Gambino that I was taking notice of just kinda dropped the ball with his sophomore effort. Truthfully, I just felt like I was missing something, like there was a hidden part of the album that I didn't have.
Like an avid reader with a difficult-to-comprehend book, I shelved BTI for a short while. I figured I would come back to it and hopefully I would gain a greater understanding/appreciation for it. When I finally decided to do this, maybe about 4 months later in April 2014, I went all in. Just a quick tidbit about me, I have a tendency to fully immerse myself in work that I find myself extremely fascinated in. I used to be able to rattle off facts and theories about any aspect of the TV show Lost after endlessly scouring online message boards and reading books and articles dedicated to deciphering the show's greatest mysteries. I don't know if I even wanted to find answers, I think I really just wanted to see how far the theories and opinions and educated guesses went, how far they can stretch while still maintaing believability. Well, that lasted a while (pretty much until the finale disappointed me and every other Lost fan), and then I moved on to another project to become obsessed about.
I don't have a "Holy shit" moment of when I found out about all the layers surrounding BTI. I do remember that when I learned of the existence of the screenplay and video that I instantly felt justified for feeling like I missed something, because I clearly did. As I am writing this I will admit that I haven't read the full screenplay. I am holding out in hopes that 'Bino will restore the website and all its content so I can read (and watch, more on this later) it there.
Now, I've been frustratingly building up to what makes BTI so damn special. And you've hopefully been patient and are still reading this. For that, I will reward you by getting to the point: Because the Internet is not a music album, it's a world. It's an experience. It's a multi-platform, complex weaving of storytelling, emotion, and creativity. This mysterious screenplay and short film that I have been alluding to, combined with the album, make up Because the Internet.
The screenplay's basic plot revolves around the central character, The Boy, who lives in a mansion and spends his time trying to communicate with celebrities on social media. The Boy is played by Jaden Smith, and his dad is played by Rick Ross. That last sentence is more amusing than important. The Boy lacks ambition and instead chooses to live in this empty existence. If you are having a difficult time picturing The Boy, watch any Gambino interview over the past year. His entire demeanor, his attire, his mannerisms: they're all meant to portray The Boy. Remember, Glover is a professional actor.
Back to the screenplay. It is heavy on stage directions and scene-setting, pretty light on dialogue, and utilizes emojis as means of communication between characters. Since I have not read the whole thing, I'm a little unsure of what exactly transpires (And again, don't hold me to any of this. This is just the gist of an extremely complex piece of art), but I do know that one phrase is absolutely essential to the entire meaning of the project for reasons that no one has quite figured out yet. That phrase is "Roscoe's Wetsuit". Apparently, The Boy sees those words basically everywhere he goes, whether it's on billboards, the sides of buildings, or even like those banners on the planes you see when you're at the beach. It is also very briefly flashed across the screen at the very beginning of the video for "The Worst Guys", a video that shows a bunch of dudes wearing...wetsuits. As I said, "Roscoes's Wetsuit is absolutely essential, somehow, someway. I just don't know how or why yet.
Ok, so how is all this supplemental to the album? At various points throughout the script, instructions will pop up telling the reader to play a song on the album at that exact point. This is where the music portion of the project comes into play. Though not flawlessly, the songs supposedly serve as extensions of the script where the story is essentially brought to life through Gambino's music.
Just this concept alone absolutely fascinated me. After I figured this out, I was hooked. Next thing I did was watch the short film, which I will provide a link to at the end of this post. Don't want all of you wandering off for 23 minutes. Where was I? Oh, right, the video. It's virtually impossible to give a summation of it, so instead I'll just say it only drove my insatiable desire for my information and content related to all this even higher. And for a while, I wasn't able to acquire any more knowledge. I was stuck in this limbo-of-sorts where I was still in the dark about pretty much all of what was going on here, yet I wasn't finding anything more through simple searches online.
Quick sidebar, I want to remind everyone that I'm not necessarily hailing Glover as a musical pioneer in that he is without a doubt the first to ever attempt a project like this. I'm sure others in the past have possibly approached what Glover is putting together. Also, there is someone out right now who is doing something fairly similar to Glover: Tyler, the Creator. That's right, the music industry's annoying little cousin. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Tyler fan. I have always understood his brash attitude as him simply being himself, and it's something I have always respected as well. I do concede, however, that Tyler is definitely not someone who I would've thought can pull off some incredible creative feat. Well, he kinda is currently doing just that. His latest album, Wolf, is a terrifically bi-polar album as Tyler basically plays a tug-of-war throughout the tracklist as the two main characters of the album, Wolf and Samuel, fight over Sam's girlfriend, Salem. I am slightly less knowledgeable about Tyler's work than I am about Glover's, so I'll let this article give you the rest of the story if you are interested. If you want my quick opinion, the story Tyler constructs across all his albums (which he does, the storyline dates all the way back to Bastard) is completely worth investing your time in if you are really into complex theories about complex music like I am. Just thought I'd take some time to give credit where credit is due. Now back to the album.
Quick sidebar, I want to remind everyone that I'm not necessarily hailing Glover as a musical pioneer in that he is without a doubt the first to ever attempt a project like this. I'm sure others in the past have possibly approached what Glover is putting together. Also, there is someone out right now who is doing something fairly similar to Glover: Tyler, the Creator. That's right, the music industry's annoying little cousin. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Tyler fan. I have always understood his brash attitude as him simply being himself, and it's something I have always respected as well. I do concede, however, that Tyler is definitely not someone who I would've thought can pull off some incredible creative feat. Well, he kinda is currently doing just that. His latest album, Wolf, is a terrifically bi-polar album as Tyler basically plays a tug-of-war throughout the tracklist as the two main characters of the album, Wolf and Samuel, fight over Sam's girlfriend, Salem. I am slightly less knowledgeable about Tyler's work than I am about Glover's, so I'll let this article give you the rest of the story if you are interested. If you want my quick opinion, the story Tyler constructs across all his albums (which he does, the storyline dates all the way back to Bastard) is completely worth investing your time in if you are really into complex theories about complex music like I am. Just thought I'd take some time to give credit where credit is due. Now back to the album.
Fast forward to sometime later in the year, possibly late summer/early fall, I discovered that Glover had made videos for a few, select songs: "Sweatpants/Urn", "Telegraph Ave.", "3005/Zealots of Stockholm (Free Information)", "The Worst Guys", and "Firefly" (which is actually off of Camp, and the video came out a whole year before the previous ones), and "Sober" (which is off his STN MTN/Kauai mixtape that he has confirmed is an extension of BTI). Firefly is an interesting video, and the only one to not star Glover. Just to get it out of the way now, I have no theories on that video, but I still hold out hope that it is connected to the others.
As for the others, they, together, form a complex, bizarre, occasionally grotesque, and ultimately beautiful narrative that constitutes the backbone of this entire project. The videos, which I will also link to, are all connected, and tell a story that is entirely separate to the one told in the screenplay, with a few exceptions. The story being told in the videos is a fairly simple one on the surface: Gambino, possibly playing The Boy, gets infected by an unknown creature at the beach while in the ocean (The Worst Guys), begins to see and feel the effects of whatever being has abducted him (Sweatpants/Urn), morphs into the monster that has taken over him (Telegraph Ave.), ponders his new, warped existence with an aging sentient bear (3005/Zealots of Stockholm (Free Information)), and interacts with another person with his dual personality (Sober). That is the chronological order I currently place the videos in, and I say currently because I'm constantly rearranging them. One day I'll have the Sober video before Telegraph Ave., the next day I'll just put it before 3005, and the next I'll doubt all of that tinkering and just start all over again.
Starting all over again is actually a concept that Glover plays around with a lot in the album. The album opens with a 5-second track called "The Library", that just plays the sound of pages turning before moving on to the actual opening song of the album. Not coincidentally, at the very end of the final song on the album, the exact same noises from "The Library" can be heard to conclude the album. This clearly represents Glover's opinion that life is cyclical, and so too is his album and the messages and themes contained within. Basically the same thing happens in the 23-minute video I've been hinting at, as the opening scene of the video is identical to the final scene. Glover is often more subtle when including these types of easter eggs, but I feel like he intended for this concept to be more easily distinguishable.
Starting all over again is actually a concept that Glover plays around with a lot in the album. The album opens with a 5-second track called "The Library", that just plays the sound of pages turning before moving on to the actual opening song of the album. Not coincidentally, at the very end of the final song on the album, the exact same noises from "The Library" can be heard to conclude the album. This clearly represents Glover's opinion that life is cyclical, and so too is his album and the messages and themes contained within. Basically the same thing happens in the 23-minute video I've been hinting at, as the opening scene of the video is identical to the final scene. Glover is often more subtle when including these types of easter eggs, but I feel like he intended for this concept to be more easily distinguishable.
Ok, so there's really a lot going on here, huh? This is what you must be thinking, and also what I was thinking after watching these videos and analyzing all the information in front of me. They were classically cryptic as only Gambino does it, in that none of the videos, except for maybe Telegraph Ave., were deliberate with their allusions to this underlying storyline. In the video for The Worst Guys, the "infection" is only shown for about a second, while the rest of the video just depicts Gambino, Chance the Rapper, and a bunch of other people smoking and partying on an empty beach. The other videos are certainly strange and I'm sure even viewers who are unaware of everything else sensed that there was more to what was just on the surface, but the videos could still be chalked up as just kinda weird.
But they're not. At all. And you'll see after you watch them all (please watch them all).
In dire need of opinions and theories on what all the videos meant, I went to the greatest place on the Internet for wild theories and endless discussion: Reddit. What a magical place. There, I happened upon legions of die-hard fans who had put so much thought and effort into figuring out what the hell Glover is trying to tell us. I would like to link to the Reddit thread I pored over, but I simply do not possess the savvy needed on that website to find it.
Anyway, after reading and reading and thinking and analyzing, I finally (kinda) came up with my own theory on the videos. It goes as follows: In The Worst Guys, an alien enters Gambino through the infection on his leg. It grows inside of him and gradually begins to take over his personality and very being. In Sweatpants, he finds that other aliens have begin inhabiting the planet, and I'm assuming they all look to Gambino as their leader. Also, they communicate through some sort of strange dancing (the "Urn" part of the video). In Telegraph Ave., he is seeking to get away from everything else and just be with the girl he loves. In the screenplay, the girl's name is Naomi. In the video, she is played by the lovely and talented Jhene Aiko. At the end of the video, he reveals that he has fully, and forever, been changed into a alien creature with tentacles and various otherworldly abilities. In 3005, he is coming to grips with the new side of him, displayed by his immortality as everything around him ages. Additionally, the world around him is literally burning to the ground. I am still torn on whether he and his destructive alien side caused this. Regardless, he is clearly distraught, and the absence of Naomi in this video perhaps foreshadows a video that explains what happens to her. Finally, in Sober (which, as I said, I still can't figure it out if what happens in the video takes place before or after the "3005" video), Gambino is able to switch between his human and non-human personas, and does so as he comes into contact with what could be the first human he's seen in a while. The human side is unable to successfully communicate with her, so he switches over to his alien side to do the job.
So, that's what I got for straight analysis of what's going on in the storyline. The ultimate goal of all this, at least for me, is to figure out what Donald Glover, the person, is trying to convey with all these wacky, hidden easter eggs. Well, I have two guesses:
- Glover is trying to describe the toll that the "Childish Gambino" alter ego is taking on his own, natural self. Gambino is becoming more famous than Glover, which is changing the way he sees the world and the way the world sees him. You can probably connect the dots on how this dynamic relates to the alien creature taking over The Boy in the videos. Basically, The Boy/alien creature is analogous to Glover/Gambino.
- Glover is simply trolling all of us, which would coincide pretty nicely with the on-the-surface theme of the album and a lot of what goes on in the screenplay. There is no overarching meaning to the videos. I mean, it's about an alien invasion! Doesn't it seem completely possible that he made/is making all these videos involving aliens just to prove to people that they care too much about things that aren't even real? Wouldn't that be the ultimate achievement? Successfully trolling every single person who devoted time to trying to "crack the code", when there was never a "code" in the first place?
Truth is, I'll never learn which theory is right. None of us will. Glover has said multiple times that he likes his art to be interpreted by each person. He won't dictate what he "means" with his music or his videos by telling us how he intended it to be interpreted. My journey to uncover the truth behind "Because the Internet" should never lead me to a tangible answer. Sure, he will probably release more videos and songs that tie in with the alien narrative, but they likely won't contribute to forming a concrete, indisputable resolution to my wild goose chase. And, in all honestly, I'm completely satisfied with that. Glover has still affected my life greatly with even the less subtle themes of his work, like the promotion of individuality and unadulterated creativity, as well as the reassurance that each person is entitled to pursuing what gives them a sense of fulfillment.
The best part about all the guessing, interpreting, and detective-like analysis of every little detail in every video and song is that it is all entirely subjective. While Gambino likely does know exactly what he is trying to get across, each person can be right in their own way. I do not want you to read everything I've written and take it all as fact. This is all just my interpretation. Yes, it's shared by others, but that doesn't mean that it is what you have to believe. In fact, I encourage you to disagree with me. Tell me where I'm wrong so that hopefully I'll discover something I never knew about.
I won't drive myself crazy searching for the undeniable truth in Glover's work that may or may not exist. It's not worth it. Art is made for enjoyment, and all Glover is trying to do is provide that enjoyment for us. As a result, I'm content to halt my incessant digging and theorizing so that I can simply appreciate the breathtaking product of the most creative mind in music right now.
The best part about all the guessing, interpreting, and detective-like analysis of every little detail in every video and song is that it is all entirely subjective. While Gambino likely does know exactly what he is trying to get across, each person can be right in their own way. I do not want you to read everything I've written and take it all as fact. This is all just my interpretation. Yes, it's shared by others, but that doesn't mean that it is what you have to believe. In fact, I encourage you to disagree with me. Tell me where I'm wrong so that hopefully I'll discover something I never knew about.
I won't drive myself crazy searching for the undeniable truth in Glover's work that may or may not exist. It's not worth it. Art is made for enjoyment, and all Glover is trying to do is provide that enjoyment for us. As a result, I'm content to halt my incessant digging and theorizing so that I can simply appreciate the breathtaking product of the most creative mind in music right now.
Unless I figure out exactly what "Roscoe's Wetsuit" means in relation to the screenplay and the videos. Then I won't stop until I can provide a flawless, impossible-to-disprove explanation on the entire story. Not likely, but one can dream...
Here are the links that I promised for all the content mentioned throughout the post:
"The Worst Guys" video
The video as a whole is fun and cool, but the only part that is relevant to the story is at 1:48, so make sure to pause the video there and look at Gambino's leg.
"Sober" video
Probably his best video. A couple of things to take note of in this video. 1) a clock on the wall behind Gambino's original booth is shown in the beginning and end of the video. Both times it is shown, the time on the clock is exactly the same. 2) Look very closely at Gambino's throat/neck from 1:28-1:32. You will see his throat suddenly and pretty grossly expand, almost like a frog. This is the alien side of him taking over, as evidenced by his behavior immediately after. Again, 'Bino is crazy detailed and an absolute mastermind.
Probably his best video. A couple of things to take note of in this video. 1) a clock on the wall behind Gambino's original booth is shown in the beginning and end of the video. Both times it is shown, the time on the clock is exactly the same. 2) Look very closely at Gambino's throat/neck from 1:28-1:32. You will see his throat suddenly and pretty grossly expand, almost like a frog. This is the alien side of him taking over, as evidenced by his behavior immediately after. Again, 'Bino is crazy detailed and an absolute mastermind.
"Clapping for the Wrong Reasons" (prelude video to BTI)
This video is strange as fuck. It lacks any semblance of cohesiveness, and is really just a collection of various scenes following The Boy around on his mundane journey through his superfluously expansive mansion, and mind. Basically, just take it for what it is. There is plenty to like in it even though it may not be a traditional "short film".
A couple things to know/things that are interesting: MUST KNOW that, in the screenplay, The Boy's Twitter handle is @thegoldmolar. Just keep that in mind as you're watching the video. Next, "Track 7" that Gambino mentions in a conversation with that random girl in the pool is "Telegraph Ave.". Fun fact, the mansion in the video is where Gambino and his team recorded the entire album, and it is also owned by Miami Heat star/only surviving dinosaur left on Earth, Chris Bosh. Also, yes, that is Topanga from Boy Meets World picking apples and talking about her weird dream. And yes, that is porn star Abella Anderson as the "unnamed girl" for any fans of hers/perverts out there. And yes, that is Trinidad James and Chance the Rapper playing an especially intense game of Connect Four (I'm surprised Rajon Rondo didn't find his way over there). Finally, try to be fairly analytical while watching. You get the most out of it when you're looking for what Gambino likely means with each scene. Not every scene has a deeper, hidden meaning, but some do, and you should be able to pick up on them.
Once again, I apologize for how out-of-sorts some parts of this post were. I hope you were still able to follow along. Also, PLEASE leave any questions or comments you have on all this in the Comments section. I welcome any and all discussion. Enjoy your respective journeys into Because the Internet
This video is strange as fuck. It lacks any semblance of cohesiveness, and is really just a collection of various scenes following The Boy around on his mundane journey through his superfluously expansive mansion, and mind. Basically, just take it for what it is. There is plenty to like in it even though it may not be a traditional "short film".
A couple things to know/things that are interesting: MUST KNOW that, in the screenplay, The Boy's Twitter handle is @thegoldmolar. Just keep that in mind as you're watching the video. Next, "Track 7" that Gambino mentions in a conversation with that random girl in the pool is "Telegraph Ave.". Fun fact, the mansion in the video is where Gambino and his team recorded the entire album, and it is also owned by Miami Heat star/only surviving dinosaur left on Earth, Chris Bosh. Also, yes, that is Topanga from Boy Meets World picking apples and talking about her weird dream. And yes, that is porn star Abella Anderson as the "unnamed girl" for any fans of hers/perverts out there. And yes, that is Trinidad James and Chance the Rapper playing an especially intense game of Connect Four (I'm surprised Rajon Rondo didn't find his way over there). Finally, try to be fairly analytical while watching. You get the most out of it when you're looking for what Gambino likely means with each scene. Not every scene has a deeper, hidden meaning, but some do, and you should be able to pick up on them.
Once again, I apologize for how out-of-sorts some parts of this post were. I hope you were still able to follow along. Also, PLEASE leave any questions or comments you have on all this in the Comments section. I welcome any and all discussion. Enjoy your respective journeys into Because the Internet
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