Must Watch: Childish Gambino This Is America

This is America Childish Gambino
Image: Screenshot from YouTube

Cinco De Mayo was full of celebration, however, the internet was flooded with posts and comments about Childish Gambino’s new track and video, This Is America.

Hours before Childish Gambino hosted Saturday Night Live on May 5th, he released his new track, This Is America. The song was accompanied by some very powerful visuals which depict current events and the political environment that we’re seeing day to day.

The artistic value that we get from the video is certainly not outside of what we would expect from Gambino. The video starts off lightheartedly but quickly switches mood as we see a man (believed to be Trayvon Martin’s father) get shot execution style. As the video progresses, we see riots break out, cars lit on fire, and one more scene where a choir is shot down — a representation of the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

There are a lot of things going on in the video both in the forefront and the background. Hidden messages can be found throughout and can easily be missed if you’re not paying attention. Mashable has a good list of hidden messages and things to look for. Check out the new This Is America music video below, and make sure to watch it several times.