This is America

## Social Ill/Problem Being Protested

Gun violence, mass shootings, discrimination against African Americans, and police brutality.

## Sample of Lyrics

This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo)

Don't catch you slippin' now (ayy)

Look at how I'm livin' now

Police be trippin' now (woo)

Guns in my area (Word, my area)

I got the strap (Ayy,ayy)

I gotta carry ‘em

You just a black man in this world

You just a barcode, ayy

You just a black man in this world

Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy

## Relevance of the Words and Phrases Selected

In the first four lines of the stanza, the fragile nature of police brutality is highlighted. Gambino shows us how there is less room for error when you are African-American. Even the smallest acts can be viewed as resistance and lead to police brutality even though they are trivial.

In the lines, “Guns in my area (Word, my area)/ I got the strap (Ayy,ayy)/ I gotta carry ‘em,” Gambino contrasts

the African American relationship with guns with the Republican relationship with guns. While living in the hood, the prevalence of guns made it necessary for African Americans to have guns for self defense. This also takes the perspective of the Republican fight for guns as well.

The lines “You just a black man in this world/ You just a barcode, ayy” help the listener to realize how powerless black people are in America due to institutions put that are harmful to them at a disproportionate rate. The message states that no matter how much affluence an African American has, the threat of racism will always linger over them and can strip them of any power that they have.

Overall, This is America succeeds in portraying its message on police brutality, gun issues, and racism. It combines subtle lyrics with a scandalous video to hammer home the problems that plague the United States.

## Event, Person, and Place at Issue

Childish Gambino addresses the issue of gun violence in America and the prevalent issue of police brutality towards African-Americans. In his music video, there is a direct reference to the Charleston Church Shooting from 2015 in which 9 African Americans were massacred by a white supremacist. His line “This is a celly” is a reference to the deceased Stephon Clark. Clark was shot eight times in his backyard when police believed that he was responsible for a string of robberies. They believed Clark was carrying a gun, but he was later found to only have his cell phone on him.

## Location Produced

The video was filmed in California. The production team made use of a large warehouse for the majority of the

scenes.

## Significance in History

This is America has over 450 million streams on Spotify and its music video has over 625 million views on YouTube.

This is America has won numerous awards such as:

* Grammy Award for Song of the Year (2019)

* Grammy Award for Record of the Year (2019)

* Grammy Award for Best Music Video (2019)

* Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance (2019)

* MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography (2018)

* MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction (2018)

* MTV Video Music Award for Best Video With a Social Message (2018)

* BET Award for Video of the Year (2019)

* BET Hip Hop Award for Best Impact Track (2018)

* BET Hip Hop Award for Best Hip Hop Video 2018)

* NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video (2019)

This is America spawned numerous parodies and covers by other artists that wanted to either mirror his success or apply their own message to the Song. An example of a song that wanted to give a message is *This is Nigeria* by Nigerian rapper Falz, who used the song to expose Nigeria’s issue with corruption and organized crime

## Contemporary Connection

This song/music video deals with ongoing contemporary issues.

The song has sparked numerous conversations about the struggle of being black in America. Gambino sheds light on the police brutality, hate crimes, and the widespread usage of guns and violence in current day America. There is the recurring message that no matter how hard African Americans work, institutional racism hinders the ability to stay focused due to all of the obstacles they are forced to face

Mass shootings and police brutality are controversial topics and this song reflects these issues in pop-culture.

## Trivia

* On top of music, Glover has also had a prominent career in acting. He has been featured in The Martian, Solo, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
* The music video features many prominent symbols including one of the four horsemen of death, gunned down gospel choir, and a group of dancing school children.

## Reason We Selected this Song

Our group chose this song because it was able to spark a nationwide conversation about the very relevant and struggling issues of police brutality and gun violence in the US. We were drawn to this song due to the polarizing music video where the scenes and choreography help the viewer to understand the social issues facing black people in current day America.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Genius - https://genius.com/Childish-gambino-this-is-america-lyrics