To put it lightly, critics don’t like Donald Glover. Commonly known among hip-hop fans as rapper Childish Gambino, the writer-turned-comedian-turned-musician-turned-everything is known for his extremely versatile career that overlaps in most of its respective areas. We could easily discuss his time spent writing for 30 Rock, his stand up comedy or his acting in “Community”, but for now let’s focus on his latest musical release, sophomore album “Because the Internet”.

When a quintessential music review site such as Pitchfork gives you a score of 1.6 on your debut release, you do one of two things: either dwindle away as a musician, or bounce back with a stronger album. Thankfully, Childish Gambino did the latter. Yes, “Because the Internet” may have received a mere 5.6 from pitchfork this time, but it’s certainly an improvement  – and as was mentioned earlier – critics don’t like Donald Glover.

There’s no denying that his 2011 debut “Camp” was primarily comprised of nasally delivered, corny punchlines and falsetto whines about relationship problems. It wasn’t groundbreaking, and came off as rather bland – it did however, show us that for whatever reason, Childish Gambino had fantastic potential.

It’s because of Glover’s potential that the depth and cohesion of “Because the Internet” didn’t so much catch me off guard, but rather left me pleasantly surprised. Glover has expressed his preference for albums that create “worlds” within their songs, so it’s only logical that his release does just this. Alongside the 19 tracks, Glover also posted an accompanying screenplay that can be read while the album is listened to. It follows the intentionally unnamed character of “The Boy” and the excessively lavish and overall unfulfilling lifestyle he lives with his friends. The idea here is that there is a storyline occurring outside of the songs and the listener can fully immerse themselves; the overall effect is something truly interactive.

So, the album definitely has substance. The individual songs also stand alone as pieces of music that could be described as ‘good’. The album opens with the eery and heavy-hitting beat of “Crawl,” accompanied by that classic Gambino wordplay that we all know and only partially love (“Rec League, I ain’t paying a ball / Y’all be string like a broke guitar / And I still put it down like the family dog.”) Following this are a string of songs that follow the narrative of Glover’s screenplay: “Worldstar” narrates The Boy’s encounter with a shooting, which he unhesitantly films on his cellphone; “Telegraph Ave” stands out as a summer-suited track about fleeing to Oakland, California; “3005” is the album’s lead single, which expectedly sounds suited for the radio but is catchy nonetheless.

Other tracks in the latter half of the album seem to have an altered shift in tone, much like the next act of a story. The distorted electronic and bassy sounds of “The Party,” “No Exit,” “Zealots of Stockholm,” and “Earth: The Oldest Computer” all suggest that they occur during the nightime. This is the fascinating thing about “Because the Internet.” Every song has a very specific mood, setting, and theme.

So is this it? Did Glover make a masterpiece? Not quite. He’s definitely shown his growth as an artist, but flaws still remain. It’s all too tempting for Glover to include a generous helping of his signature cheesy punchlines (“Got no patience, cause I’m not a doctor / Girl why is you lying, girl why you Mufasa”) that can be jarring to hear when the rest of the song is so immersive. That said, I would be lying if I said some weren’t simply hilarious, such as “[g]ot more likes than a white girl talking.” Another nitpicky criticism straight from the heart: Gambino, why oh why couldn’t you release this in the summer? This album encapsulates every aspect of the season, but for whatever reason it had to be dropped in the direct middle of Winter, essentially the antithesis of anything remotely warm or sunny.

“Because the Internet” is definitive proof that Glover is capable of recovering from a terrible album. Sure, it may have its flaws, but overall shows to be a body of work with coherent story, atmospheric beats and witty lyrics. Certainly one of 2013’s best hip-hop albums. Did I also mention the the album is aptly titled? How did Gambino even get his start as a musician?

“Because the Internet.”

9/10

Best Tracks: Telegraph Ave, Sweatpants, 3005, No Exit, Zealots of Stockholm, Earth: The Oldest Computer