It’s hard to know whether Donald Glover – aka Childish Gambino – is truly a superhuman talent conquering movies, television, comedy and music in a single bound, or to take his extraterrestrial reveal in “Telegraph Ave” at face value.
When the song & video open, the scene is endearingly ordinary. Real-life radio personality Yesi Ortiz introduces the track drifting in the background as Lloyd’s “Oakland,” and after a few lines, Childish sings along a bit until suddenly, the song on the radio becomes his own. It’s a brilliant auditory conceit that doesn’t totally compute until he bursts into full song and we realize he’s been leading us to this moment all along. Between panoramic views of the Hawaiian landscape and the lovely and talented Jhené Aiko, “Telegraph Ave” is a peek into utter paradise. Or… is it?
All along, Childish sings of his inner conflict. On one hand, he would do anything for this love. On the other… Oakland though? It’s not so much the actual city of Oakland as much as what it symbolizes: the exchange of total self-indulgence for a total commitment. It means giving up amazing weekends in Kauai like this one, and finally settling down, a true terror.
Meanwhile, a few suspicious locals finally get up the courage to interrupt the lovebirds’ day together in a really horrifying way, ending the video with a stunning twist. As to be expected from the man who writes, produces and stars in the critically acclaimed FX series “Atlanta,” created his own short film, and racked up countless other accolades all over the entertainment industry along the way. With all that in mind, wouldn’t just a plain old video be the genuinely awful thing to see here? He’s been there, done that.
And maybe everything else in the galaxy too.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘:
“And you wanna be a mom and I wasn’t mad at it
I was thinking ’bout me, I’d be really bad at it
‘Cause I’m thinking ’bout me, weeks in Dubai
Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah we can try
So let’s try”