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59. Because the Internet - Childish Gambino (2013)

Hip Hop

Before being generally accepted as a hyper-versatile, multidimensional talent, back at the beginning of 2013 Childish Gambino was just the peripheral oddball alter-ego of Community star Donald Glover. Though his 2011 debut album Camp was well-received, it hadn’t made the kind of splash that would supersede its creator’s reputation as a comedic actor who rapped a little on the side. 2013’s Because the Internet, however, did just that. 

As a total package, the album is all over the place, but appropriately so, given its namesake. It succeeds in balancing Glover’s goofball sense of humor with Gambino’s legitimate rapping ability. The frequent shifts in tone and overall feel encapsulate the ever-shrinking attention span the internet has been increasingly responsible for cultivating, while providing small, easily digestible morsels of entertainment to enjoy before switching gears and changing direction. 

With a degree of ambition that drew comparisons to Kanye West, the album asserted Gambino as an important figure within popular hip hop and solidified speculation that he could be more than just a part-time rapper. Though his best work to date (“Awaken, My Love!”) was still years away, Because the Internet became the springboard from which Childish Gambino would launch himself into the national conversation and ultimately achieve credibility independent of Donald Glover’s on-screen success.

*image; cover art for the album Because the Internet by the artist Childish Gambino