Atlanta rapper Childish Gambino spoke to Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg about the state of hip-hop and his most recent album, Because the Internet. When asked about the amount of singing on the project, the rapper-actor stated that he never intended to make a rap album, adding that the genre is more or less “done.”
“It’s a pop album essentially,” Childish Gambino said. “We never wanted to make a rap album. I’ve talked about this before. Rap is done. Rap is done. I love hip-hop. I love rap, but the thing it was supposed to do it doesn’t do anymore. Like I love it as a music. It’s the same thing as like jazz. Jazz when it was doing what it was supposed to do. And people still listen to jazz now, but it doesn’t have — it’s not doing the social work it’s supposed to do anymore. And that’s not because it’s gotten bad…It’s just a different movement. Whatever movement is happening now — like I would like to think I’m a leader of whatever movement is happening. People call it ‘new black.’ People call it whatever, but I don’t want to name it cause it’s BS to name it. As soon as it gets named, that’s when you start marketing it. And it’s like ‘Ah, this is hipster.’ Cause hipster was cool until it became hipster, and then it became monetized. Same thing with hip-hop. So, whatever this thing is. Whatever’s happening. Like whenever Jaden Smith tells me he’s like ‘I’m real excited for whatever’s happening.’ He can feel it. I can feel it.”
