Read the story behind the song Redbone by Childish Gambino. It is also where the phrase “stay woke” originated from, deriving from “stay awake”, a phrase.
While everyone is still falling over themselves over his excellent album Awaken, My Love!,Childish Gambino is starting to do the rounds of late night television with live renditions of his new singles. We’ve very recently been blessed with a performance of ‘Redbone’, arguably one of the universal favourites from the album, when Gambino stopped by The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. By now, we probably all know just how sexy this track is but the Atlanta creator was bound to up the ante with the IRL performance and boy, he does not disappoint. Channelling some serious Prince/Lenny Kravitz energy, Gambino is front and centre in a pair of delightfully sparkly pants (and nothing else) while he flexes that falsetto. Backed by his live band and a choir, the performance cements Gambino’s chameleonic vocal abilities and makes you appreciate his new works so much more. Check out the clip above and be prepared to hit replay a few times. Pretty, pretty excited to see more of this in Australia over the next couple of months.
The song I will be analyzing this week is Redbone by American rapper and singer Childish Gambino (also known as accomplished actor Donald Glover). This is the second single from his third studio album “Awaken, My Love!, ” to which he devoted to his first born son. The song received three Grammy Award nominations including Record of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, which eventually won the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. The song is about paranoia and infidelity within a relationship. The term “Redbone” describes a lighter-skinned black person of mixed race. Let’s dive right into the first verse.
Verse 1
Daylight
I wake up feeling like you won’t play right
I used to know, but now that shit don’t feel right
It made me put away my pride
So long
You made a nigga wait for some, so long
You make it hard for boy like that to go on
I’m wishing I could make this mine, oh
I wake up feeling like you won’t play right
I used to know, but now that shit don’t feel right
It made me put away my pride
So long
You made a nigga wait for some, so long
You make it hard for boy like that to go on
I’m wishing I could make this mine, oh
The beginning of this song establishes Gambino’s relationship with a woman, to which he suspects that his girlfriend’s cheating. “I used to know” implies that, while he thought she’d remain loyal, her behavior suggests that she’s seeing other people behind his back. This is certainly damaging to his confidence. When you suspect that someone you love is sharing their love for you with someone else, it can often mess with your confidence. You may not feel as special to the person as you initially did. To make matters even worse, the girl he devoted himself to made him wait before getting under the bedsheets. Clearly, he wasn’t too psyched about this, but waited out of respect for her–which turned out to be for nothing, as she was cheating the whole time.
Pre-Chorus
![Stay Woke By Childish Gambino Stay Woke By Childish Gambino](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126233188/891074347.jpg)
If you want it, yeah
You can have it, oh, oh, oh
If you need it, ooh
We can make it, oh
If you want it
You can have it
You can have it, oh, oh, oh
If you need it, ooh
We can make it, oh
If you want it
You can have it
Transitioning into the pre-chorus, we see Gambino getting intimate with his counterpart. He is illustrating that the love or sex desired are available to the object of the affection shown. He could be speaking to his lover, or as the “redbone” responding to him. These lines lead into the chorus, showing that their scandalous love affair will attract unwanted attention. Still, the pair are willing to throw all caution to the wind and go through with it.
Chorus
But stay woke
Niggas creepin’
They gon’ find you
Gon’ catch you sleepin’ (oh)
Now stay woke
Niggas creepin’
Now don’t you close your eyes
Niggas creepin’
They gon’ find you
Gon’ catch you sleepin’ (oh)
Now stay woke
Niggas creepin’
Now don’t you close your eyes
Hitting the chorus, the first line is quite intriguing, as Gambino uses the rather significant term “woke.” The phrase “Stay woke” is slang for “stay awake,” and encourages social or political awareness. It gained mainstream popularity when it was used by the Black Lives Matter movement during and after the 2014 Ferguson riots.
Verse 2
Too late
You wanna make it right, but now it’s too late
My peanut butter chocolate cake with Kool-Aid
I’m trying not to waste my time
You wanna make it right, but now it’s too late
My peanut butter chocolate cake with Kool-Aid
I’m trying not to waste my time
The final unique verse in the song, Gambino is repelling his former lover’s attempts to get back into his life. She wants to amend the situation and returns things to normality, but Gambino is not having it. The most intriguing section of the verse though is the third line. Keeping in mind the meaning of “Redbone,” this strangely delicious phrase here is used as a vivid descriptor for the skin tone of his previous lover. “Peanut butter chocolate cake” describes the base color of her complexion, which is subsequently brightened by the red tinge of “Kool-Aid.”