makayla farley What I'm saying is that it's ridiculous to say that the government thinks that killing a black person is less offensive than smoking weed. The fact that it's legalized anywhere and murder isn't should be a good enough point
The gun was taken way in a cloth so he didn't get popped with a weapon. You shoot, little hommie ( makin his early gang bones) grabs it, wipes it and chucks it, if little hommie get's caught with the weapon one way of or the other at that age he walks.
This is trash. There are two other people who have the same song and he didnt write the bars, the vibe or hook. He didn't make the treat of the music video!! All he did was dance LOL and he won 4 Grammys? Yeah this is amerixan trying to destroy art
@@chrisharms9092 CG is a follower he should of jus accepted the grammy ...i bet the other artists like Drake, or a Jcole still look at him the same way regardless. Maybe if childish told the truth about his art...mainstream hiphop such as the grammys would be different. Drake keeps his ghostwriting discreete...nd never take the honors of the lyrics but CG ...DOES. He tries to be his own publicist nd its awful
"This is America , don't catch you slipping up " The simple lyrics and soft beat eventually make you relax until it's disrupted by loud gunfire that startles you and reminds you that in America you can't let your guard down . Brilliant
This, for me it was the dancing and the violence in the background which kinda numbs you down. Then BOOM a shooting, had me clutching my pearls like wth is going on. Then repeat. After a while it's almost quite traumatizing...
at the end when he is running, there is a slight illusion where you can’t tell if he is running towards or away from the camera, symbolizing how people say we are improving and getting better, but we really aren’t
The pose he took before shooting the guitarist 1:16 is straight from Jump Jim Crow 1838. The incorporation of historical references throughout the video is stunning!
Thank you! I didn't realise the Jim Crow figure came up so early. I assumed the "Jim Crow Era" was named so because that's when it was created. Now I read that it peaked in the 1850s.
I Remember when it first came out my friends were talking about how weird and stupid it was and I watched it, they didn’t tell me what it meant at all, just were showing it and pointing out like “why does he have gunnssss?? Lmaooo?” And now watching and seeing what it means now makes me realize how dumb we all were for not noticing what it was about, and that sucks :/
When he said “Youre just a black man in this world; you’re just a barcode” it might have been referring to to the fact that barcode scanners scan the white spaces in a barcode, not the black ones, meaning that black people are overlooked in America.
This “barcode” is referring to African Americans being sold to the white men for money during slavery. They are also over looked as well have been for the past 400 years and then some ...
Also the fact that black americans are amongst the top consumers in the country. or that white people, in many ways, make money/have made money off our labor especially in prison today.
I like how as soon as you get comfortable with the soft parts and start to sway to the melody, he shoots a gun and snaps you out of it, almost, as if to remind you "hey don't get comfortable, stay alert, or you'll be next"
The children dancing doing what they’re told to distract from the violence are also wearing private school uniforms showing how wealth is one of the few ways to get out. Additionally they never get involved in anything outside of distracting and stand by while the others get chased and hurt
@@urmom-tx1mv True but I think the video is more a commentary on America social injustice especially considering their fixation on the phones. Still part of my point stands, the kids have to sit back and watch the violence- pushing back could mean loosing their opportunity at an education and enhances the likelihood they would be the victim of the violence they’re forced to watch, whether they’re in the USA or Africa and it’s still a sign of wealth. Many kids cannot afford to go to school because even if it’s free and they are provided their uniforms they and their families still have to pay for their homes and food otherwise they won’t survive to go to school so even then it’s a sign of comparative wealth in poverty.
@@janecampbell4662 yes but i honestly think that it’s to show how blk ppl are used for entertainment, cause we popularized many dances in america, and they’re dancing, and that’s the only thing you notice at first, you dont notice the chaos, which indicates the fact that we’re only looked at as ppl for entertainment, but when it comes to the injustice and us getting rights we’re over looked, so it’s like entertainment is the only way for us (as a whole) to make it in america, and that’s the only good thing ppl see in us, our entertainment
Just about every public or private school in South Africa mandates a uniform. Media reports of protest violence during apartheid rule very regularly show younger participants in school clothes. Think of the 1976 Hector Pieterson murder still. This was often because the youth abandoned school to assist in protest action and that their school clothes were often the best clothes they had.
Man, the symbolism in this vid is amazing. You could write a whole research assessment on this. The ending where it enters a dark opening reminds me of the door of no return that is in the slave castle/fortresses in Ghana and other west African coastal areas. The dark cemented area where he is running reminds me of the pitch black desolate tomb like spaces Africans were locked up in when they were captured by Europeans. It's pretty sickening. It leaves people of all backgrounds into tears when they take the tours. That pose Donald does with his arms out in front of him can mean so many things as well. Bondage, surrender, helpless, no voice, arrest, death, lynching, etc...Yeah, you won't see this on mainstream music video play, if they do that anymore.
I know im hella late, but this is what i think: I was surprised to see the guitarist show up again considering he was killed earlier, and while I forgot the guitarist, his chord progression carries the entire song. By reintroducing the guitarist, Gambino tries to show us how easy it is to forget tragedies, as so many occur in our country, and in the video. However, the problem isn’t just that we have forgotten the guitarist, but that we allow his playing to influence the entire song while leaving him forgotten. As chaos ensues, and our focus skips from obscenity to obscenity, we forget to ask the questions that actually matter. Why does this violence occur? Who are these people? We let them fade away and fall out of focus as Gambino “shakes the frame” and they become forgotten, just like the guitarist. *I didnt make up that theory btw, but i sure as hell belive it*
Yeah also how black artists and musicians work from decades past have been drawn on and brought into popular culture but the original people who made it are forgotten
Before he ligths up his cigarette, he joinsboth his fists to create a gun, his school dancers run scared at this point. He is representing school shootings.
Except school shootings are very rare but the leftist Democrat run media hypes everything to get people scared of guns. About 50 people die in schools every year and while sad, that's out of over 4 MILLION STUDENTS AND TEACHERS! 50 out of 350 MILLION American citizens?!? Many more people die falling in their bathtubs or trying to get out of the shower than all of these school shootings! Plus Parkland only showed that a Democrat run government and sheriff's office utterly failed to do their jobs but we're supposed to give up our guns to a incompetent government?!?
If 50 people die in schools on average every year (*IF that is a correct statistic), that is 50 people too many. You cannot justify a school shooting by saying "well only some people died". That doesn't make it any less of an issue.
At the end he drops the entertainment and smokes a joint to relax, then everyone turns on him. We love you while we're being entertained, but as soon as the real you comes out and we see you are a flawed human, you're back on the menu.
Yes but he's actually saying use the cell as a tool to record or capture racism that still exists to this day, to show the world what really happens and hopefully one day punish the people recorded, for example George Floyd's killers.
After the second shooting, he casually walks away through crowds of witnesses and police. This could represent how broken modern day justice system is, and how easy it is sometimes for people to get away with stuff like this.
The shooting of the choir broke my heart. I cant not see the faces of the South Carolina victims. Two of the older ladies who were killed remind me so much of ladies I went to church with as a child. RIP Mrs. Love and Mrs Hennigan
"This a celly" means cellphone. "That's a tool" means that the cellphone is the appropriate tool used by everyone for; survival, entertainment, social interaction and most importantly creating diversion from the truth concerning the state of the nation.
i think it means that phones can be used as a tool, like recording what happens in today’s world, and portraying it on the media, or it can mean the media portraying only the big things in america and overlooking the other things
I noticed how the two times that he actually had a gun he was able to gently place the gun down on the red cloth and walk away without anybody doing anything. BUT when the kids are dancing around him and he holds up his bare hands and pretends to be holding a gun, everybody gets scared and runs. Maybe that's a comment on how "we thought he had a gun" is a prevalent justification for the shooting of unarmed black boys.
Something I noticed was a scene where the camera follows him, and he's still using an exaggerated walk. The camera pans around and for a second, we see his face, completely deadpan, if a bit worried and concerned, and in a flash, he looks at the camera with an exaggerated expression and dances with the group of kids, grinning. For a second, when the camera's off him, we see what the characters actually thinking. Who he actually is. And then it's back to the caricature.
The Grammy is an award from a white culture. They are too offended about being reminded of what they are and where they came from to give him a Grammy for this.
The first instrumental is joyful, representing peace, optimism and celebrates African American music. The second is a heavy trap instrumental, representing violence, consumerism and disillusion. At the end both are mixed together, which indicates a more complex reality, violent and optimistic all at once, or simply confused by media and pop culture which allow entertainement and horrors to coexist.
Thanks for describing the meaning through the musical changes rather than visual! I can see a lot in the visuals, but don't know enough about music to pick up the ideas sent through the music.
Gambino was running at the last scene to escape from the cops. They chase him after lighting a blunt but they don't worry about the bigger issue. Like shootings, suicides and racial profiling.
Have you noticed how those people running after him run kinda weirdly? Like they're pretending to be gorillas or something, with their arms out and curved to the side. It's really creepy...
What about the fact that as long as Gambino is singing and dancing, he’s safe, but the moment he stops, and begins to “reflect,” he’s now being chased down?????
J.T. Robins Woah...now I know what’s been bothering me this whole time! Like this just left me with an extremely anxious and eerie feeling. Thank you for this comment.
It has something to do with the fact that while Gambino is being an entertainer he is safe from harm, but as soon as he is not making music/filming, etc, he is just a normal black man who finds himself running from harm
Notice how the cars are blinking too and the driver door is open.This means that cops pull over black men and racially profiling them and arresting them and some trunks are open meaning police searched their cars
You didn’t mention that the people with cell phones had something covering their mouths. Seems to me like it’s some sort of rag. Whatever it is, it’s representing how people will document anything with their phones but never speak out and stop anything from happening.
It is also worth noting that the cloths covering their mouths are all white. This could just be to make them stand out. Or it could be a nod to the fact that they are witnessing and recording all of the violence yet cannot speak out about their own experiences due to the covering of racism with a pure image. We only listen when it is white faces telling the stories.
The ending with Gambino's white eyes and white teeth appearing from the darkness is also a reference to portrayals of Black people's features (like that GIF) meant to look scary, but here it's Gambino who's scared for his life 😥
Evan Barton I feel you on your opinion. But American has different types of people. And that what makes Americana so beautiful. But with so many people in this country comes with different backgrounds, beliefs, and political veiws. So we as American people need to take care of our country, and stop hating one another. Stop the racism. But Truth is we won't. Because racism has been taught, and brainwashed in some of our minds from early age. Thinking that one race is more Superior than the other. No race, and no one is higher than God. Whether we believe in God or not... We was created all by one some spirit... Some kind of entity.
“tool” from the “celly” verse could also be interpreted as a shank or weapon, which inmates carry on them. this also insinuates that “cellphones” are deemed to be weapons
I agree with your first sentence but not the second. "This is America" won the Grammy for Album of the Year (and absolutely deserved it.) That song winning a *Grammy* was essentially the whitest people on Earth acknowledging the plight of black Americans. Quite the impressive accomplishment IMO.
No. Its not a work of art to falsely symbolize life in America just like rest of his hollywood figures that praise each other while remaining disconnected from the masses.
Contestation is always a one sided view. Activist or lobbyist will always push their agenda forward. Thing is, it is a reality, not the whole reality, but still there.
work of art? shooting people and giving people ideas is not a work of art.. I could of thought of this in my sleep ... stop glorifying this stuff your brainwashed
Here's what also might have gone over some of your heads. The church choir represented a hopeful spirit and sense of optimism with the Black community. But once they're all gunned down, the spirit is taken away. Also, listen to the music the guitarist is playing in the beginning of the song. Sounds like some pretty, uplifting, African high life mixed in. But once the guitarist is shot dead, the song switches to a doomy, haunting Electro-Trap sound. This could mean the destruction of good, traditional music from the Diaspora and overtaken by this bleak, modern sound. Very deep video.
I think the “celly” part could also represent how people record the bad stuff that goes on instead of actually doing something to help out. The guys holding the phone were moving their phones and there is bad stuff happening below them. As if they were recording what was happening.
Blue Wolf no you did good staying where you were. Maybe next time go inside your house and lock all your doors and windows. Don’t ever go try to stop criminals because your life is worth more than being a hero. There were cops chasing him down too so they were already trying to stop him. Don’t feel bad for not doing anything because you’re not the police. You can’t defend yourself against him if he were to hurt you. Just try to stay safe
The fact they actually credited the original tweets for the breakdown that they didnt do is actually really sweet. Alot of people on youtube would act like they broke that down themselves.
You see how he says, “contraband contraband”? So what i think is that he is making a reference to what during the civil war slaves who fleeing the south were called.
Also the war on drugs aka contraband was also a war on black communities. A lot of people in the black communities also started to turn to drugs to cope with the traumas they continue to experience, which keeps them burdened by the jail system (scene where he lights a blunt)
Someone also pointed out to me that the cars towards the end all have their blinker lights on, and the drivers' side door open - just like a car would be after someone had been pulled over by police, and then unexpectedly arrested on a faked-up charge.
Yeah it’s all the polices fault. The fact that nearly half of all murders are done by that same group of people has nothing to do with them being arrested.
I think the sad part about this amazing video is that it in of itself is apart of this same loop that we are a part of. Watch a woke video thats trending, everyone becomes a philosopher for a week and talk about how society is getting worse, and then get distracted by the next #1 trending dancing video that releases in a week completely putting the content of this video on the back burner until the next one comes out.
I always thought that the ending represented the fact that no matter how distracted you are, these problems will always be there, and they’ll always theoretically chase you.
he killed black people* its showing racism in police too. they don't care when black people die, its never a big deal. but if its a drug smuggle youre arrested. I have a question... you heard about Grover Wills being shot in Plant City FL? Probably not. He was shot by a white male and killed, and Grover is my friend, but the white male never even went tojail, he was only charged...
I think his jerky movements and expressions at the beginning are symbols of slaves being whipped. The accompanying music even has the static sound of a cracking whip. What about the dancing children in school uniforms...school shootings?
@@blackflag66 yh I was thinking the same thing. That akso points out how safe the wealthy are while the poor aren't until someone with a gun enters the school.
Shenequa Williams yes look up why SA celebrates youth day and look at those images Same school wear and obviously drawing our attention towards similarities between what SA and US youth of colour have been through
Interesting how they blacked out the violent scenes to avoid age restriction and demonetization... UA-cam's hypocritical double standard on the depiction of graphic violence is all too clear.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm pleased they did it that way. The decision not to show the killing showed respect for the value of human life, and it didn't harm the content.
Ya but my point is that Donald Glover can show gun violence and there are no restrictions. But If my channel makes a video denouncing gun violence, the video gets demonetized, age-restricted, and blocked in a number of countries.
"contraband, contraband, contraband" is a reference to Gucci Gang talking about cocaine. Basically the music industry with no knowledge of ground realities injecting or reinforcing such things into the urban culture.
or the contrabands which were slaves that escaped and fought against the confederacy during the civil war. these were the real reason the emancipation proclamation was created contrabands because technically illegal, so by making the emancipation proclamation, he wouldn’t be convicted of theft laws
I think it’s interesting how when the light high voices that sing “we just want the money...money just for you” the lyrics are almost angelic and makes u feel like you’re in a dreamlike haze kind of. While the “this is America” is almost like a jolt back into reality. Like you’re waking up from a dream.
@@Revolución_Socialista So say north or south America. The term "America" is so tied into the USA that it isn't gonna change now. Imagine going to the Bahamas and saying you're going to America. Peoples first thought won't be the Bahamas.
The verse "This a celly, that's a tool" refers to all the racially biased shootings ex: a teen got shot by police because they thought he was holding a gun but it turned out to be a phone. Also "tool" is a slang word for gun.
DaVinci Code -- Right after he says that you see kids using their phones to record the carnage going on. Most believe the line means that a cellphone can be used as a tool. In other words it can be used to capture events occurring to let the rest of the world know whats happening.
The line was literal, not only did he mention the cell being used as a tool...then the line this is a celly, this is a tool, followed by showing a group of kids using their cell phones as a tool. He left no room for people to mistake exactly what he is trying to say by giving three different iterations of it.
@Jordan Spenca What you said is true about black men and people blaming problems on other so they don’t have to fix anything but not all black people or men are like that. but the part in the song where it says black man get your money then you hear the police voice saying get down that is America because everytime a black person gets money and actually doing something great for there life or not in jail America try’s there hardest to Tear them down for example Micheal Jackson look at how he grew up and became famous with a lot of money and they Purposely overdosed him it’s not just him that that’s been done too. Study all black people with money and doing something great with there life and changing something that needs to be changed and look at there struggles and how hard it is for them to be in the Position that they are in or was in . But you don’t get it cause your white and you have Privilege and we don’t so you don’t understand it.
@Jordan Spenca And also just sit back and listen to it and when you get used to the melody and the beat, vibes or whatever you wanna call it he shoots a gun and it snaps you out of the vibes and it’s telling us black people that not to get used to anything on this earth cause there always a racist white man or women waiting to put you 6 feet under just because of your skin color . which is something you can’t help.
He keeps looking back at the dancers like he’s checking to make sure they’re still dancing. We’re always watching, keep in step or else, the panopticon of America threatens.
I don't know how my ancestors survived this country. It has to be divine intervention. I'm part of the first generation of my family that can moved around this country and be treated like an American, but that's quickly changing back.
@@truth803 - Mad??? About what??? That you sent me a bullshit one word reply that has nothing to do with anything I stated? No. Just wish common sense was more common.
I think the "celly" part is also saying that people are staying on the sideline watching and filming instead of helping when things are happening right in front of them.
I feel that celly tool part is pointing out the fact that the cops are trying to make laws that prohibit the filming of police during official business (particularly in white cop black suspect situations), and it argues that it doesn’t compare to how one shooting live video is somehow a deadlier threat than one shooting live rounds. It’s touchy but I feel like this, let folks record them. Even if they ain’t jumping in getting shot too, at least them filming at all is taking action and it is evidence that one would otherwise not have if they didn’t use their cell phones.
The "celly" thing kind of predates cellphones, some places, particularly New York, are known for the type of place where if something bad happens, everyone will watch, no one will intervene. Like that joke "How many New Yorkers does it take to change a lightbulb? 201. One to do it, 200 to watch without getting involved."
Imo Gambino shooting is the only moments in the Video where the actual Violence is not in the background. A metaphor for all the shit happening in america being ignored but sometimes certain Shootings cant be. Then everyone forgets and smiles again.
Necrom No one really forgets but what are you doing right now? It seems like everyone wants people to think about each crime that happens. If we did that, most of us would be depressed. So I don’t understand the solution.
@@greatima526 Yeah, in healthy societies you usually start solving the problems causing the crimes, because of exaclty that. in the US you seem to give"thoughts and prayers" and forget.
I thought the fact that they took the guns with a cloth was supposed to elude to the fact that, every single one of the crimes he committed was wiped clean....meaning no one was ever convicted. It was sort of like wiping the fingerprints off the gun
Also him dancing in the warehouse represents the manufaturing/industrial complex. Everthing is made in warehouses. All day working in one box then leaving to go rest in another to go back to work in the same box the next day. Doing this over and over for the rest of your life. Always being housed. In a cage. A mansion can be a prison too. Whats the difference between a celebrity moving with armed security then a prisoner being transported to court or another jail? And dont say freedom. You dont pay them car notes, bills, mortgage ESPECIALLY TAXES they taking all that so how really free are you? Gambino running at the end was him trying to escape cause he woke up, and realized what is going on.
They way the kids scatter away when he actually doesn't have a gun shows how a black man is seen as a threat just because he is black. He is framed in a way to show him almost like he is naked, only his bare skin showing, with nothing in his hands. Then after he smokes a blunt and is dancing, you can hear the lyrics say "black man, get down", like it is a cop giving the order. And then he needs to run. This video has so many meanings and layers, it is so powerful and GENIUS!
Something I realized is that when they were dancing in the midst of chaos, it’s like their sole purpose was just entertainment. Kind of like “as long as you entertain you’ll be fine, because that’s all you’re good for anyway.”
An addition to the people on there phones up top I saw a muzzle over their mouths. I think that represents how people chooses to sit by and record rather than speak up. I don’t know if it says that in the video or not, anyone agree ?
When the music stops, theres a 17 second silence before he lights a cigarette and walks away. The 17 seconds could represent the 17 lives lost in the Douglas high school shooting.
not so fun fact: when slavery was abolished it made it illegal for black people to work for free. however, america had said that prisoners were able to work for free. the "officers" who during slavery were paid to catch and kill slaves that had run away from their masters(i feel disgusting even having to refer to them as that) became the new police force that we know today, albeit more explicitly racist rather than implicitly. the kkk also founded after slavery was abolished was very connected to the police force, many of them being part of the force themselves. because they still wanted slaves but couldn't, they over policed black neighborhoods and arrested them for any little thing, like loitering and stuff. this way they could still have "slaves" without having to outright say so. and because the system specifically made it hard for black people to have an education and make money, they really couldn't move to a different less policed area. so the part talking about it possibly referencing the cycle of incarceration with black people makes a lot of sense. the entire system was founded on racism, and still has racist roots regardless of how much time has passed since then.
@Chris Kerweiner This isn't a political issue this is a society issue 😔 Not everything is going to be fixed by politics/by the government in my opinion...
Chris Kerweiner idk about antifa but blm has already changed things, and will continue to do so. we have the attention, and blm will continue to protest until the issues are resolved. and after that, many of us are going to protest for other issues. like MMIW or ICE. because believe it or not, we want EVERYONE to be treated equally and in a humane way. if trump can decide to break the treaty with the natives, then he can help the situation with their missing women.
Chris Kerweiner dems are trying, but both parties are corrupt. however between the two of them, dems are pushing for a stronger police reform, which is why they blocked the republican's, as it was a watered down version of what we needed.
in the end they were out to get him because he stopped performing
This is underrated.
or running away from Fema camps smh
Also it reminded me of running while escaping slavery
true
Gladly I can say that I made ur likes go from 1.4k to 1.5k
He killed black men without being caught but when he smoked weed he had to run
u got a point there
@@samue1991
No,
That Killing a black life is less offensive to the government than smoking weed.
Lmao ayy Then why is weed legalized but murder isn't?
@@lordvenomous6335 weed isn't legalized everywhere and it is still classified as illegal by the federal government.
makayla farley What I'm saying is that it's ridiculous to say that the government thinks that killing a black person is less offensive than smoking weed. The fact that it's legalized anywhere and murder isn't should be a good enough point
The guns are carried away carefully, and the bodies are dragged
@@Profile.4
Found the Trump supporter y'all lmao
This is america..
Look how we livin yuh
The gun was taken way in a cloth so he didn't get popped with a weapon. You shoot, little hommie ( makin his early gang bones) grabs it, wipes it and chucks it, if little hommie get's caught with the weapon one way of or the other at that age he walks.
@@Joel-sv3ww Christ he was just joking are you dumb?
He doesn’t need a Grammy. The song is better than a Grammy or any award. It’s real art.
he got 4 grammys for it tho
This is trash. There are two other people who have the same song and he didnt write the bars, the vibe or hook. He didn't make the treat of the music video!! All he did was dance LOL and he won 4 Grammys? Yeah this is amerixan trying to destroy art
I think he won the Grammys, but he turned them down in protest right? That’s what I remember hearing in an Honors philosophy class
@@chrisharms9092 CG is a follower he should of jus accepted the grammy ...i bet the other artists like Drake, or a Jcole still look at him the same way regardless. Maybe if childish told the truth about his art...mainstream hiphop such as the grammys would be different. Drake keeps his ghostwriting discreete...nd never take the honors of the lyrics but CG ...DOES. He tries to be his own publicist nd its awful
Its a bs video lmao what a joke
"This is America , don't catch you slipping up "
The simple lyrics and soft beat eventually make you relax until it's disrupted by loud gunfire that startles you and reminds you that in America you can't let your guard down . Brilliant
This, for me it was the dancing and the violence in the background which kinda numbs you down. Then BOOM a shooting, had me clutching my pearls like wth is going on. Then repeat. After a while it's almost quite traumatizing...
@Creeg Yeah deffo, "dont catch you slipping nah". Very chilling
I thought it was sleeping
This uh, this is copied
dude its “dont catch you slippin’ now” GET IT RIGHT
I thought “its a celly. That’s a tool” was when police mistake a phone for a gun
Ohhh ok
Alina he hasn’t explained anything, and the song is full of hidden and unknown messages. So, both of you are right.
Yea, I thought that line was a reference to how people are being shot and killed over mistaking cell phones for guns.
I think it's a perfect line.
You can connect it to that case that you ention but also you can see it as using phones as a tool by government etc.
Maybe it was representing The Hate U Give, because the police in that book/movie also mistook a brush (or in this case phone) for a gun.
at the end when he is running, there is a slight illusion where you can’t tell if he is running towards or away from the camera, symbolizing how people say we are improving and getting better, but we really aren’t
damn thats deep
Too deep for me I need a lie down
@@krusty5558 me too robot dude
Woah
Anyone else noticed the children wearing masks on the top level? This was made 2 years ago... 2.27...mockong you in plain sight.
The pose he took before shooting the guitarist 1:16 is straight from Jump Jim Crow 1838. The incorporation of historical references throughout the video is stunning!
Thank you! I didn't realise the Jim Crow figure came up so early. I assumed the "Jim Crow Era" was named so because that's when it was created. Now I read that it peaked in the 1850s.
This video made me smart.
The comments made me even smarter.
😂😂😂
😂
Same 👍🏿
So, you should also be smart and run out of....
yo this vid makes me unfollowing all the american celebrities on instagram and soc media thanks childish gambino.
I remember when this first dropped and everyone all of a sudden became an English Literature Analyst
I Remember when it first came out my friends were talking about how weird and stupid it was and I watched it, they didn’t tell me what it meant at all, just were showing it and pointing out like “why does he have gunnssss?? Lmaooo?” And now watching and seeing what it means now makes me realize how dumb we all were for not noticing what it was about, and that sucks :/
@@amanitarose4838 People tend to not think before they speak I suppose xD
@@stefanymendoza5773 yeaaa :O!
@@stefanymendoza5773 by the way my comment wasn’t me disagreeing with you, just me looking back-
@@amanitarose4838 nO nO No nO, dont misunderstand ;-; I was just talking about your friends not knowing what was going in beforehand oof
When he said “Youre just a black man in this world; you’re just a barcode” it might have been referring to to the fact that barcode scanners scan the white spaces in a barcode, not the black ones, meaning that black people are overlooked in America.
This “barcode” is referring to African Americans being sold to the white men for money during slavery. They are also over looked as well have been for the past 400 years and then some ...
ARENT YOU SCANNED LIKE A BARCODE WHEN YOU ENTER THE PRISON SYSTEM?
Also the fact that black americans are amongst the top consumers in the country. or that white people, in many ways, make money/have made money off our labor especially in prison today.
@@KevinThompson20 facts Kevin it’s crazy man
oh wait the barcode scanners scan the white and not the black part
Here we are 5 to 6 years later and this still hits the same... All subliminal messages truly expose us Americans for who we are...
black*
@@thatissoquebecishh2134Way to miss the whole point of the song and music video even 6 whole years after its release. How slow can one be
I like how as soon as you get comfortable with the soft parts and start to sway to the melody, he shoots a gun and snaps you out of it, almost, as if to remind you "hey don't get comfortable, stay alert, or you'll be next"
Anthony Medina
This hit me so hard. The theories in the song are so harsh..
“This is America, Don’t can’t you slipping now”
omfg you are so right
Anthony Medina totally agree!! Exactly how I felt when I watched this.
More white Americans get slain by American police than black men. What kinda racist shit are you pulling?
it’s actually kinda scary that america is like this....
Well bc america is more abt "freedom"
This is not how America is lol it’s just a bunch of fake news and snowflakes
Lol it’s not
@@bailey4413 it is though, do you even read the news?
@@bailey4413 right, caring about innocent people being killed by cops make u a snowflake
The children dancing doing what they’re told to distract from the violence are also wearing private school uniforms showing how wealth is one of the few ways to get out. Additionally they never get involved in anything outside of distracting and stand by while the others get chased and hurt
but the uniforms are uniforms used in parts of africa
@@urmom-tx1mv True but I think the video is more a commentary on America social injustice especially considering their fixation on the phones. Still part of my point stands, the kids have to sit back and watch the violence- pushing back could mean loosing their opportunity at an education and enhances the likelihood they would be the victim of the violence they’re forced to watch, whether they’re in the USA or Africa and it’s still a sign of wealth. Many kids cannot afford to go to school because even if it’s free and they are provided their uniforms they and their families still have to pay for their homes and food otherwise they won’t survive to go to school so even then it’s a sign of comparative wealth in poverty.
@@janecampbell4662 yes but i honestly think that it’s to show how blk ppl are used for entertainment, cause we popularized many dances in america, and they’re dancing, and that’s the only thing you notice at first, you dont notice the chaos, which indicates the fact that we’re only looked at as ppl for entertainment, but when it comes to the injustice and us getting rights we’re over looked, so it’s like entertainment is the only way for us (as a whole) to make it in america, and that’s the only good thing ppl see in us, our entertainment
Just about every public or private school in South Africa mandates a uniform. Media reports of protest violence during apartheid rule very regularly show younger participants in school clothes. Think of the 1976 Hector Pieterson murder still. This was often because the youth abandoned school to assist in protest action and that their school clothes were often the best clothes they had.
From my experience, it's the poorer American public schools that have the uniform
Man, the symbolism in this vid is amazing. You could write a whole research assessment on this. The ending where it enters a dark opening reminds me of the door of no return that is in the slave castle/fortresses in Ghana and other west African coastal areas. The dark cemented area where he is running reminds me of the pitch black desolate tomb like spaces Africans were locked up in when they were captured by Europeans. It's pretty sickening. It leaves people of all backgrounds into tears when they take the tours. That pose Donald does with his arms out in front of him can mean so many things as well. Bondage, surrender, helpless, no voice, arrest, death, lynching, etc...Yeah, you won't see this on mainstream music video play, if they do that anymore.
what im currently doing lol
No one cared when he shot people and all the chaos was going on, but then he lid a blunt and suddenly got chased.
Maybe that's also a point
HOLY SHIT
*Cough* kamala *cough*
It’s cuz wee sets you free and they don’t want you to be thinking about freedom cuz weed breaks the spell
@@tealasmith7657 *chills*
Weed makes people paranoid, but that's also a reason why it causes paranoia. (Due to its legality and public perception)
he shouldve gotten a grammy for this song
He got 4?
True story
Hhhh
FACTS
The song literally got 4 Grammy's. Tf you mean?
I know im hella late, but this is what i think: I was surprised to see the guitarist show up again considering he was killed earlier, and while I forgot the guitarist, his chord progression carries the entire song. By reintroducing the guitarist, Gambino tries to show us how easy it is to forget tragedies, as so many occur in our country, and in the video. However, the problem isn’t just that we have forgotten the guitarist, but that we allow his playing to influence the entire song while leaving him forgotten. As chaos ensues, and our focus skips from obscenity to obscenity, we forget to ask the questions that actually matter. Why does this violence occur? Who are these people? We let them fade away and fall out of focus as Gambino “shakes the frame” and they become forgotten, just like the guitarist.
*I didnt make up that theory btw, but i sure as hell belive it*
HYPERS
Facts
wow i never thought abt that
Yeah also how black artists and musicians work from decades past have been drawn on and brought into popular culture but the original people who made it are forgotten
His chord progression carries the whole song but we forget him completely. That's a metaphor in and of itself.
He says “1, 2, 3, get down!” towards the end which may be a double meaning. “Get down!” as in dancing, and “Get down!” as in gun violence.
The outfits the dancers wear are reminiscent of the clothes students wore when the first school was desegregated.
the crazy thing is, in cincinnati public schools, where i grew up, those were still the uniforms. all schools are uniformed, even high school...
Gambino is the real tool. He was once a part of the only solution. But fame and fortune have run him astray.
@@friendly1870 Gambino was once a part of what "only solution"?
oh wow
Omg that’s so cool how u found that
This song should be played on the streets right now. Period.
UNTIL JUSTICE IS SERVED
@@kross2690 alr done lmao
Another crazy
Why
Sillycat 17 wdym why
Before he ligths up his cigarette, he joinsboth his fists to create a gun, his school dancers run scared at this point. He is representing school shootings.
And there’s 17 seconds of silence. Maybe for the 17 murdered in the parkland school shooting
Except school shootings are very rare but the leftist Democrat run media hypes everything to get people scared of guns. About 50 people die in schools every year and while sad, that's out of over 4 MILLION STUDENTS AND TEACHERS! 50 out of 350 MILLION American citizens?!? Many more people die falling in their bathtubs or trying to get out of the shower than all of these school shootings! Plus Parkland only showed that a Democrat run government and sheriff's office utterly failed to do their jobs but we're supposed to give up our guns to a incompetent government?!?
If 50 people die in schools on average every year (*IF that is a correct statistic), that is 50 people too many. You cannot justify a school shooting by saying "well only some people died". That doesn't make it any less of an issue.
@@Akihito007 one death in a school shooting is already a major problem.
She
At the end he drops the entertainment and smokes a joint to relax, then everyone turns on him. We love you while we're being entertained, but as soon as the real you comes out and we see you are a flawed human, you're back on the menu.
Producer: How many secret messages do you want?
Donald Glover: *Yes*
hahahahahahaha
It was made by Chilsish Gambino, not Donald Glover.
Lol
Bro well done u should be proud of this joke
Purps it’s a joke dumbass
“This a celly - that’s a tool” is a reference to cops shooting black men who they think are holding guns but it was a phone.
Yooo i neva though of that
They see our blackness as a weapon and that's just sad
latty frr 😭✊🏾
@@lalatniia I don't care what the color of someone's skin is
There people too
Racism is disgusting
Yes but he's actually saying use the cell as a tool to record or capture racism that still exists to this day, to show the world what really happens and hopefully one day punish the people recorded, for example George Floyd's killers.
After the second shooting, he casually walks away through crowds of witnesses and police. This could represent how broken modern day justice system is, and how easy it is sometimes for people to get away with stuff like this.
@@OzArt Dude it shows how easy it is to get away with crime in America and that there’s a lot of racist police officers
@Oz Art Yes because pointing out that blacks face injustice is so racist
Alex George a lot is not a fitting adverb in this
@@caspar508 *too many
frenzymee agreed
The shooting of the choir broke my heart. I cant not see the faces of the South Carolina victims. Two of the older ladies who were killed remind me so much of ladies I went to church with as a child. RIP Mrs. Love and Mrs Hennigan
I feel like no one noticed that all of the people chasing him at the end are white
Edit: most of them were white
facts
It's hard to tell... They're all so blurry.
on the left there's a black woman running..
But I think they were all running from somthing not just him only..
Some weren't, but yeah, I noticed most of them were
Some of them are black, though. ._.
“This a celly, that’s a tool” - Cell phone mistaken for a gun
"This a celly" means cellphone. "That's a tool" means that the cellphone is the appropriate tool used by everyone for; survival, entertainment, social interaction and most importantly creating diversion from the truth concerning the state of the nation.
@@kemetmeditation5358 no it isn’t lol tool is short for toolie aka a gat
Celly can also be short for the celebration after a goal.
i think it means that phones can be used as a tool, like recording what happens in today’s world, and portraying it on the media, or it can mean the media portraying only the big things in america and overlooking the other things
@@urmom-tx1mv that’s the genius of it, it means both
I noticed how the two times that he actually had a gun he was able to gently place the gun down on the red cloth and walk away without anybody doing anything. BUT when the kids are dancing around him and he holds up his bare hands and pretends to be holding a gun, everybody gets scared and runs. Maybe that's a comment on how "we thought he had a gun" is a prevalent justification for the shooting of unarmed black boys.
Great job
Interesting point
Wow interesting 🤔 👏...
Or even children being so terrified from shootings that they react with terror at even the hint of one
Beautiful analysis!
Something I noticed was a scene where the camera follows him, and he's still using an exaggerated walk. The camera pans around and for a second, we see his face, completely deadpan, if a bit worried and concerned, and in a flash, he looks at the camera with an exaggerated expression and dances with the group of kids, grinning. For a second, when the camera's off him, we see what the characters actually thinking. Who he actually is. And then it's back to the caricature.
Time stamp?
This blew my mind.
Honestly I thought this bit was a play on how media acts. Pretend to be concerned on camera while fanning the flames when not.
I think it means people hate Americans hate the government's actions, but they know if they dont play along they'll die
if anything that seams like not even America itself has a handle on whats going on.
He is a genius for this song. It's very catchy but the symbolism is on point. He really should've gotten a Grammy for this song alone
The Grammy is an award from a white culture. They are too offended about being reminded of what they are and where they came from to give him a Grammy for this.
The first instrumental is joyful, representing peace, optimism and celebrates African American music. The second is a heavy trap instrumental, representing violence, consumerism and disillusion. At the end both are mixed together, which indicates a more complex reality, violent and optimistic all at once, or simply confused by media and pop culture which allow entertainement and horrors to coexist.
Underrated comment
Brilliant
Americans are all people who live on the American Continent, and not just in the united states
Underrated comment fs
Thanks for describing the meaning through the musical changes rather than visual! I can see a lot in the visuals, but don't know enough about music to pick up the ideas sent through the music.
*When you pause the video but the gunshots don't stop*
this is america
jim theseal bruh does it matter? it’s still the truth.
elizabeth Especially today huh
Here in Cali still with the gun laws this is very accurate everyday you here about 15 gun shots per day many automatic
chile..
Gambino was running at the last scene to escape from the cops. They chase him after lighting a blunt but they don't worry about the bigger issue. Like shootings, suicides and racial profiling.
Mikayla Barbaro Right. Wow.
Have you noticed how those people running after him run kinda weirdly? Like they're pretending to be gorillas or something, with their arms out and curved to the side. It's really creepy...
Found that person
Eric Garner
Thanks so much for the likes guys. You are amazing I hope you all have an amazing day. 😊
The chains give it away from the very beginning. Yes, it's a double meaning but every verse and scene has a double meaning and that's why it's genius.
What about the fact that as long as Gambino is singing and dancing, he’s safe, but the moment he stops, and begins to “reflect,” he’s now being chased down?????
J.T. Robins Woah...now I know what’s been bothering me this whole time! Like this just left me with an extremely anxious and eerie feeling. Thank you for this comment.
It has something to do with the fact that while Gambino is being an entertainer he is safe from harm, but as soon as he is not making music/filming, etc, he is just a normal black man who finds himself running from harm
Great analysis!
J.T. Robins yes!!!!!!!! I caught that too!!!
J.T. Robins so true
4:12 cars colors represent colors of the american flag; Red, Blue, and white.
The cars not American made but Japanese
Notice how the cars are blinking too and the driver door is open.This means that cops pull over black men and racially profiling them and arresting them and some trunks are open meaning police searched their cars
@@la-splitz-x1395 lmao you people spend way too much time making shit up. They aren't even blinkers they're hazards you put on when you break down
White and blue should be switched in your comment
@@Profile.4 "you people" wtf
You didn’t mention that the people with cell phones had something covering their mouths. Seems to me like it’s some sort of rag. Whatever it is, it’s representing how people will document anything with their phones but never speak out and stop anything from happening.
Jackson Rynd I didn’t notice that
Jackson Rynd ooo deep
This deserves more likes
It is also worth noting that the cloths covering their mouths are all white. This could just be to make them stand out. Or it could be a nod to the fact that they are witnessing and recording all of the violence yet cannot speak out about their own experiences due to the covering of racism with a pure image.
We only listen when it is white faces telling the stories.
Jackson Rynd brilliant observation!
The ending with Gambino's white eyes and white teeth appearing from the darkness is also a reference to portrayals of Black people's features (like that GIF) meant to look scary, but here it's Gambino who's scared for his life 😥
@@rgrg5442 maybe try to look more into the video:)
Are you talking about the guy laughing in the dark?
@@rgrg5442 wow you're so......ignorant, how about you try to understand the meaning behind the video instead of saying nonsense?
@@urmom-tx1mv Ur mom
I love this take!
This made me realize that the video is scary but has a really deep meaning to it
Yea also nice profile picture
Ooooh its a wild tøp
Lol I’m late but amazing profile picture!
What makes it scarier u have 666 likes
Yup
Omg! He really did his homework to make this video more meaningful. Absolutely this video deserves a Grammy award for realism
ah yes, the prestigious Grammy award for realism.
donald exactly
Ehhhhh, I kinda hate the whole “America is bad” message that some people may receive out of this. That is of course if this Insider is true
Evan Barton I feel you on your opinion. But American has different types of people. And that what makes Americana so beautiful. But with so many people in this country comes with different backgrounds, beliefs, and political veiws. So we as American people need to take care of our country, and stop hating one another. Stop the racism. But Truth is we won't. Because racism has been taught, and brainwashed in some of our minds from early age. Thinking that one race is more Superior than the other. No race, and no one is higher than God. Whether we believe in God or not... We was created all by one some spirit... Some kind of entity.
America is one of the most shitty first world countries you can live in
“tool” from the “celly” verse could also be interpreted as a shank or weapon, which inmates carry on them. this also insinuates that “cellphones” are deemed to be weapons
There was so much thought put into every single second of this video. It isn't given enough credit wow
I agree with your first sentence but not the second. "This is America" won the Grammy for Album of the Year (and absolutely deserved it.)
That song winning a *Grammy* was essentially the whitest people on Earth acknowledging the plight of black Americans. Quite the impressive accomplishment IMO.
703 millions views, that's a lot of credit
concur. you could dissect every second of this video. it's so powerful conscious.
"Gwara Gwara"
Me: shit I thought he was doing the stanky leg
camila Indriago we call it the beenie weenie in New Orleans
I can't breathe when u said that 😂😆
SAME THO
Its a dance in west Africa .. Nigeria
@@patricksarkodie317 no it has originated from South Africa but I wouldn't be surprised if it made it's way to Nigeria
This song has more hidden messages than the Da Vinci Code.
😂😂😂😂
*English teachers have entered the chat*
Such a thrilling story it has..
Lmao
Did yoo see da part wear we wuz kangzz n sheet
2:00 he made his hair clean and not messy for the white person but he made it all messy for the black person
Even if you disagree with his interpretation of America you have to admit this is a work of art and took a lot of effort.
No. Its not a work of art to falsely symbolize life in America just like rest of his hollywood figures that praise each other while remaining disconnected from the masses.
The director and/or team should win awards based on it
Contestation is always a one sided view. Activist or lobbyist will always push their agenda forward. Thing is, it is a reality, not the whole reality, but still there.
The video is great, but the song, not so much, IMO. I guess I just can't get past the trap and auto tune.
work of art? shooting people and giving people ideas is not a work of art.. I could of thought of this in my sleep ... stop glorifying this stuff your brainwashed
When he stops for 17 seconds it is for the 17 people who got killed in the parkland shooting
i feel that is too deep into theory and a coinididence (idk how to spell that
Elizabeth Glasby coincidence
Elizabeth Glasby coin-ci-dence :)
*The masks over the kids face reveals how people see the truth but are to afraid to say it*
ツwhy u bullie me so true
how bout you use the right form of “too” before you start getting too deep, Shakespeare
@@l3gacy lmao they aren't getting too deep, the whole video is deep.
ツwhy u bullie me purty smart
l3gacy why you hating
The schoolkids dancing with him aren't only dancing South African moves, they're also wearing common South African school uniforms.
Here's what also might have gone over some of your heads. The church choir represented a hopeful spirit and sense of optimism with the Black community. But once they're all gunned down, the spirit is taken away.
Also, listen to the music the guitarist is playing in the beginning of the song. Sounds like some pretty, uplifting, African high life mixed in. But once the guitarist is shot dead, the song switches to a doomy, haunting Electro-Trap sound. This could mean the destruction of good, traditional music from the Diaspora and overtaken by this bleak, modern sound. Very deep video.
I didn't think about it that way
America is a dark place
I agree, death penalties like that are during the revolutionary war.
There was also a church shooting of black people as well
I think it also meant how blacks praise Jesus a white god in hopes of that solving racism just to be gunned down in church
I think the “celly” part could also represent how people record the bad stuff that goes on instead of actually doing something to help out. The guys holding the phone were moving their phones and there is bad stuff happening below them. As if they were recording what was happening.
To support this idea: The place right on their backs is burning while they record the entretainer.
Yeah and their face masks like they didn't want to be contaminated by it all
Blue Wolf no you did good staying where you were. Maybe next time go inside your house and lock all your doors and windows. Don’t ever go try to stop criminals because your life is worth more than being a hero. There were cops chasing him down too so they were already trying to stop him. Don’t feel bad for not doing anything because you’re not the police. You can’t defend yourself against him if he were to hurt you. Just try to stay safe
The fact they actually credited the original tweets for the breakdown that they didnt do is actually really sweet. Alot of people on youtube would act like they broke that down themselves.
Gun
Donald glover say
Algorithm suggested this out of nowhere after all this time. It knows things are about to kick off again...
There was the 17 seconds of silence from when he lit the joint to when he was near the cars. That was for the parkland shooting victims
Natalie Alfera was it a cigarette or was it a joint?
No OnE tHe OtHeR it was a joint
Why does a joint relate to a shooting though. This is probably coincidental
3Tommy Brown4 perhaps he’s lighting one up for the victims.
3Tommy Brown4 Because 17 people were killed, one second for each victim? I don't really get the relation either.
What hit me the most was the terror in his eyes when he's running away at the end.
It made me wonder, "imagine the terror of running for your life."
Wow! Good perspective. Thanks
When he stopped and stood in silence for 17 seconds, it's to honor the 17 people that died in the Florida shooting
Kamil Krawczak and 42 is the meaning of life that only means weed is life without the 0.
the florida shooting did not happen an 420 it happened on valentines day. Columbine happened on 420.
The walkout happened on 4/20.
And NRA's donations tripled
not the original walk out the 4/20 walk out was a waste of time and almost no one did it
1:12 the lil pose he did was apart of Jim Crow laws
You see how he says, “contraband contraband”? So what i think is that he is making a reference to what during the civil war slaves who fleeing the south were called.
Also the war on drugs aka contraband was also a war on black communities.
A lot of people in the black communities also started to turn to drugs to cope with the traumas they continue to experience, which keeps them burdened by the jail system (scene where he lights a blunt)
I'm surprised no video spoke about the contrabandd
Contraband is also what you're not allowed to have in prison
Someone also pointed out to me that the cars towards the end all have their blinker lights on, and the drivers' side door open - just like a car would be after someone had been pulled over by police, and then unexpectedly arrested on a faked-up charge.
queencallipygos omg I never noticed that thanks for pointing that out
One of them had the trunk open too like it had been searched
Exactly what I was thinking. The cops pull over so many young black men and racially profile them, often, unfortunately, ending in shootings.
Yeah it’s all the polices fault. The fact that nearly half of all murders are done by that same group of people has nothing to do with them being arrested.
tuesday : what’s the percentage you have to state that black men often end up getting shot in a traffic stop ?
The big pause there lasted about 17 seconds which I think relates to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high-school shooting for the 17 victims
i was a mile away from the shooting when it happened, i was JUST getting out of school, that day was rlly scary and shocking
@@urmom-tx1mvI was a town over. West Palm Beach. Many of the churches in our city had families who had lost someone.
This man is probably one of the smartest people in art right now.
He most definitely is the most underrated artistic person ever
I think the sad part about this amazing video is that it in of itself is apart of this same loop that we are a part of. Watch a woke video thats trending, everyone becomes a philosopher for a week and talk about how society is getting worse, and then get distracted by the next #1 trending dancing video that releases in a week completely putting the content of this video on the back burner until the next one comes out.
Couldn't agree more!!
Though one could argue that the only way to bring down such a system is to emulate and infiltrate.
WushuLord Great point, absolutely great!
WushuLord very true my brother.
Yea...I agree
Oh, so this is what English majors do after they fail to get employed lmfao
I always thought that the ending represented the fact that no matter how distracted you are, these problems will always be there, and they’ll always theoretically chase you.
i’ve never heard anyone interpret that scene like that before
I think the ending is that he killed people throughout the video but the police only showed up when he started smoking a joint
he killed black people* its showing racism in police too. they don't care when black people die, its never a big deal. but if its a drug smuggle youre arrested. I have a question... you heard about Grover Wills being shot in Plant City FL? Probably not. He was shot by a white male and killed, and Grover is my friend, but the white male never even went tojail, he was only charged...
Andrew Baker got facts?
I guess being white means I can’t live in my country any more 😢
He smoked the joint backwards. That's a meaning in for itself.
idk I think it's a reference to how gang members are never brought down yet innocent and minor felons are shot.
This is one of the most realist videos of the century people need to wake up.
How
@@detroittrell1825 Racism hasn't gone away.
I think his jerky movements and expressions at the beginning are symbols of slaves being whipped. The accompanying music even has the static sound of a cracking whip.
What about the dancing children in school uniforms...school shootings?
Rebecca Whitsett the outfits are reminiscent to when schools were desegregated
@@naylit6191 but they also look like uniforms South African children wear, drawing another parallel to Americans living in western world apartheid.
They are also representing the one thing when the students were dancing with there teacher
@@blackflag66 yh I was thinking the same thing.
That akso points out how safe the wealthy are while the poor aren't until someone with a gun enters the school.
Shenequa Williams yes look up why SA celebrates youth day and look at those images
Same school wear and obviously drawing our attention towards similarities between what SA and US youth of colour have been through
Interesting how they blacked out the violent scenes to avoid age restriction and demonetization... UA-cam's hypocritical double standard on the depiction of graphic violence is all too clear.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm pleased they did it that way. The decision not to show the killing showed respect for the value of human life, and it didn't harm the content.
Ya but my point is that Donald Glover can show gun violence and there are no restrictions. But If my channel makes a video denouncing gun violence, the video gets demonetized, age-restricted, and blocked in a number of countries.
@@BestBibleStories I hear what both of you are saying, at least we are (intelligently) talking about it.
It's just biased youtube censorship and hypocritical double standards at it's finest. But it's their platform, so they can be hypocrites if they want.
Go watch a Timothy McVeigh documentary and cool down Nazi.
The fear on his face at the end... it’s like he’s known it for a long time, but the terror is inescapable.
imagine him and Jordan Peele working together
"contraband, contraband, contraband" is a reference to Gucci Gang talking about cocaine. Basically the music industry with no knowledge of ground realities injecting or reinforcing such things into the urban culture.
Yaaas!! I was thinking the same thing!!
I looked up the lyrics online and apparently he's saying "hunnid band," which is urban slang for rolls of hundred dollar bills.
the line goes: 100 band 100 band 100 band, contraband, contraband, contraband
Angel La Canfora yes this too Angel
or the contrabands which were slaves that escaped and fought against the confederacy during the civil war. these were the real reason the emancipation proclamation was created contrabands because technically illegal, so by making the emancipation proclamation, he wouldn’t be convicted of theft laws
I think it’s interesting how when the light high voices that sing “we just want the money...money just for you” the lyrics are almost angelic and makes u feel like you’re in a dreamlike haze kind of. While the “this is America” is almost like a jolt back into reality. Like you’re waking up from a dream.
America is a Continent, not a country
@@Revolución_Socialista USA is a country
the americas are a continent
it’s obvious we’re talking abt usa tho
@@Revolución_Socialista So say north or south America. The term "America" is so tied into the USA that it isn't gonna change now. Imagine going to the Bahamas and saying you're going to America. Peoples first thought won't be the Bahamas.
The verse "This a celly, that's a tool" refers to all the racially biased shootings ex: a teen got shot by police because they thought he was holding a gun but it turned out to be a phone. Also "tool" is a slang word for gun.
DaVinci Code -- Right after he says that you see kids using their phones to record the carnage going on. Most believe the line means that a cellphone can be used as a tool. In other words it can be used to capture events occurring to let the rest of the world know whats happening.
The line was literal, not only did he mention the cell being used as a tool...then the line this is a celly, this is a tool, followed by showing a group of kids using their cell phones as a tool. He left no room for people to mistake exactly what he is trying to say by giving three different iterations of it.
DaVinci Code ty- 😈😂 😄😴😄😁☺jb b p
TY
Zachary Wagner I’ve never seen a cellphone and thought F*** it’s a firearm!
Tell me you overthink without telling me you over think
Also when he shoots the man with the head scarf in the head, that is a form of the death penalty.
Because you essentially get the death penalty (bullied to suicide) for any creativity (the man singing).
@@a-10warthog23 I would say guitar playing but k
@Yeexm8 m I think Angel is just pointing out that the man shot was never singing, he was only playing the guitar haha.
When he shot the guy with the scarf around his head it symbolizes jim crow the guns symbolizes they take care of the guns with care then the victims
Gambino dancing from scene to scene is like America politics dancing from issue to issue without address any real issues
FACTZZ 216 its funny because trump did adress real issues and even i know that as a non-american.
its May can you people stop with Trump already smh
jason phillips well, i guess they should stop making music about political issues then.
mr worldwide why are you commenting about American politics then stay out of it before you get attacked
Balloon Guy im not being attacked and i was just replying that issues are adressed in American politics. Thats all !
Don’t forget how he literally mimicked uncle ruckus.
Everyone has to admit that childish Gambino is an intelligent black man! Now that's a way to represent us!
@Jordan Spenca What you said is true about black men and people blaming problems on other so they don’t have to fix anything but not all black people or men are like that. but the part in the song where it says black man get your money then you hear
the police voice saying get down that is America because everytime a black person gets money and actually doing something great for there life or not in jail America try’s there hardest to Tear them down for example Micheal Jackson look at how he grew up and became famous with a lot of money and they Purposely overdosed him it’s not just him that that’s been done too. Study all black people with money and doing something great with there life and changing something that needs to be changed and look at there struggles and how hard it is for them to be in the Position that they are in or was in . But you don’t get it cause your white and you have Privilege and we don’t so you don’t understand it.
@Jordan Spenca Your probably an all lives matter person lol .
@Jordan Spenca And also just sit back and listen to it and when you get used to the melody and the beat, vibes or whatever you wanna call it he shoots a gun and it snaps you out of the vibes and it’s telling us black people that not to get used to anything on this earth cause there always a racist white man or women waiting to put you 6 feet under just because of your skin color . which is something you can’t help.
@@jadaa5273 same goes for literally every race on the planet assclown.
@@sargeantsus7728 except whites
You missed the 17 seconds of silence in the video that's believed to represent 17 seconds of silence for the Stoneman Douglas High School victims
Hmm thats new
Wow
He keeps looking back at the dancers like he’s checking to make sure they’re still dancing. We’re always watching, keep in step or else, the panopticon of America threatens.
the white people dancing as black people scared the crap out of me.
Same
Timestamp?
I’m pretty sure they were taking about when they were doing the blackface impersonations at 1:54
On god this shit got me with nightmares
Same...
I’m honestly terrified by the Jim Crow part. And by the way, make sure that’s not the last thing you watch at night.
I was to!
Jim crow is horrifying
I don't know how my ancestors survived this country. It has to be divine intervention. I'm part of the first generation of my family that can moved around this country and be treated like an American, but that's quickly changing back.
@@truth803 - Mad??? About what??? That you sent me a bullshit one word reply that has nothing to do with anything I stated? No. Just wish common sense was more common.
@@gavinw5994 - It's too bad your comment has nothing to do with what I stated. Reading comprehension, it's a good thing.
the way that he arched his body,pulled a gun and shot the man really scared me..
Joanna Nica V
It made me squirt gallons
Me too
PopTheBubble ....
it's meant to mimic the art depiction of Jim Crow. the pictures are creepy too.
Joanna Nica V yea it caught me off guard. But the pose is symbolic of old Jim Crow posters from that era.
I love visiting the US, But It's a shame how 'Comfortably numb' it has become with racial bigotry and gun violence.
This Is America!
I think the "celly" part is also saying that people are staying on the sideline watching and filming instead of helping when things are happening right in front of them.
EXACTLY like when someone about to jump out. Somebody randomly record it instead of helping. That is our society. We cannot fix anything.
That's what I thought too. Too many ppl filming what's going on but not trying to do anything to stop it.
I feel that celly tool part is pointing out the fact that the cops are trying to make laws that prohibit the filming of police during official business (particularly in white cop black suspect situations), and it argues that it doesn’t compare to how one shooting live video is somehow a deadlier threat than one shooting live rounds. It’s touchy but I feel like this, let folks record them. Even if they ain’t jumping in getting shot too, at least them filming at all is taking action and it is evidence that one would otherwise not have if they didn’t use their cell phones.
The "celly" thing kind of predates cellphones, some places, particularly New York, are known for the type of place where if something bad happens, everyone will watch, no one will intervene. Like that joke "How many New Yorkers does it take to change a lightbulb? 201. One to do it, 200 to watch without getting involved."
Look how they have on face masks now in 2020 deep!
Imo Gambino shooting is the only moments in the Video where the actual Violence is not in the background.
A metaphor for all the shit happening in america being ignored but sometimes certain Shootings cant be. Then everyone forgets and smiles again.
Necrom No one really forgets but what are you doing right now? It seems like everyone wants people to think about each crime that happens. If we did that, most of us would be depressed. So I don’t understand the solution.
@@greatima526 Yeah, in healthy societies you usually start solving the problems causing the crimes, because of exaclty that. in the US you seem to give"thoughts and prayers" and forget.
you mean... and then we all light up a joint and deal with it by altering our state of mind (just like gambino)
fillybeez yup. thats the truth no one wants to look at!! Our spirituality in this country is fucked.
DEEP man
I thought the fact that they took the guns with a cloth was supposed to elude to the fact that, every single one of the crimes he committed was wiped clean....meaning no one was ever convicted. It was sort of like wiping the fingerprints off the gun
Jaelah Lopes that's what I thought too. The red cloth representing Republicans and their love of guns makes sense too.
Nikki Brogger yeah the fact that is a red cloth confirms my theory
Jaelah Lopes Absolutely.
Jaelah Lopes that was my interpretation too
Felipe Bettancourt yea I wasn't even taking in the fact that each time it was a red cloth and not any other colors
Also him dancing in the warehouse represents the manufaturing/industrial complex. Everthing is made in warehouses. All day working in one box then leaving to go rest in another to go back to work in the same box the next day. Doing this over and over for the rest of your life. Always being housed. In a cage. A mansion can be a prison too. Whats the difference between a celebrity moving with armed security then a prisoner being transported to court or another jail? And dont say freedom. You dont pay them car notes, bills, mortgage ESPECIALLY TAXES they taking all that so how really free are you? Gambino running at the end was him trying to escape cause he woke up, and realized what is going on.
They way the kids scatter away when he actually doesn't have a gun shows how a black man is seen as a threat just because he is black. He is framed in a way to show him almost like he is naked, only his bare skin showing, with nothing in his hands. Then after he smokes a blunt and is dancing, you can hear the lyrics say "black man, get down", like it is a cop giving the order. And then he needs to run. This video has so many meanings and layers, it is so powerful and GENIUS!
Kaisasha I noticed the same exact thing! It’s like nobody ran away when he actually had a gun, but when it was just his hand, they were ghost!
Genius!
true
BS.. quit the victim mentality and crying racism at everything. I'm so sick and tired of it
Xaomi Oppo Leave earth then. Thats the only way you’re not gonna hear about it
Something I realized is that when they were dancing in the midst of chaos, it’s like their sole purpose was just entertainment. Kind of like “as long as you entertain you’ll be fine, because that’s all you’re good for anyway.”
Very real, you see the real picture and the true hidden message😉… black and white becomes grey☀️
It's still a Drake diss
An addition to the people on there phones up top I saw a muzzle over their mouths. I think that represents how people chooses to sit by and record rather than speak up. I don’t know if it says that in the video or not, anyone agree ?
YSL ll LOS i thought "faceless." but your interpretation sounds more accurate.
I agree. Passively watching this unfold, no confrontations!
Woah
And yes, I completely agree with you!
Brilliant.
that jim crow shit is creepy
you know black kids will be posing like that now and not have a clue what they are promoting.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so
Actual minstrel shows are more enjoyable to watch than this.
And the minstrel show wasn’t?
Boolin IKR
When he points his gun he is still for 17 seconds, exact same number of the people who died in the parkland shooting
Gambino: breaths
Insider: Yes he is talking about how america steals your air when you get shot.
When the music stops, theres a 17 second silence before he lights a cigarette and walks away. The 17 seconds could represent the 17 lives lost in the Douglas high school shooting.
Just wow
damn
It is also at the end is a reference to the movie ''get out'' as he's running because he's terrified, and he's trying to get out.
Yeaa
So you pfp isnt just a look, you are a true detective
not so fun fact: when slavery was abolished it made it illegal for black people to work for free. however, america had said that prisoners were able to work for free. the "officers" who during slavery were paid to catch and kill slaves that had run away from their masters(i feel disgusting even having to refer to them as that) became the new police force that we know today, albeit more explicitly racist rather than implicitly. the kkk also founded after slavery was abolished was very connected to the police force, many of them being part of the force themselves. because they still wanted slaves but couldn't, they over policed black neighborhoods and arrested them for any little thing, like loitering and stuff. this way they could still have "slaves" without having to outright say so. and because the system specifically made it hard for black people to have an education and make money, they really couldn't move to a different less policed area.
so the part talking about it possibly referencing the cycle of incarceration with black people makes a lot of sense. the entire system was founded on racism, and still has racist roots regardless of how much time has passed since then.
Omg this is so heartbreaking to me we really aren't moving forward just backwards😔
@Chris Kerweiner This isn't a political issue this is a society issue 😔 Not everything is going to be fixed by politics/by the government in my opinion...
Thank u for this information
Chris Kerweiner idk about antifa but blm has already changed things, and will continue to do so. we have the attention, and blm will continue to protest until the issues are resolved. and after that, many of us are going to protest for other issues. like MMIW or ICE. because believe it or not, we want EVERYONE to be treated equally and in a humane way. if trump can decide to break the treaty with the natives, then he can help the situation with their missing women.
Chris Kerweiner dems are trying, but both parties are corrupt. however between the two of them, dems are pushing for a stronger police reform, which is why they blocked the republican's, as it was a watered down version of what we needed.