Concert Review: Childish Gambino and His Boxers @ Drexel University Philadelphia, PA

Photo by Fatima Johnson

With his upcoming album Because the Internet scheduled to drop this December, Childish Gambino has started his promo run with a series of impromptu listening parties held at various tour sites across the states. The writer, actor, comedian, and rapper, born Donald Glover, reports that this album is going to be different than anything he’s ever done before, saying in an interview “I don’t see my album as a rap album. It comes with a bunch of stuff- I wanna make experiences”.

If his recent listening party and concert at Drexel University is any indicator as to what kind of “experience” fans will have, be ready for a versatile project that mixes lyrically focused raps with impressive vocals on top of a diverse collection of beats. Headlining Drexel’s Midnight Madness Event, the rapper debuted “So Far Away,” a new song that shows off Gambino‘s surprisingly solid singing voice and ability to switch up his flow over a smooth, R&B beat. On the other hand, other new songs like “World Star” and “Life is Beautiful,” featured a darker, more energetic, trap-inspired sound.

While a good portion of the show focused on previews of what is sure to be Gambino‘s best project to date, the rapper still managed to balance out new sounds with well known tracks like “Freaks and Geeks,” “Bon Fire,” and “Heartbeats.” The audience of college students eagerly matched Gambino‘s high energy level throughout the entire show, screaming, moshing, and crowd-surfing from start to finish. We’ll see if they share that same enthusiasm once Because the Internet hits the stores. Check out some photos from the show below, along with some of the songs that been released so far.