Childish Gambino's video for 'This Is America' has everyone talking. Here's what a music historian says about its meaning. Here's what a music historian says about the video's meaning. May 10, 2018 - Childish Gambino's new music video for his song This is America was viewed almost 50m times in five days. It is a remarkable artistic. That sharp contrast is in the song when comparing the intro vs. The main sections, as well as the video itself when you see Childish Gambino and the kids dancing alongside multiple shootings and Childish Gambino being chased at the end of the video — seemingly references to Dylann Roof and Charlottesville.

Dropping amid ongoing political and cultural tumult and turmoil, Childish Gambino’s “This is America” appears to be a commentary on black life in America and American culture as a whole. It contrasts popular culture’s perception of black experience and its often brutal reality by juxtaposing happy, carefree choruses and dark, aggressive verses.

This contrast may also allude to the cyclical shifts in mood whenever there is a shooting in America. One second, the entire nation is in an uproar, the next, they are happy and unconcerned, placated by pop culture trends.

In the music video, directed by frequent Gambino collaborator Hiro Murai, Gambino portrays this comparison by dancing around gleefully with school-aged children, seemingly unbothered by the chaotic scenes of violence in the background. However, in the short film’s final scene, Gambino is seen running frantically through a darkened warehouse trying to escape the mob that now chases him; a reminder that if America chooses to remain willfully ignorant to its problems, they will inevitably be the country’s downfall.

Watch the spongebob squarepants movie 2004. “This is America” is Gambino’s first single since he dropped the 2016 studio album Awaken, My Love!. The song’s release coincided with Gambino’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he performed the new track, along with “Saturday,” another new track.