''3.15.20'' is the fourth studio album by the American actor and rapper
Donald Glover
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...
, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was initially uploaded to the website donaldgloverpresents.com on March 15, 2020, before being taken down 12 hours later. After a countdown, it was released to
streaming
Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
and
download
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
services under the title ''3.15.20'' on March 22.
It is therefore interchangeably referred to as both ''3.15.20'' and ''Donald Glover Presents''.
The album features guest appearances from
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
,
Kadhja Bonet
Kadhja Bonet ( ; born January 31, 1988) is an American musician.
Early life
Bonet grew up in Los Angeles, California, as the middle child of seven siblings and studied classical music from an early age, playing the violin. Her father, Allen Bo ...
,
21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...
and
Ink
Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...
. Glover produced the album with a range of collaborators including
DJ Dahi
Dacoury Dahi Natche (born March 10, 1983), known professionally as DJ Dahi or simply Dahi, is an American record producer, songwriter, disc jockey and singer from Inglewood, California. Working primarily in hip hop and R&B music, he has been ...
, longtime producer
Ludwig Göransson
Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (; ; born 1 September 1984) is a Swedish musician, composer, conductor, songwriter, and record producer. For his work in music, film and television, he has won several accolades including two Academy Awards, a Britis ...
, Chukwudi Hodge,
Kurtis McKenzie and
James Francies, Jr.
Most of the album's track titles refer to the time at which they appear on the album; for example, "
12.38" appears 12 minutes and 38 seconds into the album. The 2018 promotional single, "
Feels Like Summer", appears on the album under the title "42.26".
The album received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed towards Glover's songwriting and the album's themes.
On May 8, 2024, 3.15.20 was removed from select streaming services leading up to the release of ''
Atavista
''Atavista'' is the reissue of American rapper Childish Gambino's fourth studio album, '' 3.15.20'', described by Gambino as a "finished version". The album was released on May 13, 2024, five days after ''3.15.20'' was removed from streaming pla ...
'', a reworked version of the album. ''Atavista'' was released 5 days later on May 13.
Background
In 2017, Donald Glover, during a live performance, revealed he planned to retire the stage name Childish Gambino, telling the
Governors Ball Music Festival
The Governors Ball Music Festival (commonly known as Governors Ball or Gov Ball) is a multi-day music festival held in New York City. Launched in 2011 by Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an array of genres and ...
audience, "I'll see you for the last Gambino album." After some disputes with Glassnote, Glover signed with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
in January 2018. In May 2018, he premiered two songs titled "Saturday" and "
This Is America" while performing as both host and musical guest on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. The latter and its political music video went viral, achieving widespread success and critical acclaim, giving him his first song to reach No. 1 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
In July 2018, Glover released the ''
Summer Pack
''Summer Pack'' is the third extended play by American actor and musician Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released by Wolf+Rothstein, Liberator Music and RCA Records on July 11, 2018. It contains only two songs, " Sum ...
'' extended play containing the songs "
Summertime Magic
"Summertime Magic" is a song by the American recording artist Childish Gambino. Written and produced by Gambino and Ludwig Göransson, the song was released by Wolf+Rothstein and RCA Records on July 11, 2018. The song was speculated to be the lead ...
" and "
Feels Like Summer", the former of which was labelled to be the lead singles from Glover's forthcoming fourth studio album titled “Almanac” which later got cancelled and replaced the eventual release of 3.15.20 in 2020. Later that year, Glover performed live dates on the
This Is America Tour
The This Is America Tour was the fifth concert tour by American recording artist Childish Gambino. The tour began in the summer of 2018, playing over 30 shows in North America and Europe.
Background
Donald Glover, the individual behind the Child ...
and announced at the debut show in Atlanta that the tour would be his last. Individuals who purchased tickets to the tour received exclusive unfinished
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
of the songs "Algorhythm" and "All Night" prior to the tour dates. Along his tour, he played "Algorhythm" and "All Night" (the latter was only played in Atlanta), and he also premiered new songs, then believed to be from his upcoming studio album, including "Atavista", "39.28" (then untitled), and "Human Sacrifice".
A
Google Pixel 3
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are a pair of Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successors to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. They were officially anno ...
advertisement debuted during the
61st Annual Grammy Awards
The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...
featuring Donald Glover and using the previously teased song "Human Sacrifice."
Glover also a debuted a trailer for his musical film ''
Guava Island
''Guava Island'' is a 2019 American musical film directed by Hiro Murai (his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Stephen Glover written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Ibra Ake, Jamal Olori and Fam Udeorji. It stars Donald Glover ...
'' at his PHAROS event in December 2018, which leaked online. Glover performed a new record at his Pharos festival called “Warlords” that featured Kid Cudi, which attenders described as ambient, chill, and had an
808s & Heartbreaks inspired production.
Glover debuted a performance of his new song “32.22/Shock" during Glover's headlining performance at
Coachella
Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...
in 2019, and the film was debuted the same weekend. The musical film ''Guava Island'' contained several unreleased songs, including "
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
", "Die with You", and "Saturday", hinting at their inclusion on the album.
Promotion and release
Early morning March 15, 2020, the website donaldgloverpresents.com was circulated and promoted on social media by individuals connected to Glover and his management.
The website featured a collection of songs, including a few previously performed and teased tracks, playing live on a loop which were subsequently removed 12 hours later. Additionally, the website displayed promotional artwork, appearing to be a sketched concept for extendable album art. A few days after the stream ended, the website displayed a countdown set to end a week after the original stream.
Following the concluded countdown, the website updated with the same looped stream of songs with a handwritten note from Glover about his inspirations behind the album. At the same time, the previously streamed collection of songs was uploaded to streaming services as ''3.15.20'', Glover's fourth studio album. The album, released with limited song titles and a blank white cover, was released as a 12 track album under the Childish Gambino moniker, as well as a continuous play version under the artist name Donald Glover Presents.
In an interview with ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' in 2023, when reflecting on how the album's lack of traditional release, art style, and tracklist may have impacted its reception, Glover said "I had just lost my father, I had just had a kid, and I was going through a lot. I was having a lot of different new experiences and that's what I expressed. I think people are right. It would have garnered a different
esponse My wife's always been like, "If you do punk things, you get punk results." And it was definitely a punk thing."
A re-release of the album, named ''
Atavista
''Atavista'' is the reissue of American rapper Childish Gambino's fourth studio album, '' 3.15.20'', described by Gambino as a "finished version". The album was released on May 13, 2024, five days after ''3.15.20'' was removed from streaming pla ...
'', was announced by Glover in 2024 and released in May of the same year with changes to the mix and tracklisting. The tracks were all given titles along with a differing opening track, the removal of "32.22" and "Feels Like Summer", the shortening of "39.28", and the addition of "Human Sacrifice."
"0.00", ''3.15.20''
's original opener would later be developed into the track "We Are God" from Glover's final Gambino album ''
Bando Stone & the New World
''Bando Stone and the New World'' is the fifth studio album by American actor and musician Donald Glover, and his final album under the stage name Childish Gambino. Released on July 19, 2024, through RCA Records, it is also the soundtrack album ...
''.
Critical reception
According to the review aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the album received critical acclaim, with an average review score of 83 out of 100.
Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
s critic Tim Sendra wrote in his review that "the 2020 Childish Gambino record ''3.15.20'' is an expansive, mind-bending trip that never takes an expected step." Sendra continued by comparing the album to other artists' work, stating that "The end result is a challenging, hooky, mysterious and odd record that feels like it was built out of pieces left over from a collision between
Outkast
Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
,
Sly and the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...
, and
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
." Sendra ended his review by saying that ''3.15.20'' is the "second classic, timeless and timely Childish Gambino record in a row."
Writing for ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television.
History
''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'', Okla Jones praised the album, stating that "Glover's willingness to experiment with different sounds and harmonies is evidence that things either foreign or unknown need not be feared, but ''embraced''. No, as in life, there's beauty in uncertainty." While praising Glover's songwriting and the features on ''3.15.20'', Jones criticized the production and vocals on a few of the album's tracks.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s reviewer Dean Van Nguyen acclaimed the album, saying that "The actor, comedian and musician Donald Glover has made the first truly outstanding album of the decade, offsetting cultural examinations with moments of sweet levity." Nguyen further stated that the themes of the album fits to the present day insecurities with the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, saying that "The disruption caused by the coronavirus forces us to question how strong the foundations of civilisation really are. Glover never could have seen the pandemic coming when he was recording the album, yet at a time when much of what we thought was strong is weak - what we thought was eternal is potentially fleeting – ''3.15.20'' captures the insecurity of lived reality and the humanity that truly defines our existence."
Sam Moore of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' gave the album a favorable review, particularly praising Glover's decision to bring up more private matters on the album, referring to the song "47.48". Moore wrote that "The rolling groove of '47.48' is another highlight: Glover's doomy proclamations about the violent and unjust aspects of society ('little boys playing 'round, shot down') eventually subside for a more optimistic outlook for the future as Glover sweetly interacts with his young son Legend about the people they each love." Moore continued by saying that "Glover's willingness to share such a candid moment on record is particularly interesting given his past proclivity towards keeping his private life largely offline, and may be a sign that the star is beginning to let his guard down as the outside world continues to try to peer in."
Some reviews were more mixed. Debbie Ijaduola of
''Clash'' unfavorably compared the album to Childish Gambino's previous efforts, stating that "Lacking the strong narrative thrust so apparent on his
lover'spast albums, the project is incredibly disappointing. From what it looks like, it seems like there was a reason he said he was quitting music." However, Ijaduola highlighted the songs "Algorhythm", "42.26" and "47.48" as the album's most enjoyable tracks.
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
''s critic Paul A. Thompson stated that "''3.15.20'' is studded with little hooks and big ideas that serve as lures. Its spiritual largesse is weighed down by impulses carried halfway to their endpoints and moments of frustrating pretense." Thompson, alike other reviewers, praised the song "47.48", saying that the track "sounds like a locked-in house band; the lyrics are actually about a crushing and ever-present violence, and the tension mesmerizes. That song ends with a conversation between Glover and his young son about love-sweeter than it sounds on paper, chilling given the juxtaposition."
Accolades
Track listing
Notes
* signifies an additional producer
Sample credits
* "Algorhythm" contains samples of "
Hey Mr. D.J.", written by Anthony Bahr, Kier Gist, Leon Ware, Rene Neufville and Zane Grey, and performed by
Zhané
Zhané ( ) was an American R&B duo, best known for their 1993 hit " Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached No. 6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other popular hits include " Groove Thang" (U.S. No. 17) and minor hit " Sending My Love", both released ...
.
Personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
Musicians
*
Childish Gambino
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...
– vocals
*
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
– featured vocals
*
21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...
– featured vocals
* Atia "Ink" Boggs – featured vocals
*
Kadhja Bonet
Kadhja Bonet ( ; born January 31, 1988) is an American musician.
Early life
Bonet grew up in Los Angeles, California, as the middle child of seven siblings and studied classical music from an early age, playing the violin. Her father, Allen Bo ...
– featured vocals
* James Francies, Jr. – keyboards , synthesizer , Harpischord , organ
* Ely Rise – keyboards
* Brent Jones – background vocals
* The Best Life Singers – background vocals
* Legend Glover – background vocals
* The Denise Renee Choir – background vocals
* Chukwudi Hodge – drums , bells
* Kurtis McKenzie – drums
* Nate Smith – drums
* Loshendrix – guitar
*
Ludwig Göransson
Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (; ; born 1 September 1984) is a Swedish musician, composer, conductor, songwriter, and record producer. For his work in music, film and television, he has won several accolades including two Academy Awards, a Britis ...
– bass , guitar
*
Elena Pinderhughes
Elena Pinderhughes (born 1995) is an American jazz flutist, singer, and composer. She has toured extensively with jazz trumpeter Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah and has also performed with Herbie Hancock, Common, Esperanza Spalding, Vijay Iyer, Lione ...
– flute
* Dani Markham - percussion
Production
* Donald Glover – production , mixing engineer
*
DJ Dahi
Dacoury Dahi Natche (born March 10, 1983), known professionally as DJ Dahi or simply Dahi, is an American record producer, songwriter, disc jockey and singer from Inglewood, California. Working primarily in hip hop and R&B music, he has been ...
– production
* Loshendrix – production
*
Ludwig Göransson
Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (; ; born 1 September 1984) is a Swedish musician, composer, conductor, songwriter, and record producer. For his work in music, film and television, he has won several accolades including two Academy Awards, a Britis ...
– production
* EY – production
* Chukwudi Hodge – production
* Kurtis Mckenzie – production
* Jamies Francies, Jr. – production
*
Jai Paul
Jai Paul (born 30 June 1988) is a British songwriter, record producer and recording artist. His early demo "BTSTU" led to his online discovery and a subsequent recording contract with XL Recordings. Together with its follow-up "Jasmine", these ...
– additional production
* Riley Mackin – mix engineering, record engineering, additional production
* Ruben Rivera – record engineering
* Kyle Stephens – record engineering
* Mike Bozzi – master engineering
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:03.15.20
2020 albums
Donald Glover albums
RCA Records albums
Albums produced by DJ Dahi
Albums produced by James Francies
Albums produced by Ludwig Göransson
Albums produced by Jai Paul
Albums produced by Kurtis McKenzie
Surprise albums
Alternative R&B albums
Neo soul albums
Experimental music albums by American artists