"Me and Your Mama" is a single by American singer

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 released on November 10, 2016 worldwide, and is the first single from his third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' "Awaken, My Love!"'' It was noted by Billy Gill of ''A Nation of Billions'' and Graham Moore of ''Exeposé'' for Glover's powerful vocals ("The lengthy and dreamy intro to ‘Me and Your Mama’ – introducing the gospel-like sound which weaves throughout the album – gives way to powerful vocals, the likes of which we’ve never quite seen before from Gambino.") and the melodic, hypnotizing instrumentals throughout the song. The song was debuted live at

Bonnaroo Music Festival Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) fa ...

on June 13, 2015.

Composition

The song begins with a lullaby-esque

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

piano before suddenly entering the first of three sections this song contains. This first section consists of a high-pitched

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

synth that plays throughout the first section. A simple drum pattern also plays, consisting of high hats,

808s ''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West, released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studio ...

and a bass synth. This section plays for the first two minutes of the song, all the while a harmony of a choir repeat "I'm in love when we're smoking that la la la la la". This first section acts as a

juxtaposition Juxtaposition is an act or instance of placing two opposing elements close together or side by side. This is often done in order to Comparison, compare/contrast the two, to show similarities or differences, etc. Speech Juxtaposition in literary ...

to the main portion. Shortly before the second—and main—section, the 808s become significantly louder and the high hats play much quicker, implying that the song is about to enter the second section. This new section now includes a fuzzy guitar, drums, synths, a choir backing Gambino's lead vocal. A demon-like laughter appears occasionally in the background as well. Glover sings about how he is desperately in love, and essentially cannot live without the woman he's singing about. Despite her flaws, she has an unbounded "hold" on him. Glover ends his rant abruptly, as the song goes into its last section. The instrumentation is even more fragile than the first, including light guitar strumming, tambourines and shakers, delicately played drums, a

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

bass and singers. This section is the lengthiest in contrast with the rest of the song.

Charts

Personnel

* Childish Gambino – vocals, percussion * Ludwig Göransson – bass, guitars, synths * Chris Hartz – drums * Ray Suen – guitars * Brent Jones and the Bestlife Singers – choir * Lynette Williams – B3 organ * Zac Rae – moog synthesizer, B3 organ * Per Gunnar Juliusson – Rhodes, piano * Thomas Drayton – bass * bLAck pARty – drum programming * Şerban Ghenea - Mix

Certifications

References

External links

*
Lyrics of this song at Genius
{{authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs Glassnote Records singles Donald Glover songs Songs written by Ludwig Göransson Songs written by Donald Glover