Live Review: Childish Gambino & Miracle

In the past five years, a new wave of rappers have emerged who substitute traditional hood rhymes surrounding 'racks' and 'bitches' with intellectual and witty commentary on mundane events in everyday life, much like a deadpan comedy act set to a beat. Popularised by TV show Community, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) heads this rap revolution, doubling up as a comedian and rapper, and using his talents in both fields to complement one another. Although support act Miracle was less than impressive, performing a kitchy cover medley of A$AP Rocky's Fuckin' Problems transitioned into Macklemore's Thrift Shop, Childish Gambino managed to compensate for this.

Glover's live presence was as amusing as it was dynamic, as a very metaphorically 'white', gawky looking Gambino hit the stage wearing a bulky hoodie in the unbearable summer heat. Immediately it was evident that Glover was not born a conventional 'rapper', based on a void of subversive attitude and thug sensibility. His lyrical poetry in opening track Outside was dense, as the crowd rhymed along to the words, “They talking hood shit and I ain't know what that was about!” – words which apply directly to Gambino's sensible rap aesthetic. Subscribing to Gambino's feel-good theme, Firefly followed as a warehouse space of 500 people bounced dramatically to the throbbing beat provided by the vigorous live band. Although there were some inherit technical issues, particularly during crowd favourite Freaks And Geeks, Gambino's energy was impenetrable and inspired his fans to follow through. Splicing impromptu freestyles into a set that had every single crowd member mesmerised, Gambino offered a mixture of tracks from his inaugural album Camp and recent mixtape Royalty, arranged immaculately. Tracks such as Heartbeat and mixtape pick Unnecessary translated perfectly in a live setting due to the vitriol in the rhymes and the choral overture which encouraged crowd members to sing or rap along passionately.