6 Songs You Need To Hear (And 2 To Skip) From Childish Gambino's 'STN MTN/Kauai'

October 10, 2014 - 3:48 pm by Chris Yuscavage

Earlier this month, Childish Gambino released his latest project, a mixtape/EP called STN MTN/Kauai, in an unconventional way. First, he dropped STN MTN—a Gangsta Grillz mixtape—that featured him rapping over a bunch of popular Atlanta-based beats and paying homage to the city. And then, a short time later, he released Kauai—a seven-track EP available through iTunes—that featured him rapping over original beats. It provided his fans with a bunch of new Gambino material to sift through.

Which songs stood out from the pack, though? Both the mixtape and the EP are worth a listen, because they provide a glimpse into two different sides of Gambino's artistry. To help you sort through the project, here are 6 tracks from Childish Gambino's STN MTN/Kauai that you need to hear, plus 2 songs you can skip. Enjoy. —Chris Yuscavage

LISTEN: "Move That Dope/Nextel Chirp/Let Your Hair Blow," feat. Young Scooter from STN MTN On STN MTN, Gambino raps over a lot of really well-known beats that originated in Atlanta. So it's no surprise to hear him going—and going hard—over Future's "Move That Dope." But then, he randomly segues into the lesser-known Maceo track, "Nextel Chirp," before switching the song up again and flowing over a Zaytoven production—all without missing a beat. And he more than puts on for the city of Atlanta through his words. "Patience, congratulations, I'm on my A shit," he raps. The city is well represented here. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

LISTEN: "Sober," from Kauai If you've ever hit the bottle—or something else—to get over a bad breakup, then this is your soundtrack. Produced by Ludwig Goransson, it doesn't sound like the dark and gloomy song that you'd expect it to be. But thanks to Gambino's melancholy hook—"And now that it's over/I'll never be sober," he sings—it's packed with a lot of raw emotion. Once you get this song stuck in your head, you'll have a hard time getting it out. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

SKIP: "Poke," from Kauai There are some people out there who won't mind this song at all. It fits in well with the mood of the rest of the Kauai EP and features lots of singing from Gambino. What we don't necessarily like about it, though, is that Gambino sounds like he jacked Lil Wayne's flow on his entire rap verse—he sounds exactly like him on several of his bars—which is hard to get over. It's not the first time we've heard Gambino sound like Wayne (he actually referenced the comparisons between the two artists once on his song, "The Rocker"), but it seems more pronounced here. Maybe we're reaching, but there are definitely better efforts from Gambino on Kauai than this one. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

LISTEN:" Candler Road," from STN MTN The first minute and a half of this song—which was named after a street in Atlanta—is arguably the best minute and a half of the entire mixtape/EP. Gambino's first verse will have you restarting the song over and over (and over!) again. And while we do wish he wouldn't have switched up the beat once the hook hit, he tears the second verse to shreds as well. The hook is pretty much worthless (it seems like that was the point) but who cares when you've got verses as strong as the two on this track? [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

LISTEN: "Retro," from Kauai It's not often that you hear an artist take their own song and recreate it. But that's what Gambino did here. He polished up his 2008 track "Love Is Crazy" with a more more pop-driven hook, and created "Retro." It's interesting to listen to the original and then listen to this and hear how Gambino has improved over the last few years. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

SKIP: "3005 (Beach Picnic Version)," from Kauai Unless if you're the kind of guy or girl who likes beach picnics, you'll probably prefer the original "3005" to this version, which features a sped-up hook and a much more laid-back feel than "3005" did. That being said, it says something about STN MTN/Kauai as a whole that an unnecessary remix is one of the few missteps that we found on the project. It's a very solid effort by Gambino—and exactly what he needed to provide for his fans prior to his next album. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

LISTEN: "Late Night in Kauai," from Kauai This entire track is, well, interesting, to say the least. From the spoken word verse that Jaden Smith drops at the beginning of it to Gambino's solid bars—"Nigga, I'm a monster, fuck it, I'm a Monstar/Man, I got this beat, I'm goin' ham like a cop car"—to Gambino's bridge to Fam's spoken word verse, there's a lot going on here. The Rap Genius breakdown of the track is insane. But that makes it a song that you're going to want to run back quite a few times in an effort to try and unwrap it. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

LISTEN: "Go DJ," from STN MTN To be fair, just about anyone could hop on this beat and make it sound good. But Gambino didn't jump on "Go DJ" and go into cruise control. He did the beat justice by coming with lines like, "Bunch of crab-ass bloggers got me allergic to shellfish/If I fell off in a day, man, these niggas be helpless." It's a very fitting finish to the STN MTN mixtape. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: Getty Images

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