It's been an unconventional and slightly confusing rollout for Childish Gambino's latest mixtape/EP release, STN MTN/Kaui, to say the least. STN MTN—the mixtape part presented by DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz series—was released this past Thursday and featured tracks we weren't really feeling (we passed on a post), but the second and EP part of the release is what we were really looking forward to, and now that it's here, we're happy to highlight some of the best efforts from it. According to Gambino the mixtape and EP are one complete project: "The Gangsta Grillz mixtape is a dream, and the dream ends when I wake up in Kauai. And they go into each other; it’s one complete project. You can download the mixtape and you can go buy the EP. The money from the EP goes to help keeping Kauai clean." The seven-track EP also features occasional narration/poetry from Jaden Smith, who fictionally plays what Gambino calls the "boy" of the story. Musically, Kauai is more R&B than hip-hop, and like the first taste we got from the EP with "Sober", the rest of the tracks feature Gambino hitting those high notes over upbeat production. There's still sprinkles of quick-flowing raps from Donald Glover (most notably on "Retro"), but it's not the focal point of the project by any means. That being said, there's not a single bad track on this EP, and there's no doubt fans of Gambino are going to love it. Before you head on over to iTunes and make the purchase, then, check out our favourites below. Access Kauai on iTunes.
Childish Gambino