What’s the point of rap if you can’t be yourself, huh?

from Childish Gambino – All the Shine Lyrics on Rap Genius

CG often makes light of the fact that he is so different from other more conventional rappers and how he attracts more of an indie/hipster following.

He’s commenting that most rappers construct a persona they’re then tied to for the remainder of their careers. This persona, being a persona, allows those other rappers to exaggerate and lie about how hard they are, and to make countless, countless “you don’t know me” songs, though, as we know from Vonnegut, “we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be”. So instead of assuming and making an ass of you and me, CG is just fully, actually being himself. Rare!

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