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What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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So many heads are in this van like:
He could also be talking about kids packing in the van that are up to no good. Chance comes from Chicago, a place where drive-bys and other illegal activities are not an uncommon occurrence.
He hang with girls like he Lena, but needed some time to re-up Childish Gambino – III. Life: The Biggest Troll [Andrew Auernheimer]
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Donald refers to Girls, an HBO networked show both written by and starring Lena Dunham. Donald starred in two episodes as a character named Sandy, a black Republican.
Donald abruptly left the show after he felt uncomfortable about some racially charged lines he improvised that inadvertently resonated with him.
Much like how he had to leave the show, Donald felt he needed a break from women to “re-up” or regather himself as a person; he needed to differentiate between his “Childish Gambino” persona and his true self, Donald Glover.
He could also be using “re-up” as a slang for indulging in drugs again, which he did a while back on “IV. Sweatpants”:
Friends with the dopeman, help a nigga re-up
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This refers to the fact that he’s not the first black celebrity to be named Glover. But as he mentioned a few lines back, he doesn’t need nepotism like the Coppolas (which would make this an allusion to Nicolas Cage – aka. Nicolas Coppola; who chose his stage name precisely to avoid nepotism).
This song is Gambino rapping from a rich boy alter ego, and he’s referencing how rich kids often have little respect for their family name, even though their family is the reason they have all the fame and fortune they possess. In other words a false sense of entitlement.
This part in the script is due to “The Boy” getting mad about not being able to understand the phrase “Roscoe’s Wetsuit” wherever he goes. He asks another kid with a hat and the kid can’t explain the phrase or why he’s using it so “The Boy” slams his hand on the diner table and gets mad.
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He’s sneezing because of the dust “these niggas” left on the previous line.
“At you” also sounds like “Ach-oo!” which is the sound one makes when they sneeze!
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An aviator is a person actively involved in flying an aircraft. So he’s in the sky (because he’s fly), going for the sun.
Aviators also are a type of sunglasses :
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Like a predator in the shadows….
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Many have commented on the basketball player’s resemblance to the dinosaur:
Gambino actually rented Bosh’s house in order to shoot his short film Clapping For The Wrong Reasons
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What is this?
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What is this?
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At this moment in the music video, Kendrick’s vocals (ironically) become unsynchronized with his lip movements, perhaps suggesting that his consciousness (or our collective consciousness) is not truly as crystal clear as we think. Harkening back to the first lines of the song:
What may be crystal clear in Kendrick’s perspective may be blurry to another.
I think Kendrick’s literally talking about the singular human consciousness we all fall under and what we are parts of, as a whole.
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This line is a clear reference to heaven. Here he already starts speaking from Nipsey’s POV and also hints that he is in heaven.
The very spiritual people of this world (which Kendrick seems to have turned into too) are aware that the main goal of existence (not just in this world) is a synchronized consciousness between all things and beings, as we are all one (this is also mentioned at the very beginning of the music video with the “I am. All of us.” quote).
He hints that this synchronization seems to be achieved in the after-life (heaven specifically).
This is also a subject that Eckhart Tolle (who is all over the album) talks about quite a bit in this works. Kendrick further tackles this subject throughout the album too if you pay close attention.