Camp - Childish Gambino
Camp Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 88 Ratings

  • Summary: The second studio album for comedy writer and Community actor Donald Glover was coproduced with Ludwig Goransson.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 27
  2. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. It's less surefire than Culdesac. But it's more satisfying emotionally.
  2. May 31, 2012
    80
    The identity-crisis themed Camp trumps through whip-smart intelligence, comic brio and bristling malign intent. [Jan 2012, p.90]
  3. Dec 21, 2011
    60
    Glover's wit and dexterity confirm he's the real deal. [Jan. 2012 p. 119]
  4. Dec 2, 2011
    16
    While Glover's exaggerated, cartoonish flow and overblown pop-rap production would be enough to make Camp one of the most uniquely unlikable rap records of this year (and most others), what's worse is how he uses heavy topics like race, masculinity, relationships, street cred, and "real hip-hop" as props to construct a false outsider persona.

See all 27 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Negative: 2 out of 37
  1. Camp is one of the best debut hip-hop albums that I can recall since possibly Kanye's "The College Dropout." I really don't understand how Pitchfork can bash this album so hard. Glover's style is truly fresh and unique. One of my favorites of the year. Expand
  2. First time hearing Gambino. I'm impressed. He's very aggressive with her lyrics. I clearly understand his story and theme. He's telling us a message and I advise everybody to hear it. The only thing I don't like is that he's too aggressive. Expand
  3. This is more of a 7.5 than a 7, but it was a pretty good cd. Obviously the 3 popular tracks (bonfire, all the shine, heartbeat) are great songs, but some of the other songs got a little dull. I commend CG for doing what he wanted to do, and i hope he tours near me Expand
  4. This is definitely one of the most overrated rap albums in recent memory. The bottom line is that I can't get over the fact that Childish Gambino's vision of himself is complete B.S. He doesn't have any credibility in his lyrics, and his lyrics are pretty elementary to begin with. Everyone seems to compare this album to Kanye West's College Dropout and it's NOWHERE NEAR the level of that album. That album had a guest artist on just about every track (a smart move), because Kanye was and still is more about production than actual lyrics. The production on that album was light years ahead of this album's production and that album came out 8 years ago. Hearing Cambino rap about, "struggle" and "overcoming his race" is like having a million microscopic dicks penetrating my ears. I would compare Cambino to Drake more than anybody, but at least Drake (as emo as he is) doesn't try and make this persona of growing up in a rough childhood. Gambino is dellusional. He grew up as a Jehovah's witness, with parents who put him through school to get a college degree. I have complete respect for that, but he almost seems ashamed of being privileged growing up, so he creates this phony persona to help him get over his insecurity. He tries to sound gritty, but it's impossible to believe when he's more concerned with being "GQ". A rapper has to be credible, or at the very least not completely phony, but I don't buy anything he says. On that basis alone I can't like this album, and I can't relate to it in any way whatsoever. This album shouldn't have been called Camp... it should have been called Campy. Expand

See all 37 User Reviews