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12.38
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Wikipedia article
"'12.38'" is a song by American rapper Donald Glover, performed under the stage name Childish Gambino, from his fourth studio album, '3.15.20' (2020). The song features guest vocals by rapper 21 Savage, American singer-songwriter Atia "Ink" Boggs, and American musician Kadhja Bonet. All vocalists on the track, along with Glover and DJ Dahi, wrote the song; the latter two also produced the track.
Glover sings about a psilocybin-induced trip with a girl, while 21 Savage raps about police harassment. Critics praised the song's comedic narrative and 21 Savage's guest appearance. "12.38" peaked at number 22 on the NZ Hot Singles published by Recorded Music NZ.
Background and recording
after their 2018 tracks "This Is America" and "Monster".
Producer DJ Dahi called the creation of the song an evolving process. Dahi had an initial beat with chords provided by Ely Rise. Kadhja Bonet's vocals were for another track, but were chopped and reused for "12.38". Dahi described the track as having "funky, odd, but feels good" energy. The song was momentarily put to the side, but Gambino continued writing his verse. Rapper 21 Savage recorded his guest verse and American singer-songwriter Atia "Ink" Boggs was invited to co-write on the song. Glover and 21 Savage previously collaborated in 2018 on the former's single "This Is America" and the track "Monster" from the latter's second studio album 'I Am > I Was'.
Composition and lyrics
Noah Yoo of 'Pitchfork' described the production of "12.38" as a "sensual, minimalistic bounce." The song interpolates Andr 3000's song "Vibrate". In the song, a girl feeds Glover psilocybin, who is unfamiliar with the psychedelic drug. Sexual tension builds up as his girlfriend keeps texting him, causing his phone to vibrate. Glover uses humorous lines such as "Why your cat looking at me sideways?" in place of a hook and chorus. His verse continues as a beat-by-beat breakdown of the psilocybin use, until he wakes up alone. He name-checks multiple female artists, including Toni Braxton, SZA, and Chaka Khan.
21 Savage raps about police harassment; he was previously detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February 2019. 21 Savage also raps about Popeyes' chicken and cartoon character Popeye's spinach. By the end, the song "devolves into spirals of vocal echoes" as a result of the psilocybin trip kicking in.
Release and promotion
The song originally surfaced under the unofficial title "Vibrate" when Glover streamed '3.15.20' on his website on March 15, 2020. The track was titled "12.38" upon the album's official release on March 22, 2020. Only the tracks "Algorythm" and "Time" have proper names; the rest, such as "12.38", are marked by their respective timestamps. "12.38" was released as a single to urban adult contemporary radio on April 14, 2020, along with "Sweet Thang (24.19)".
Critical reception
Kitty Empire of 'The Guardian' called the song excellent and described it as having "the feel of narrative fiction". Empire stated that the song "could be an episode of 'Atlanta'," an American comedy-drama television series created by Glover. Rowan5215 of 'Sputnikmusic' called the song hilarious and wrote that Glover "[weaponizes] his full range to spin some 'The Love Below'-style seduction." Okla Jones of 'Consequence of Sound' called the song witty and sonically-pleasing as Glover "taps into his prowess as both a writer and a comic." Jones wrote that 21 Savage's verse had Southern charm and was must-needed. Noah Yoo of 'Pitchfork' praised 21 Savage's "particularly on point" guest appearance. Yoo wrote that as the song ends in spiraling echoes, "it's 21's lyrics youre left thinking about."
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.
* Childish Gambino lead artist, producer, lyricist, composer
* 21 Savage featured vocals, lyricist, composer
* Atia "Ink" Boggs featured vocals, lyricist, composer
* Kadhja Bonet featured vocals, lyricist, composer
* DJ Dahi producer, lyricist, composer
* Chukwudi Hodge drums
* Kurtis McKenzie drums
* Carlos "Loshendrix" Munoz guitar
* Ely Rise keyboards
* James Francies, Jr. synthesizers
* Riley Mackin recording, mixing
Charts
References
Category:2020 songs
Category:Donald Glover songs
Category:Songs written by Donald Glover
Category:Songs written by 21 Savage
Category:Songs about drugs
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