From the first notes of "Me and Your Mama," it was clear that Donald Glover was moving in a new direction with his third album as Childish Gambino, Awaken, My Love!. Glover himself opened up about his influences on the record, saying that it was heavily inspired by the feeling he got from listening to Parliament Funkadelic as a kid.
The album was released late Thursday night, and Questlove wasted no time in offering his resounding praise for the music. "I thought I was getting some fresh millennial 2016 hip hop shit and I got sucker punched," he wrote on Instagram, before referencing past albums by black musicians that defied expectations like Sly & The Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On.
"The co-author of #WearwolfBarmitzvah just SONNED the shit outta me," he continued. "In the best way possible. I was NOT expecting a trip to Detroit circa 1972 at United Sound Studios." Read the full note above and listen to Childish Gambino's "Redbone" single below.