A Return to Psychedelic Funk: An Inquiry into Childish Gambino’s “Redbone”

Abstract

Author(s): Haddad, Madeline | Abstract: Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” has incited manywaves of impact across today’s pop culture media. His songuses features of the 1970s psychedelic funk movement,such as slap bass space feels and paranoia, to recall theBlack Power Movement and illustrate the fear of Blacknessin modern society while asking listeners to “stay woke” inpolitical activism. This paper examines the origins of theFunkadelic movement along with its social implicationswithin the Black Power Movement. It is then followed by amusical analysis of “Redbone” with a focus on the harmonic,melodic, and instrumental aspects of the piece and its directrelations to the 1970s movement while providing a novelvariation. Cries to “stay woke” in the lyrics reemphasize thecall to action, bringing wide reception and success to boththe subsequent album and Glover as an artist.