Last seen cutting a boogie with his 8-year-old son Cosimo on-stage, and last heard dropping bluegrass-tinged singles through Jack White’s Third Man Records; the genre-defying Beck has cropped up again in an unlikely collaboration with Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino.
Pitchfork first spotted that the Community-starring Glover had dropped a new track over at his website, I Am Donald, called “Silk Pillow” a taste of the actor-come-rapper’s forthcoming mixtape under his childhood guise.
Who should feature but Beck Hansen, in yet another intriguing, high-profile collab in the lead-up to his long-awaited follow-up to 2008′s Modern Guilt.
Co-produced by Beck, “Silk Pillow” is rife with his aural influence, featuring the musical chameleon rapping over a plaintive, reverbed piano against a lazy half-shuffle. Spinning semi-stream-of-consciousness lyrics the way old-skool Beck used to; like “Centrifugal force pulling me off-course, in a horse race/Changing horses midstream, fourteenth place.”
Pitchfork also notes that it’s the first time Beck has spat some rhymes since 2006 for the Nigel Godrich-produced record, The Information.
Gambino’s lyrical contribution features his reliable brand of Kanye West-isms, “What was I thinkin’? I wasn’t/What am I drinkin’? I’m buzzin'” as well as his usual obscure pop culture references, including shout-outs to singer Keke Palmer and Brazilian TV hostess Xuxa (You know, the usual).
Take the Beck-featured Childish Gambino track for a spin below:
Childish Gambino: “Silk Pillow” F. Beck by prefixmag
