Four Years Later, An Updated And Upgraded Version Of Childish Gambino’s 3.15.20 Project ‘Atavista’

For years, Childish Gambino’s Atavista hid in plain sight. When he released an unfinished version of the record on March 15, 2020, it spent just 12 hours on his website before he pulled it down. Reappearing on streaming a week later as 3.15.20, the project brought up almost as many questions as sparkling neo-soul anthems, which still sounded slicker than the average as raw cuts titled after timestamps.

Flash forward to 2024 and Donald Glover has upgraded and updated 3.15.20 with added tracks. He worked closely with Los Angeles producer DJ Dahi and Swedish producer and esteemed film and TV composer Ludwig Göransson, a longtime collaborator, to set a sumptuous tone seated back between the ’70s funk reverence of 2016’s “Awaken, My Love!” and the smooth Caribbean-inflected soul of 2014’s Kauai.

Features from Ariana Grande, 21 Savage, and Summer Walker soar on reinvigorated mixes, while “Little Foot Big Foot” features a spotlight-ready Young Nudy, finding Gambino’s eye still fixed towards the future of the regional scene he portrayed in vivid color on FX’s Atlanta.

Atavista is an ode to impermanence, never more directly than over the glimmering guitar of “Time” with Grande. (“One thing’s for certain, baby/We’re running out of time,” they harmonize on the chorus.) But in Gambino’s capable hands, Atavista also slows down to enjoy the view, the sonic equivalent of a luxe leather-interior BMW cruising an open California highway.

“I did what I wanted to,” he revels on closing track “Final Church.” Atavista took many shapes over the years to reach a final form. In each warm refrain, tight sequence, and carefully chosen collaborator, Gambino demonstrates why some things are worth waiting for.

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