Sasquatch! 2012: Childish Gambino

Credit: Christopher Nelson

Childish Gambino … hip hop at it’s finest on the Sasquatch! main stage.

Opening with “Firefly,” Gambino had the crowed by the neck the moment his band stepped on stage. He came charging out and the crowd went ballistic.

The stage set up made the performance pretty entertaining as there were two elevated drum set ups, a violin and additional keyboard set up, all which boxed Gambino in as the central focal point. Three of the four band mates had drums that they ended up using in unison at one point during “Freaks and Geeks”. It was a really sick way to see a hip-hop show as the band took full advantage of each drum and bass line. The drummers’ heavy hitting made the performance that much more powerful and theatrical. Especially during “All The Shine.”

Credit: Christopher Nelson

Gambino, walking around with a puffed up chest delivered his lyrics with a vengeance. He was in it from start to finish with high energy and commanding stage presence. Aside from playing most records off his album Camp, Gambino also performed a few singles from his forthcoming mix tape.

Often times when hip hop artists sing on records, the recording sounds pristine, but that doesn’t translate well into live performances. That was absolutely not the chase with Gambino. His voice translated perfectly and when performing the choruses of “Heartbeat,” not to mention the crowd sang every word of it right back to him.

Check out the video of Childish Gambino performing “Heartbeat.”