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Childish Gambino, 'Sober'

If only real life played out like it does in the latest video from Childish Gambino. It's a chilly night at a take-out restaurant in the city. The singer and rapper (and actor otherwise known as Donald Glover), slouches in a booth eyeing a beautiful woman at a nearby table. As Childish Gambino's sexy slow-jam "Sober" plays in the restaurant, he rises and lurches into some sort of mating dance, attempting to woo the woman. To be sure, as he later reveals, he is very, very high.

As with much of Childish Gambino's work, it's both comical and kick-ass. Just when you think it's all a joke, he busts out some genuinely cool moves. And when "Sober" starts to feel a little too cheesy, like some steamy seduction we've heard a million times, it erupts into a gnarled, dark grind. Is this guy for real? Is it all a put-on? Not knowing is part of the joy in watching it all unfold.

"Sober" is from Childish Gambino's EP Kauai, released last October.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.