# Childish Gambinos This Is America "This Is America" is a 2018 Childish Gambino song whose Hiro Murai-directed music video pairs dance moves with sudden gun violence, sparking Twitter theory threads, r/MemeEconomy object-labeling posts, and a Vice-versus-meme-fans backlash. The clip later fueled a 2020 TikTok protest-edit wave and plagiarism claims tied to rapper Jase Harley. ## Overview "This Is America" is a 2018 song by Childish Gambino, the rap alias of actor Donald Glover, best known for the Hiro Murai-directed music video that pairs upbeat dance moves with sudden acts of gun violence inside a warehouse[1]. The video was widely read as a critique of American racism, police brutality, and media distraction, with Glover's exaggerated poses drawing comparisons to Jim Crow-era caricatures[1]. The clip's dense background staging, including a suicide, a rider on a pale horse, and the shooting of a gospel choir, turned it into an interpretive puzzle for viewers who paused frame-by-frame on Twitter[2]. Within days of release, stills from the video also became object-labeling meme templates on Reddit's r/MemeEconomy[3]. ## How It Spread The Guardian called the video a "satirical masterpiece" and cataloged Twitter theories about Jim Crow imagery, black performance labor, and the "shoot" dance move distracting from the rioting staged behind Glover[1]. CNN highlighted how the guns in the video were handled more carefully than the human victims, tying the imagery to the ongoing gun control debate and the use of Black artists as a "brand shield"[2]. Within a week, stills spread on r/MemeEconomy as object-labeling posts, including one by user Thehusseler referencing recent Kanye West comments that topped 18,000 upvotes[3]. On May 8, 2018, Vice published a piece arguing meme-makers should not turn the video into image macros because doing so reduced the source to a punchline[3]. The r/MemeEconomy Twitter account replied with "The Meme Economy is not meant for you," and mocking posts flooded r/MemeEconomy and r/dankmemes over the following days[3]. In late June, New Jersey rapper Jase Harley's 2016 track "American Pharaoh" resurfaced after fans flagged similar beat, flow, and subject matter; Metro reported Harley told Instagram commenters he was "not mad" but felt a shout out would have been "cool"[4]. The song surfaced again on TikTok in 2020, when creator @carneyval posted a mashup with Post Malone's "Congratulations" on April 22 that was used in over 390,700 videos within a month[3]. During the George Floyd protests, protest edits from @kareemrahma on May 28 and @suecothechild on May 31 drew millions of views each in days[3]. ## How to Use The object-labeling format takes a still from the video, usually Glover striking a pose or firing a weapon, and labels the actors and objects to stand in for a real-world scenario, often something being ignored while a distraction plays in the foreground[3]. On TikTok, creators typically use the "This Is America" audio (or the Post Malone "Congratulations" mashup) as a backdrop for a jump-cut between a lighthearted moment and a serious social image[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Childish Gambinos This Is America? It is a 2018 song and Hiro Murai-directed music video by Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) that pairs choreography with sudden gun violence as a comment on American racism and media distraction[1]. ### Where did Childish Gambinos This Is America come from? Glover premiered the track on Saturday Night Live on May 5, 2018, then uploaded the video to his YouTube channel the same night[2]. ### What does Childish Gambinos This Is America mean? Critics and Twitter viewers read the video as a critique of gun violence, police brutality, and the treatment of Black artists as a "brand shield," with Jim Crow-style poses signaling forced performance[2]. ### How do you use Childish Gambinos This Is America? Stills from the video are used as object-labeling templates on r/MemeEconomy, and the audio is used on TikTok, often in a mashup with Post Malone's "Congratulations"[3]. ### Is Childish Gambinos This Is America still popular? The video is a 2018 classic that saw a fresh TikTok wave in 2020 during the George Floyd protests, when protest edits by creators like @kareemrahma and @suecothechild drew millions of views[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/07/this-is-america-theories-donald-glover-satirical-video-childish-gambino]() 2. [https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/07/entertainment/childish-gambino-this-america-video/index.html]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/childish-gambinos-this-is-america]() 4. [https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/25/childish-gambino-accused-stealing-elements-america-rapper-jase-harley-7657643/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/childish-gambinos-this-is-america Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library