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This Video Breaks Down the Lyrics to “This Is America”

in CultureWords By Fabian Gorsler
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When Childish Gambino dropped “This Is America” last week, the world sat up and listened — more than 100 million times on YouTube alone. Not only is the song currently charging to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, its politically charged message has provoked important discussions among everyone who has heard the song and watched its visually searing video.

Now, the experts over at Genius have attempted to decode the meaning behind Gambino’s "This Is America" lyrics.

The video above breaks down each of the themes of “This Is America” from the 2015 Charleston church shooting in South Carolina to the shooting of Stephon Clark this year, and touches upon some of the same themes we uncovered here.

Watch the video above and then let us know if you agree with Genius’ interpretation of "This Is America" lyrics in the comments. And be sure to check out the rest of the annotations on Genius here.

Next, check out our Op-Ed on how “This Is America” takes aim at way more than gun control here.

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