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Donald Glover Takes Aim at Gun Violence and Racism In Politically-Charged Video ‘This Is America’

After a stunning performance as host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” actor-musician Donald Glover released the official video for his politically-charged new single, “This Is America.”

While Glover debuted the song during his “SNL” performance, it was the subsequent visuals that sent tongues a-wagging. The four-minute track features a bare-chested Glover, who also goes by the stage name “Childish Gambino,” comically dancing around a large warehouse alongside a handful of schoolkids and a church choir.

His lighthearted antics take a dark turn, however, when he pulls out a semi-automatic rifle and unleashes a hail of bullets on the cloaked singers. He does the same to a hooded captive, firing a single shot to the back of his head.

“This Is America, don’t catch you slippin’ though,” Glover raps. ” … Look how I’m livin’  though, police be trippin’ though / Yeah, this is America, guns in my area / I got the strap, I gotta carry ’em.”

Fans and celebrities alike quickly took to Twitter to applaud Glover’s “musical genius,” and offered several different interpretations of the symbolism featured in the video. Some saw the rapper’s playful antics as a nod to the fictional Jim Crow cartoon while others believed he offered social commentary on how hip-hop has essentially turned a blind eye to pretty much everything going wrong in America.

Then there was the scene where Glover’s gun was handled with such great care, which fans saw as America’s fierce defense of the 2nd Amendment and its precious firearms.

“This is so amazing and true that I wanna cry,” tweeted fellow rapper Jaden Smith.

Praiseworthy tweets for the Atlanta-native continued pouring in from the late night until early Sunday morning.

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