Metamodern Identity
Glover’s exploration of identity in the internet age tackles the metamodern concept that “the simultaneous anonymity and false intimacy of the Internet...confuses self-identity,” settling on a coexistence of identities in an individual (Abramson “10 Basic Principles”). The first line voiced by Glover on the album is “Who am I?” distorted electronically, establishing the examination of identity at the heart of this world, as well as the influence of the web (“I. Crawl”). In the final track off the album, he raps: “where’s the line between Donny G and Gambino?” and prompts his audience to explore the connections he has drawn between reality and fiction (“III. Life: The Biggest Troll (Andrew Auernheimer)”)
By constructing his world in parallel with his constructions of public self and setting, Glover adds the real world as a medium to his transmedia story, and thus makes the notion of connection for safety applicable to real world stress and predicaments. This simultaneous reality and fiction is part of the metamodern self. The chart to the left demonstrates some of the real-fiction parallels present in Because the Internet.
Glover references similar events and relationships between his interviews, song lyrics, script, and social media, thus encouraging fans to make connections between real life and the created world. Examining the identities constructed by Glover and the way he simultaneously inhabits these personas reflects the metamodern sense of multiplicity and fluidity in identity, as well as emphasizing methods of connection with others as intertwined with self-identity.
Glover is making the connection between reality and fiction for his audiences, emphasizing the applicability of the work.
“We became the same”
Blurring his identity through an examination (zoom in), paralleling the process of reading into his work and his self, Glover foreshadows and grounds his work in deconstructing barriers. This promotes a conception of fluidity in identity, recognizing Glover’s statements that “being young and black in America is schizophrenic, you have to change who you are a little bit all the time for people to even respect you” (Rosenberg Radio). The album cover represents this examination of identity uncovering naturally dynamic and simultaneous states. 
Fan discussion of this meme generator.Glover's inclusion of the meme generator on childishgambino.com evidences the transmedia incorporation of both participation and interactivity, providing audiences the means for exploration of associations with his constructed identity (Jenkins 133).
Glover also shared fan art that remixed the cover art, and included it on his twitter page at the time, using fan-created images as his profile picture, connecting with audiences and exploring the metamodern conception of identity, as well as the interplay between audience and author. This is connected with the origin of Glover's rap name, Childish Gambino: 
Through the filters of internet and rap culture, Glover creates art as Childish Gambino. There are distinctions in parts of these identities, as Glover stated that “I do look at [Childish Gambino] like ‘he’ — he has his own thing and his own stuff, and yes, those things are tied into my things and things I observe,” simultaneously connecting and disconnecting with facets of himself (Browne). The conception of a rap identity is not unique to Glover, and he discusses the fluidity of identity construction, stating that: “Even kids are rappers. When you go on Vine and you see a white kid and he’s like, “Thug life, fuck you” — that’s not David. That’s his rapper version” (Browne). Here, the web comes up as a means for sharing and spreading the form of identity, and the harsh demands of viral and attention-grabbing content on the web push identity construction to extremes. Furthermore, the mention of race calls to mind the extremism that occurs on the web, such as the prejudice that “white and nonblack users seem to especially prefer [content] with black people when it comes to emitting their most exaggerated emotions” (Jackson). This tie between racial biases and the role of race in identity demonstrates metamodern conceptions of identity in interpersonal relationships.
“Y’all gonna be begging, trade Childish for Iggy” -Charlamagne Tha God
Glover, speaking for the collective, raps that “[we] wear a mask like a lucha,” nodding to identity construction through connotations of wrestlers, as well as alluding to the African-American literary trope of the mask ("III. Life: The Biggest Troll").“As a black person I constantly have to know what people are assuming about me,” Glover says, and “[being black in America,] you have to change who you are a little bit for people to respect you,” keying in on the interplay between self-identity and outside perception (Breakfast Club 2014; Rosenberg Radio). Tying this back to the African-American trope, prominently established in “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the use of masks in navigating African-American identity serves as a fitting metaphor for the multiplicity and construction required to socially operate in American society. The role of race in both perception and construction of identity is formative. When considering the construct of race in context of fluidity and dynamism, racial identity becomes blurred, and metamodernism appeals as a means of amalgamating fluidity.Listen to Charlamagne tha God speak, concerning Glover's nomination for multiple Grammy awards in 2013 for his work on Because the Internet, in the following clip:Charlamagne the God racially identifies Glover based on behavior rather than appearance, going even further, specifically tying him to Iggy Azalea, herself a figure of white appropriation of hip-hop and African-American culture (Trending Tracks). Glover, aware that Charlamagne is critical of him, seeks to reconcile this critique with the discrimination he has faced due to his race. Speaking on Glover’s upbringing, his collaborator Fam explained: “I grew up two blocks from where the LA riots took place and where a lot of Boyz N Da Hood was filmed, and I went to Donald’s old house for the first time and thought it was as equally shitty as where I grew up,” serving as a certification of Glover’s authentic struggle with race and class (Pigeons & Planes). When Glover details the discrimination he faces in interviews, and grapples with public perception of him as not having undergone the struggle of African-American identity in its harsher conceptions, the fluid relationship between self and others in construction of identity results in a metamodern existential dilemma.
“Never understood the hate on a n[*****] preference, when every marriage is a same-sex marriage. / Same sex everyday, monotonous”
Childish Gambino, “III. Life: The Biggest Troll”
Through reference between media forms as well as his portrayal of homosocial interaction, Glover conveys the fluid spectrum of sexuality as another aspect of dynamic identity.
In Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, while sitting on the perch in the middle of the infinity pool, Fam comments on the violence he has known, and times he was afraid of having a gun, to which Glover responds with a tale of when he was a young boy and a foster child living in his room kissed him and touched his butt. Remarking this personal experience is an act of vulnerability, and Fam’s even-keeled question and acceptance, “He kissed you? Huh” presents effective connection.
There are also multiple lyrical pieces of evidence that Glover was grappling with homoeroticism, such as this perspective on “III. Urn”
Since his work is intensely personal, and he blurs lines between real and fictional, Glover was asked about this in interviews, and he responded: “I just said fuck it, let me tell the story of how one time I kissed a boy. Am I gay? I don't know, maybe. But the maybe is what's really connecting us” (Pastuk). When asked on the Breakfast Club radio show by the aforementioned Charlamagne Tha God if he was homosexual, he repeated his answer, “nah, I mean, maybe? I don’t know”, with the slight change in tone of “nah” being an initial rejection founded by normative behavior and homosocial pressure to conform, representing an attempt to connect with his confrontational interviewer (2013). Charlamagne’s confrontational attempts at emasculation, such as his insulting Glover based on a claim that he “smells awful,” are the threat that Glover seeks to parry with admission and acceptance of fluid identity (Trending Tracks). In this vulnerability, Glover exemplifies strength, modeling forward-thinking recognition of metamodern identity. Recounting his own experience and giving it the platform of his art, Glover reaches out to audiences, referring to homosexuality and the sexual spectrum as a normative entity, even as he acknowledges that it hasn’t always been that way.
Rapper Kevin Abstract,[1] lead of the boy band Brockhampton, wrote at the conception of his own career that “Childish Gambino made things easier for kids like me,” to create their art. Both in the transmedia methods used to create worlds and in his fearless subject matter, Glover inspires audiences to express and develop art that explores across frontiers.
[1] Kevin’s career has achieved notoriety, in part, for his outright celebration of his homosexuality. Inspired by Glover (as well as contemporary transmedia artists such as: Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, and Shia LaBeouf) to be himself and represent himself in his music, his lyrics include: “ ‘Why you always rap about bein' gay?’ / 'Cause not enough [n*****] rap and be gay / Where I come from, [n*****] get called "f****t" and killed / So I'ma get head from a [n****] right here / And they can come and cut my hand off and, and my legs off and / And I'ma still be a boss 'til my head gone, yeah” (Brockhampton). Furthermore, he practices similar transmedia techniques: rapping, directing music videos, and creating the TV show American Boyband with Brockhampton.
Kevin also got the idea to have furniture on stage during performances from Gambino’s Deep Web Tour - most importantly, the couch. Many fans of BROCKHAMPTON will instantly recognize the imagery of their couch, which they repurpose for logos. This was inspired by the couch on stage at the Deep Web Tour.
The Temple, with an “infinity pool, and a statue that’s Buddhist”
Glover rented this house, referred to as “the temple,” in the Palisades owned by Chris Bosh, NBA superstar, characterized by its tropical look and grounds, glass walls, Buddha statue in the foyer, and infinity pool. ROYALTY lived in this house while creating Because the Internet, reminiscent of Kanye West’s “summer camp for rappers” in Hawaii that birthed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Cuchna). In Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, the multiple scenes reveal different areas of the house, and in the film, Glover captured “the drifting, the not-knowing. Whether it be through relationships or through the house” (Pastuk). The infinity pool, spiral staircase, and Buddha statue in the house intertwine ideas of spirituality, reincarnation, and cycles with the house (Glover 2). The house is lavish and a representation of The Boy’s money, yet isolated at the top of the hill, and as a black male in the Palisades neighborhood, which is predominantly white, The Boy is an outsider.
Utilizing the nature of the Palisades in real life, Glover uses this as “a way of categorizing who belongs in a particular context and who is ‘out of place’” (Bernstein & Chatelain). In his song “IV. Sweatpants,” Glover raps: “got a glass house in the Palisades, that A.K.A. / white hood, white hood, (Okay-kay-kay),” connecting the house to his identity with “A.K.A.” and referring to his outsider status by calling the neighborhood a “white hood,” also representing the Ku Klux Klan, as noted in the background vocal after this line. Glover further connects the house to his identity in the script, as the house provides a safe haven for The Boy and his friends to do as they please, and at night, “people can see right inside,” when the lights are on since “most of the walls are glass,” representing the vulnerability of expressive identity (Glover 47).
The use of the house as a symbol for identity reveals the constructed nature of identity, through the architecture and design aspects of the house. Thematic elements tied to the idea of cycle in the house, such as the infinity pool, spiral staircase, and Buddha statue reveal, in tandem with Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, a sense of repetition in feeling. The close relationship between The Boy and the Buddha statue; “he used to be terrified of this Buddha… but he slowly became something like a best friend” (this description occurs right before The Boy’s suicide attempt), as well as Glover’s interaction with the statue in Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, highlights a relationship with reincarnation and cycles (47). The Boy imagines himself floating in the infinity pool as his death, mirrored in the music video for “Yaphet Kotto,” furthering the connection between cycles and death, alluding to the deaths of protagonists in both The Great Gatsby and Sunset Boulevard, and creating a sense of identity at the center of crisis (Glover 70).
The Great Gatsby - Pool Scene
Sunset Boulevard Opening Scene
“yaphet kotto”
Speaking of the house as a whole, it is important to note the house’s status as an heirloom of high class, passed down to The Boy from his father, thus representative of a long-term constructed identity, and one that The Boy operates within, having been created by his father, Rick Ross.“Cherry red chariot, excess is just my character”
-Rick Ross
The Because the Internet movie poster, distributed at the private mansion shows. Art by Sam Spratt
The presence of Rick Ross is felt throughout Because the Internet, even though Ross himself holds no credits or attributions on the production or creation of the world. Why then, does Glover make such emphasized use of his identity, both in the fictional world and in interviews? It is because Ross exemplifies the constructed identity in rap music and culture. His lavish music, claiming riches and success in extreme, “only makes sense if you suspend belief in everything else except for what he tells you and show you” (Serrano 177). Constructing an identity of lavishness, even though it was later revealed he originated as a correctional officer, “Ross single-handedly adjusted the valuation of credibility in rap,” ending the era when identity and message conveyed in songs had to be backed up with reality and experience (178). Thus, Ross symbolizes the construction of a public identity through art, as well as the money that gives The Boy his house and constitutes his social class. Ross’ album Mastermind was scheduled to release a week after Because the Internet, which Glover claimed help him achieve his release date goal of early December (The Breakfast Club 2013). Glover sought this release date since that was when people would have the time to delve into the world. Ross serves as a symbolic figure in the narrative, placed ominously large and in the background of the movie poster, seeming disconnected from The Boy both in the script and video game trailer, and his death serves as a catalyst for The Boy’s search to be less alone (Spratt; Glover). Ultimately, Ross’ constructed identity is symbolic of the identity overlapping Glover exercises, as Glover claimed in an interview, “no one has a problem with Rick Ross, because that’s what it is,” capturing this amalgamation of reality and fiction and applying it to Because the Internet as representation of metamodern identity (Browne). Ross’ death in the script leaves The Boy an orphan, stirring existential crisis in loneliness, and subsequent outreach.