Childish Gambino’s “Feels Like Summer” music video is here to officially mark the end of the Summer. He released the single last month, along with another single “Summertime Magic” as his entrees for the hottest summer hit playlist.
Although the song is about Summer, there is nothing Summer-y about the music video. The time is set to sunset, and everything looks mellow, as opposed to what Summer-happiness would look like. The animated video shows Childish Gambino taking a walk through a street and he meets different kinds of people doing different things. Gambino does not seem to be happy or excited about anything happening around him. He does not even acknowledge the people that pass through him.
Taking a closer look at the random people portrayed in the “Feels Like Summer” music video, we learn that these are not random people at all. The video is filled with artists from past to present-some even passed away.
Full List of Artists Shown in “Feels Like Summer” Music Video
Below is a list of all the artists shown in the video and the timestamp when you can find them. Credits to Андрей Заварзин for coming up with the list.
- Lil Pump and Trippie Redd (00:46)
- 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’ (00:48)
- Kodak Black (00:57)
- Migos (1:00)
- Chance the Rapper, Jaden Smith, and Birdman (1:20)
- Will Smith (1:25)
- Azealia Banks (1:28)
- Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott (1:29)
- The Weeknd, Ty Dolla $ign, and Frank Ocean (1:35)
- A$AP Rocky, Solange, and Willow Smith (1:39)
- Soulja Boy (1:41)
- Drake and Future (1:46)
- Kid Cudi (1:59)
- Kanye West and Michelle Obama (2:06)
- Beyoncé and reference to Fredo Santana (2:15)
- Reference to XXXtentacion (2:25)
- Lil Uzi Vert, Oprah Winfrey, Kehlani, and Tiffany Haddish (2:42)
- Lil Yachty and Charlamagne (2:45)
- Gucci Mane (2:49)
- Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Diddy, Wiz Khalifa and JAY-Z (2:51)
- Ball Brothers and Young Thug (2:58)
- Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Pusha T, and Lil Wayne (3:01)
- Rae Sremmurd and J. Cole (3:03)
- Janelle Monaé and Tessa Thompson (3:11)
- Chris Brown (3:29)
- Outkast (3:39)
- Rihanna (3:47)
- Whitney Houston (3:54)
- Michael Jackson (Black) (4:04)
Watch “Feels Like Summer” Music Video by Donald Glover
With the given mix of artists, it is quite difficult to make a concrete conclusion as to what Donald Glover is trying to tell with this artistic music video.
It feels as if every artist portrayed here has their own backstory. Like Kanye West weeping over something and Michelle Obama comforting him, although he is wearing a ‘make America great again’ cap which is Trump’s slogan.
There are two phases of this music video. One is what Gambino sees while he walks down this street. Second is what he sees when closes his eyes for a second. He reflects on some of the legends of the game such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Beyonce, Outkast, and Rihanna while his eyes are closed.
Interesting how Eminem is left out of the music video considering he is one of the biggest influences on rap and hip-hop ever.
Let us know your ideas about the music video for “Feels Like Summer.” What is Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover trying to say in the music video? Leave a comment below.
Also, thumbs up for the character designer Justin Richburg.