<P> "This Is America" is a song by American rapper Childish Gambino . Written and produced by Gambino and Ludwig Göransson, it was released on May 5, 2018, at the same time that Gambino was hosting that day's episode of Saturday Night Live . The song features background vocals by American rappers Young Thug, Slim Jxmmi, BlocBoy JB, 21 Savage, and Quavo . </P> <P> The song's music video was directed by Japanese filmmaker Hiro Murai, a frequent Gambino collaborator . According to RCA Records, the song is not the first single from Gambino's upcoming studio album . "This Is America" debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Gambino's first number one and top ten single in the country . </P> <P> The song features a gospel - style choir and background contributions from various American rappers . Young Thug, Slim Jxmmi, BlocBoy JB, 21 Savage and Quavo each deliver an ad - lib . Young Thug returns to supply the song's outro . The lyrics primarily address being black in the United States and gun violence in the country . It also touches on police brutality . Pitchfork's Stephen Kearse described the song as a representation of the "tightrope of being black", with the song "built on the sharp contrast between jolly, syncretic melodies and menacing trap cadences". </P> <P> Directed by Hiro Murai, the music video for the song was released on YouTube simultaneously with Gambino's performance of the song on Saturday Night Live . The video follows Gambino dancing through a warehouse, interacting with a series of chaotic scenes . According to Murai, the video was inspired by the films Mother! and City of God . Choreographed by Sherrie Silver, Gambino and his entourage of young dancers perform several viral dance moves including the South African Gwara Gwara and "Shoot" popularized by BlocBoy JB, who is one of the ad - lib contributors on the song . Gambino's dancing is contrasted against moments of violence . Only 53 seconds into the video, Gambino shoots a man in the back of the head with a handgun, while assuming a comical stance similar to a Jim Crow caricature . At a later point, he uses an automatic weapon to gun down a church choir, which viewers have interpreted as a reference to the 2015 Charleston church shooting . In both instances, a child appears from offscreen holding a red cloth, on which Gambino gently lays the weapon used, while the bodies are simply dragged away, which viewers have interpreted "as a reference to Americans' willingness to protect gun rights over people". The first shooting also marks a transition in the music, from an African "folk - inspired melody" to a "dark, pulsing trap ." </P>

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