STN MTN / Kauai

STN MTN / Kauai is the combined release of the seventh mixtape and second extended play (EP) by American recording artist Childish Gambino. The STN MTN mixtape was released on October 2, 2014 as a free download from DatPiff, while the Kauai EP was made available the following day through online music stores by Glassnote Records. They are each considered dual sides of a concept album that are unified by a cohesive story line, and come ten months after Glover's second studio album, Because the Internet.^[1]

STN MTN / Kauai
Mixtape / EP by Childish Gambino
Released	October 2, 2014 (2014-10-02) (STN MTN) October 3, 2014 (Kauai)
Recorded	2014
Genre	Hip hop (STN MTN) R&B, alternative R&B (Kauai)
Length	68:31 40:28 (STN MTN) 28:03 (Kauai)
Label	Glassnote
Producer	Nick Banga Big Soj Childish Gambino DJ Drama Ludwig Göransson Tim Suby Zaytoven
Childish Gambino chronology
Because the Internet (2013) STN MTN / Kauai (2014) "Awaken, My Love!" (2016)
Childish Gambino mixtape chronology
Royalty (2012) STN MTN (2014)
Childish Gambino EP chronology
EP (2011) Kauai (2014) Summer Pack (2018)
Singles from STN MTN / Kauai
"Sober" Released: September 14, 2014

Background

Producers who contributed to the mixtape include Donald Glover himself, as well as Nick Banga, Big Soj, Ludwig Göransson, Chris Hartz, Tim Suby, and Zaytoven.

On October 5, 2014, fans on Reddit discovered a hidden a cappella verse on one of Donald Glover's websites. It was confirmed by Gambino that the verse syncs up with the instrumental portion of "V. 3005 (Beach Picnic Version)".^[2]

While STN MTN is free, the proceeds from the sales of Kauai are dedicated to maintaining and preserving Kauai island, which the second half of the EP is named after.^[3] The letters STN MTN are a disemvowelment of Glover's hometown, Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Composition

STN MTN is a concept mixtape where Glover is asleep dreaming he "ran Atlanta", with songs based on modern day southern hip hop. The mixtape ends with Glover awaking from this dream on the Hawaiian island, Kauai. Kauai is a concept EP. Unlike STN MTN, Kauai focuses on themes such as love, nostalgia and passion, using alternative R&B. A song from the EP Kauai, "Retro [Rough]", is based on Gambino's earlier song, "Love Is Crazy" featuring Eugene Cordero, from his mixtape Sick Boi.^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Consequence of Sound	B−[6]
Drowned in Sound	7/10[7]
HipHopDX	3.5/5[8] / 3.5/5[9]
Wondering Sound	[10]
XXL	4/5[11]

STN MTN / Kauai has received generally positive reviews. DJ Booth gave the project a 4.7/5 stars, calling it "a cohesive project... it's Gambino so there will be at least some depth to make a follow up review worth while." Zach Dionne of Complex gave a positive review saying that "In a couple songs, he flies us there, thousands of miles away from Atlanta, to see for ourselves."

Commercial performance

Kauai debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in its first week.^[12] In its second week, the EP rose to number 16 on the chart, selling 19,000 copies, bringing its two-week total to 35,000 copies.^[13] In its third week, the EP dropped down to number 46 on the chart, selling 7,000 copies, bringing the total album sales to 42,000 copies in the United States.^[14]

Track listing

STN MTN

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Dream" / "Southern Hospitality" / "Partna Dem"	The Neptunes K.C. da Beatmonster	5:00
2.	"Fucks Given"	Nick Banga	2:30
3.	"No Small Talk" (featuring Kari Faux)	Black Party Kari Faux	3:15
4.	"Money Baby"	Big Fruit	3:25
5.	"Move That Dope" / "Nextel Chirp" / "Let Your Hair Blow" (featuring Young Scooter)	Mike Will Made It Lil Jon Zaytoven	4:51
6.	"AssShots Remix" (featuring Royalty)	Big Soj	5:01
7.	"Childish Gambino @ The Atrium"	Childish Gambino	1:26
8.	"U Don't Have to Call"	The Neptunes Ludwig Göransson	3:34
9.	"Candler Road"	Tim Suby Childish Gambino	3:17
10.	"All Y'all"	Timbaland	3:39
11.	"Go DJ"	Mannie Fresh	4:30
Total length:			40:28

Kauai

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Sober"	Glover, Göransson	Glover, Göransson	4:12
2.	"Pop Thieves (Make It Feel Good)" (featuring Jaden Smith)	Glover, Göransson	Glover, Göransson	5:09
3.	"Retro (Rough)"	Glover, Göransson	Glover, Göransson	3:22
4.	"The Palisades" (featuring Christian Rich)	Glover, Taiwo Hassan, Kehinde Hassan	Christian Rich	3:10
5.	"Poke" (featuring Steve G. Lover)	Chris Hartz	Chris Hartz	3:36
6.	"Late Night in Kauai" (featuring Jaden Smith)	Glover, Göransson	Glover, Göransson	4:45
7.	"V. 3005" (Beach Picnic Version)		Glover, Göransson	3:45
Total length:				28:03

Charts

2014 chart performance for Kauai

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15]	25
US Billboard 200[16]	16
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17]	2

2022 chart performance for Kauai

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18]	17
UK Albums (OCC)[19]	85
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[20]	6
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[21]	3
US Billboard 200[22]	13

Release history

Release history and formats for STN MTN / Kauai

Country	Date	Version	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	October 2, 2014	STN MTN	Digital download (DatPiff exclusive)	—	[23]
	October 3, 2014	Kauai	Digital download	Glassnote	[24]
	April 22, 2022	Kauai	Vinyl	RCA

References

1. Atkinson, Katie (October 2, 2014). "Hear Childish Gambino's 'STN MTN' Mixtape Now". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
2. Coplan, Chris (October 6, 2014). "Childish Gambino shares new song "Secret Track" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
3. "Stream Childish Gambino Kauai EP". HypeTrak. October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
4. Forever Childish. "Love is Crazy (ft. Eugene Cordero) – Childish Gambino". Retrieved October 12, 2014 – via SoundCloud.
5. Jeffries, David. "Kauai – Childish Gambino". AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
6. Madden, Michael (October 17, 2014). "Childish Gambino – STN MTN / Kauai". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
7. Moore, Sam (October 13, 2014). "Ep Review: Childish Gambino – STN MTN/Kauai". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
8. Miller, Kellan (October 9, 2014). "Childish Gambino – STN MTN (Mixtape)". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
9. Pearce, Sheldon (October 22, 2014). "Childish Gambino – Kauai (EP)". HipHopDX. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
10. Pearce, Sheldon (October 6, 2014). "Childish Gambino, STN MTN". Wondering Sound. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
11. Davis, Chris (October 8, 2014). "Childish Gambino Reminisces About Atlanta On 'STN MTN / Kauai'". XXL. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
12. Tardio, Andres (October 8, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Prince, Chris Brown, Childish Gambino". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
13. Tardio, Andres (October 15, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Keyshia Cole, Childish Gambino, Tinashe, Flying Lotus". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
14. Balfour, Jay (October 22, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Game, Hoodie Allen, Chris Brown". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
15. "Australiancharts.com – Childish Gambino – Kauai". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
16. "Childish Gambino Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
17. "Childish Gambino Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
20. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
21. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
22. "Childish Gambino Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
23. "Childish Gambino – STN MTN/Kauai Mixtape Hosted by DJ Drama". DatPiff. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
24. "Kauai by Childish Gambino". iTunes Store. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.