Having no precise shape, form, or appearance the boogieman can morph and transform based on the circumstance. Armed with this context, Gambino’s allusory use of the boogieman as an allegory for racial fear becomes more clear. Who this boogieman is exactly, shifts based on one’s location in the song. For example, in the refrain he says “with a gun in your hand, I’m the boogieman. I’m gonna come and get you.” In this context, the victim of police brutality, specifically the black person, is the ghostly boogieman. The contrast between the lines “with a gun in your hand” and “I’m the boogieman” parallels the brutal irony of a police officer claiming to fear for his life while in the presence of an unarmed black citizen. Gambino is saying that in the eyes of the gun holders, black people are the boogieman scratching at the window or they are the green (or black) fog seeping into a room. Much like the fear of the boogieman that is instilled in a child, racial bias and an irrational fear of the black body is implanted into the white psyche. This fear frequently leads to guns being pointed and in many cases innocent people being shot and
Having no precise shape, form, or appearance the boogieman can morph and transform based on the circumstance. Armed with this context, Gambino’s allusory use of the boogieman as an allegory for racial fear becomes more clear. Who this boogieman is exactly, shifts based on one’s location in the song. For example, in the refrain he says “with a gun in your hand, I’m the boogieman. I’m gonna come and get you.” In this context, the victim of police brutality, specifically the black person, is the ghostly boogieman. The contrast between the lines “with a gun in your hand” and “I’m the boogieman” parallels the brutal irony of a police officer claiming to fear for his life while in the presence of an unarmed black citizen. Gambino is saying that in the eyes of the gun holders, black people are the boogieman scratching at the window or they are the green (or black) fog seeping into a room. Much like the fear of the boogieman that is instilled in a child, racial bias and an irrational fear of the black body is implanted into the white psyche. This fear frequently leads to guns being pointed and in many cases innocent people being shot and