The week ahead in SoCal pop music, Dec. 16-23, 2018

Picks are by August Brown, Gerrick D. Kennedy and Victoria Hernandez.

Childish Gambino As his musical alter ego, Donald Glover released the brilliant, lacerating “This Is America,” whose video, in particular, captures the horror and absurdity of our modern times like few other songs in recent memory. But now we can add “breezy, beachside pop jams” to Glover’s long list of things he does well. More recently, Glover dropped a pair of lightweight, smooth-sipping tracks that are almost poignant in their populism and abject refusal to wade into the muck. “Summertime Magic” dips into the Caribbean for inspiration, while “Feels Like Summer” is hazier, with humid arrangements in a swirl of echo and reverb. (A.B.) Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Ave., Inglewood. 7:30 p.m. Sun.-Mon. $79-$129. MSG.com.

H.E.R. Since making her debut last fall, the woman who goes by H.E.R. has gotten a great deal of acclaim for slow-burning, vulnerable records anchored by her velvety, rich voice. And, as was no doubt her intention, there’s been just as much attention given to her anonymous persona — H.E.R. is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed. Rumor assumed that she was, in fact, singer-songwriter Gabi Wilson, who landed a deal with RCA at age 14, but H.E.R. has never confirmed that and rarely sat for a face-to-face interview. “Whether you know who I am or not, you don’t really know who I am,” she said during a break from a recent rehearsal. She prefers the focus to be on the music and not herself, understandable given this social-media-driven era of oversharing. (G.K.) The Novo, 800 Chick Hearn Court, L.A. 9 p.m. Wed. $43-$102.50. Goldenvoice.com.

Travis Scott Scott (a newly minted Grammy nominee) closed out this year’s Hard Summer festival with tracks from his recently released “Astroworld.” Having the Houston artist headline follows a long tradition of hip-hop acts for Hard, which has featured Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg in recent years. The energetic rapper led the crowd through album opener “Stargazing” and already meme-famous “Sicko Mode” with colorful cartoon-like visuals reflective of a theme park. He then went through his discography with plenty of pyrotechnics. Scott brought out New York up-and-comer Sheck Wes to perform his hit “Mo Bamba.” The two then performed “Astroworld” cut “No Bystanders.” Scott continued to weave through a series of hits, bringing a fan in a wheelchair to the stage for “Pick Up the Phone.” (V.H.) Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Ave. Inglewood. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu. $112-$149.

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