Glover retires ‘Gambino’ brand to turn attentions to new artistic realms
‘Okay, it’s Childish Gambino,’ the rapper famed for his eccentric and raunchy lyrics has laid down his hat and claimed retirement from the music industry.
After a complete discography of 604 songs, Gambino released two new albums this year. He released Bando Stone and The New World; his last but most definitely not least album on July 19, 2024. The 17 wildly different tracks show a wide range of genres such as funk, alternative, and hip hop mixed together to create an unbelievable musical piece.
There wasn’t just one amazing album released this year, Atavista also came out in May 2024. Gambino’s brain-busting musical styles and guests such as Flo Milli, Ariana Grande, and Yeat leaves nobody questioning whether or not they are the top albums of the year.
He recently performed at the Fiserv Forum, where Willow Smith made an appearance, riling up the crowd. At this concert, near the end of his performance, he sang one of two unreleased songs, “Saturday,” giving a glimpse into a potential new release under his actual name, Donald Glover.
Despite his current illness delaying his tour, the liner notes on his last album, Bando Stone and The New World, explain his retirement plans.
He is a dedicated man, not only to his numerous occupations, but also to his wife Michelle White and their three sons. In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Gambino says that, “I’m not trying to be for anybody anymore,” implying that his days of showing up for anybody besides himself and family are over. Even as he exits the music scene, Glover will always be an influential and powerful piece of history for his idiosyncratic creations, whether that be his unlimited genre of music, or riveting television series or film roles.
The entertainer has expressed his hope for diving deeper into his acting career, and spending more valuable time with his family. Creating this identity was an amazing journey for Donald Glover, but he has told the public he no longer feels fulfilled creating music.
Glover told the New York Times that it was becoming way too difficult to create an album that lived up to his expectations. Yet, this is not the last fans will see of him, as he has been in many movies and shows and will continue to expand his acting career. He’s most notably known for his roles as Troy in Community and as Lando in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Glover has also shown an interest in directing as he has directed many of his own projects so far such as Atlanta with his brother. Fans anticipate the future of Glover’s career, as he already has won Emmys for his acting and directing talents.
An inside look of the concert of Milwaukee shows how he choreographs his amazing performance with the theatrics of lasers, lights, and costumes. After all, this was his last world tour, so he had to go out with a bang; which he did as he played unreleased songs, faked the end of the concert, and then played ‘Lithonia’, one of the top rated songs on his new album. Laser beams flashed across the stadium as Gambino came out in a futuristic suit and helmet, truly making it feel like the future.
None of the songs drafted by him have ever sounded the same, and that goes for his new album. Many of the songs are uniquely his own style. Inside the new album, there are experiments with hyperpop, trap, and rock styles, which is very different from his usual musical style. For the first time ever, Gambino and Flo Milli work together to create “Talk My Sh*t” that puts the cherry on top of dance and electronic music.
With one last goodbye to Childish Gambino, he will finish his last world tour this year. He will leave with a bang, as he “kills” the Childish Gambino moniker. Following the release of the album of Bando Stone and the New World, Gambino plans to release a movie by the same title to accompany it. The trailer of the film tie-in centers around the main plot of the movie where he wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world, having to navigate his otherworldly surroundings with a woman and her child. Being no stranger to tackling strange new frontiers, fans are just as ecstatic as him to see how Donald Glover will redefine being a creator in the modern age.
by M. Peterson & J. Williams
Published on October 7 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue I