Actor, writer, rapper and comedian Donald Glover announced he might be putting an end to his rap persona Childish Gambino.
In an interview with the “Today Show” on Feb. 24, Glover said he wants to have periods in his life, and he feels Childish Gambino is a period that should come to a close. But does this mean he is done rapping and making music forever?
In the interview, he goes on to say he loves music and wants to continue producing.
This doesn’t answer anything for me, but it leaves hope that he will continue to make albums, but drop his stage name, or maybe rap under a stronger name.
This announcement struck me as odd because it seems that he recently started reaching nationwide recognition with his rap career after releasing his second studio album, “Because the Internet.”
The record’s ninth track and first single, “3005,” helped his rise to fame.
The song has over 37 million views and was his second gold certification behind “Heartbeat” from the album “Camp.”
Last year, I thought he quit the TV show “Community” because he wanted to focus more on Childish Gambino. It seems like yesterday I was watching Glover play Troy Barnes, a college student still living the glory days of being a star high school quarterback. The show first introduced me to Glover and, as the funniest character on the show, he quickly became my favorite.
It wasn’t until a year or two later when I stumbled upon a YouTube video of one of his standup routines.
He interested me because he played on one of my favorite shows, his standup was hilarious and he makes music. I found the song called “I Be on That” from his “Culdesac” mixtape and was hooked. I checked out his other songs and soon collected his discography.
He came out with “Camp” and soon developed into one of my favorite music artists. I really like records that tell stories, so “Camp” came at a perfect time. It tells the story of how Glover rose to where he was during the album’s release.
One of the more unique things about “Camp” was that Glover was the lone person rapping or singing, which is odd with current rap albums.
His “R.O.Y.A.L.T.Y.” mixtape was great. In all honesty, I originally did not like “Because the Internet,” but now I love listening to it.
“Kauai” was a solid EP, and other than a few songs, the “STN MTN” mixtape was good.
I’ve watched his career evolve right in front of me, so hearing that Childish Gambino would be coming to an end was disappointing. However, nowhere does he say he will be finished rapping, so that gives me some hope for future releases.
In the meantime, we can watch him in the movie “The Lazarus Effect,” which is in theaters, and in his upcoming TV show “Atlanta.”
