Donald Glover has confirmed the return of Childish Gambino.
While leaving the Greenwich Hotel this week, the multi-hyphenate was asked about his recording process and whether he had anything in store on the music front. Donald, who performs under the rap alias Childish Gambino, didn’t provide many details but told TMZ he had a proper studio album on deck.
“Another album?!?” a paparazza asked. “When?”
“Soon,” he replied.
Glover hasn’t dropped a solo Gambino project since 2020’s 3.15.20, a 12-track effort that boasted guest appearances by 21 Savage, Ariana Grande, and more. Back in March, Glover connected with Kirby on the soundtrack EP for Swarm, the hit Amazon Studio series he created alongside Janine Nabers.
The last two Gambino projects were pleasant surprises for Glover fans, as he previously announced his intentions to “retire” his rap alter ego. He spoke about his decision in a 2017 interview with HuffPost, claiming he only wanted to release three albums under the Gambino moniker.
“There’s nothing worse than like a third sequel, like a third movie and we’re like, ‘again?’” he said during a promo event for his TV series, Atlanta. “You know, I like it when something’s good and when it comes back there’s a reason to come back, there’s a reason to do that. Like, I feel like there’s gotta be a reason to do things and I always had a reason to be punk. Being punk just always felt really good to me. We always looked at Atlanta as a punk show and I feel like the direction I would go with Childish Gambino wouldn’t be punk anymore.”
Fast-forward to October, when Glover spoke to Complex about his decision to revive Gambino. The Emmy winner acknowledged that he had been a bit vague about new music, but reassured fans they would get clarity “sooner rather than later.”
“It’d be better for people to just tune in, I suppose,” he said. “But I’m trying harder to not be cryptic. Tyler is always, like, ‘You’re so cryptic.’ But I’m like, ‘I’m really not.’ I just like suspense, I guess. I think it makes stuff better. But that’s just me.
“...You know, I don’t do this shit for money and shit. There’s a famous Cam’ron clip that me and my brother love. Cam is on the radio talking to Mase or somebody, and he says, ‘Man, I do this because I’m nice. I don’t need the money. I do this because I’m nice, man.’ And I’m like, yeah, I do this because I’m nice. I don’t think I’d ever stop, because of like… I always liked it because I liked it. I never did it because it was like, man, this is a good way to get put on or something. I like the feeling of it. I do this because I’m nice. In a certain way, I think that makes me old school.”
