UPDATED 4/8/19 12:30 p.m. ET: Guava Island will officially receive its debut at Coachella Weekend 1, which will be livestreamed. As a new YouTube blog notes:
Fans will get treated to a one-time premiere of the new Childish Gambino film, "Guava Island,” featuring Rihanna.
See below for original story published on 4/5/19.
If you routinely pay attention to things that actually matter, you're well aware of the mysterious presumed film project from visionary Atlanta director Hiro Murai involving Donald Glover and Rihanna. We first learned of the project last year, though some recent activity in Spotify's ad department strongly suggests we won't have to wait much longer for at least a glimpse of what exactly the tentatively titled Guava Island is.
In recent days, fans have noticed some Guava Island teases in the form of ads popping up on the streaming service. Users checking out the RapCaviar playlist, for example, have been greeted with a note saying the assortment of tracks is "presented by Guava Island."
In a brief audio clip, Glover is heard singing over minimal guitar before narrating with a prophetic message: "I'll see you at the show, everyone."
The ads notably mention the date April 13, i.e. the day after Glover is scheduled to perform at Coachella as Childish Gambino. The April 13 night of the two-weekend Indio festival is headlined by Tame Impala, who themselves have a Rihanna connection that's definitely worth mentioning as often as possible. Of course, the Gambino headlining set the night prior will technically also take place on April 13.
There are indictions that the film could actually be part of a larger visual album project under the Gambino moniker. A teaser for the film shared by Glover in New Zealand reportedly included the billing "a Childish Gambino film." Plot details are scarce, though at least some shooting is believed to have taken place in Havana and also included Letitia Wright and Nonso Anozie.
The accompanied-by-new-music theory was boosted even further last month, when Crack magazine noted that cinematographer Christian Sprenger (Atlanta) had listed a project called Guava as a "visual album" on his online CV.
Complex has reached out to Glover's reps for comment.
If all this at least somehow culminates in some sort of Coachella Valley supergroup featuring Gambino with Rihanna and Tame Impala, then I'll be happy.
