Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino is one of the most multifaceted artists today. He got his start by being a part of a sketch group Derrick Comedy, which led to him being hired by Tina Fey in 2006 to write for 30 Rock. He then released his first mixtape, Sick Boi, the previous year, using a name, Childish Gambino. His first official album was entitled Camp produced by Glassnote Records in 2011. His most recent release “Awaken, My Love!” was one of his most successful albums, with his single “Redbone” stayed for 44 weeks on the Billboard hot 100 chart. It was definitely the song of the summer, as it had it’s peak August 17th, 2017. One couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing the lyrics, “But stay woke, Niggas creepin’, They gon’ find you, Gon’ catch you sleepin’.” Not only was it a huge hit, but it made other rappers and R&B singers collectively step up their game due to the huge popularity of the song.
Donald Glover is not only a successful singer but also a refined comedian and actor. With all these talents he is bound to be at a crossroad of which one he should focus on. On June 3rd, the singer announced at Governor’s Ball Music Festival in New York City that his next album will be his last album. He has stated that he doesn’t feel like it is “necessary” anymore. This was shocking to the fans that have supported him since 2011, and also very sporadic when his single “Redbone” did so well on the charts. It was almost an insult to his fans to be ending his career in singing by playing it off as not important. Twitter went into a frenzy trying to comprehend that we would only be getting one more album by him.
Due to the backlash of his hasty statement, he elaborated on his plans during an interview with HuffPost. He stated, “There’s nothing worst than like a third sequel, like a third movie and we’re like, ‘again?’” he said. “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 and 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. As much as ‘Redbone’ is a punk song because it’s a gospel song that’s on the radio, I’m like there’s only so far you can go before you just are the radio.”
So for the next Childish Gambino album, we can expect him to go outside his comfort zone and write songs that are more punk based, or he might experiment with other genres. Knowing the vast array of his talents, I am sure that we will be impressed by anything that he does. He has already mastered rap and even gone outside the norm to have a nontraditional song on the radio. I would love to see Donald Glover show us the different sides of him and expand outside of his comfort zone. I can’t wait for the next album and what he has to offer. To see him completely disappear from the music scene would be a waste of talent. We will miss you Childish Gambino and hopefully, we can convince you to stay around for just a little bit longer.