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Donald Glover has been grappling with identity for a while.
Glover is known for his creativity in developing shows like FX’s Atlanta and the limited series Swarm. But his alter ego and moniker, Childish Gambino, has been known for taking musical chances for more than a decade and releasing projects that range in genres from Royalty to the uber-popular Awaken, My Love!
But now Glover has decided to retire the name forever, despite having a new album, Bando Stone & The New World, that drops this week.
He spoke to the New York Times about the creative decision, and it’s not something deep and philosophical. He just believes he’s done all he can under that personality.
“It really was just like, ‘Oh, it’s done.’ It’s not fulfilling. And I just felt like I didn’t need to build in this way anymore,” he explained.
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He also says that the change of heart came from maturing and becoming a parent.
“I’m not 25 anymore, standing in front of a boulder like, ‘This has to move.’ You give what you can, but there’s beauty everywhere in every moment. You don’t have to build it. You don’t have to search for it,” he said. “When I put my son on my shoulders, I feel deep joy. That’s real. No one on their deathbed is going to look back and say, ‘Thank God I avoided being cringe.’”
But before he retires the alter ego for good, he’s delivering Bando Stone & the New World and explains that with the album, he hopes to “play big rooms and have big, anthemic songs that fill those rooms, so that people feel a sense of togetherness.”
Glover has been using the name since at least 2008 when he released his mixtape, Sick Boi. He credits the Childish Gambino name to simply entering his real name into a Wu-Tang name generator, and that’s what popped out.
He told Jimmy Fallon in 2011 that he did it when he was a sophomore in college hanging with his friends. They all entered their names, and he knew he was onto something.
“We were all hanging out, chilling and drinking, and then we were like, ‘Oh, Wu-Tang name generator, let’s put our name in.’ And we’re putting them all in, and they’re all funny and stuff, and then mine came up, and I was like, ‘you guys, it’s not funny anymore. This is something big.’ I just really liked it.”
See how social media feels about the end of an era below.
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