Childish Gambino is growing up, and he thinks his peers are, as well.
The artist, also known as Donald Glover, went live on his Instagram at 2 a.m. ET on April 15 in what appeared to be a desolate area in California during Coachella weekend. On the live, he broadcasted “Gilga Radio,” which was essentially a playlist curated by Glover, drops from some of his celebrity peers like Quinta Brunson, Vince Staples and Tyler, The Creator, an interview and a preview of three songs from him.
In the interview, Gambino was asked about the current “Big 3” talk in rap and the disses shared between Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
“We’re all growing up,” Gambino, 40, said. “…we’ve all got kids, man. We’re all growing up. This wrestler idea of, ‘This person stands for this’ and it’s like, ‘Naw, man. We’re all people.’ I think I saw somebody say, ‘Man, therapy ruined hip-hop.’
“And I feel like a little bit, naw, not even a little bit, but I’ve been feeling like, ‘Man, f— the culture.’ The culture has n—- scared to wear sandals. What are we doing? You’re afraid to show your toes? Everyone has them. Why are we beholden to this thing that kind of wants us to fight?”
Gambino then referenced Staples, who went on “The Joe Budden Podcast” to claim the rap beef is just a distraction from streaming services and labels not giving artists fair splits. He also called out Spotify specifically for buying billboards that read, “Rap is a competitive sport.”
“[Staples is] right,” Gambino said. “It’s like, ‘You guys, we’ve reached it– we’ve reached the Zenith. What do we want from this, actually, if the only thing you want is wrestling? Because it’s not about the beef.”
He then brought up how in cities like Atlanta and Chicago there’s real life beef with no happy endings.
“What is it about this genre where you’re like, ‘I need this to be about the bars’?” Gambino said. “What about the expression? I just feel like we’re growing up. This is a natural part of it.”
When asked where he thought he stood among his peers like Drake, 37, Lamar, 36, and Cole, 39, the group of rappers who experienced big breaks around 2010, he said, “I’m the Willy Wonka of this s—, man… I feel like I’m in this space when I talk to Tyler and he’s like, ‘Man. It’s just us, man…’ I feel like I’m not in that circle [of Drake, Cole and Lamar]. I feel like I’m the court jester on the outside. I just want to have fun. I grew up with Busta Rhymes and Missy and Ludacris, and people were having fun, but I feel like, ‘No. This fun should be serious.’ Disney is always fun, but there’s always a scary part. There’s always a part that’s real.”
You can listen to the full interview below.
After previously announcing his last album, 3.15.20, would be his final musical project, Gambino announced he is releasing two more bodies of work. The first is Atavista, the completed version of 3.15.20, which he said he released during quarantine while joking he thought the world was ending. The second will be a soundtrack for his movie Bando Stone & The New World. He is also working on an anime project alongside Zack Fox, the fellow Atlanta native who also writes, raps, acts, DJs, produces and tells jokes.
— Zack Fox (@zackfox) April 15, 2024
The three personal tracks Gambino played were an unreleased freestyle, and updated versions of “Big Foot, Little Foot,” which now features Young Nudy and “Human Sacrifice,” a song he has performed for years and used in a Google Pixel commercial.
