Glover, Jr was born at Edwards Air Force Base, California and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother, Beverly (Smith, is a retired daycare provider, and his father, Donald, Sr, is a retired postal worker. His parents also served as DeKalb County foster parents for 14 years. He was raised a Jehovah's Witness. He was voted "Most Likely to Write for The Simpsons" in his High School yearbook. Glover, Jr graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in dramatic writing in 2006.
From 2006 to 2009, Glover, Jr was a writer for the NBC series 30 Rock where he also had occasional cameo appearances. He was presented the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the third season. Glover, Jr's stage name, Childish Gambino, came from the Wu-Tang Clan's name generator. On June 5, 2008, he released an independent album, titled Sick Boi. Glover, Jr would then become a member of the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy, along with Dominic Dierkes, Meggie McFadden, DC Pierson, and Dan Eckman. The group wrote and starred in a feature-length film, Mystery Team, released in theaters in 2009.
On September 17, 2009, Childish Gambino released the independent album Poindexter. A pair of mixtapes, titled I Am Just a Rapper and I Am Just A Rapper 2 were released, in close succession in 2010. Robert Scahill added his producing expertise helping with the majority of the tracks. The track listings for those mixtapes consist of the name of the song "he" raps, followed by the song he raps over. His second album, Culdesac, was set to be released on July 2, 2010, but a couple of last minute additions caused the album to be delayed for a day. The album was made available on July 3. Glover, Jr has stated in interviews that on Sick Boi and Poindexter he felt he had to hide behind gimmicks, such as pink hoodies, but with his subsequent projects, he has touched on more personal subject matter, including family, schoolyard bullying, troubled romantic relationships, suicidal thoughts and alcoholism. He has disowned his 2005 album, The Younger I Get, as the too-raw ramblings of what he calls a "decrepit."
Glover, Jr's stand-up special aired on Comedy Central on March 19, 2010. In May 2010, a fan suggested Glover, Jr for the role of Peter Parker in the then-upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man film, encouraging his supporters to retweet the hashtag "#donald4spiderman". The campaign, originally started to see how far social networking could carry a message, quickly gained a large following. The call for Glover to be allowed to audition for the role was supported by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee. Glover, Jr was not awarded an audition and the role instead went to Andrew Garfield. He would later reveal that he was never contacted by anyone from Sony Pictures for the role. Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, who announced an African-American version of Spider-Man a year later, said he had conceived of the character before Glover, Jr's campaign went viral. Bendis gave credit to Glover for influencing the new hero's looks for Spider-man after seeing him dressed as Spider-Man on Community (a nod to the campaign), Bendis said, "I saw him in the costume and thought, 'I would like to read that book.'" Glover, Jr would later voice this incarnation of Spider-Man on the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.
Glover, Jr received the Rising Comedy Star award at the Just for Laughs festival in July 2010. Glover, Jr was featured in Gap's 2010 Holiday ad campaign. He DJs and produces electronic music under the moniker "mcDJ" (pronounced "M-C-D-J"). His music is often made available for free download via his website.
On December 1, 2010, Glover, Jr released the first track off of his EP titled "Be Alone". He released the next track, "Freaks and Geeks", as well as a five-song track list, on February 11, 2011. On February 25, Glover, Jr released the dates for the IAMDONALD tour and also his very first music video for "Freaks and Geeks". The music video was shot by Dan Eckman, the director of the Derrick Comedy troupe. This song was later used in an Adidas commercial featuring Dwight Howard. On March 8, 2011 Glover, Jr released the EP via his official website.
On March 16, 2011, Glover, Jr hosted the mtvU Woodie Awards held live at South By Southwest. On March 24, 2011, Glover, Jr taped his one-hour comedy special Weirdo for Comedy Central; it aired on November 19.
Glover, Jr appeared at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 9 in the 'This Tent' as Childish Gambino and June 11 at 'The Comedy Theater' with Bill Bailey performing stand up. Comedy Central streamed the comedy live on their website.
On May 4, 2011, in an interview with TheHipHopUpdate, Gambino revealed that he was working on an LP, to be released in September. On July 25, 2011, Glover, Jr announced that his new album would be titled Camp. On October 8, during his Orlando, Florida concert, he announced Camp would be released on November 15, 2011. Glover, Jr worked with friend and film composer Ludwig Göransson on the debut album. On August 20, 2011, at the Los Angeles Rock The Bells concert, he gave an interview to AllHipHop.com, and he announced to the crowd that he had signed with Glassnote Records. On September 20, his first official single, "Bonfire", was released.
The IAMDONALD tour made 24 stops in 34 days, beginning with Ames, Iowa, on April 16, and finishing with Minneapolis on May 19. In between, this included stops at music venues in Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, and Atlanta. The tour was a one-man live show that consisted of rap, comedy, and video segments.
The Sign-Up Tour was Glover, Jr's next pre-album tour. He visited 11 cities over the course of 38 days in October and November 2011. Chidlish G made a website for the tour called Camp Gambino on November 19, four days after his album released. The tour featured special guest Danny Brown and made 20 stops during the course of 32 days along a dates in California in December. On March 14, 2012, several dates on the CAMP tour were postponed due to a fractured foot Childish suffered on March 10, while performing in Tampa, Florida. The tour began in Austin, Texas on April 5 and ended August 10 in Hollywood, California.
On January 11, 2012, Childish Gambino announced on his website that a new mixtape would be coming out soon. On April 2, he released a new song, "Eat Your Vegetables", through his website. On May 14, Funkmaster Flex premiered "Unnecessary," featuring Schoolboy Q. On May 16, Gambino released "We Ain't Them" through his website, produced by himself and frequent collaborator Ludwig. On May 22, Glover, Jr appeared on Das Racist's radio show "Chillin' Island" where he premiered a new song, "Tell Me," which featured Himanshu Suri, aka Heems from Das Racist. On May 26, Glover released "Black Faces", featuring Nipsey Hussle and produced by Boi-1da. On May 30, he released a third track, "Silk Pillow," featuring Beck and produced by both Glover, Jr and Beck. On June 25, he revealed that the mixtape was to be released on July 4, 2012. On June 26, Glover, Jr premiered another new track, on Sway in the Morning (on Shade 45), entitled "One Up," featuring his brother, Steve G. Lover. That same day, he stated that the mixtape would be titled Royalty despite previous statements that it would not be called that. On July 4, 2012, he released Royalty for free via digital download. On July 7, 2012, Gambino released the track, "Body," featuring Prodigy, which did not make the cut for the mixtape. On July 24, 2012, he released the music video for "Fire Fly" through his VEVO account on YouTube.
On August 21, 2012, BBC Radio 1 premiered Leona Lewis' new song, "Trouble" off her upcoming album Glassheart, which features Childish Gambino. The song was available for purchase via iTunes on October 7, and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart the following week, making it his first UK top 10 single. On November 4, 2012 Ludwig Göransson said in an interview with Portable that he and Gambino were in his studio coming up with new ideas for the next album which was to be "bigger" and "with more people involved."
In 2013, Glover, Jr signed on to create a music-themed show for FX titled Atlanta in which he will star, write, and executive produce. Consequently, he decided to reduce his work for NBC, and only appears in the first five episodes of Community's 13-episode fifth season. Although many TV stations were interested in picking up his half-hour comedy, he ultimately picked FX due to their willingness to work around his touring schedule.
On October 6, 2013, he announced on Twitter that his second studio album was completed. He further announced this at Homecoming Week at Penn State University, stating “I got a new album coming out soon, so this is the last time we’re gonna play a lot of this shit.” On October 8, 2013, he announced its title as Because the Internet and revealed that it would be released in December 2013. On October 21, 2013, Glover, Jr released the first single "3005", and announced a release date for the album as December 10, 2013. On February 15, 2014, the rapper launched his Deep Web Tour in the UK. On February 27, Childish Gambino was scheduled to begin the United States portion of his tour with a gig at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. On June 6, 2014, RIAA certified Heartbeat Gold - making it Glover's first certification, and then on July 18, 2014, RIAA also certified 3005 Gold, making it Glover's second certification.
On October 2, 2014, he released a new mixtape titled STN MTN, and the next day he released an EP titled Kauai. The mixtape and the EP follow the story that was last told in Because The Internet and are meant to be a joint project instead of separate projects.
On October 10, 2014, Ubisoft revealed that they had collaborated with Glover, Jr to incorporate his song, "Crawl" into Far Cry 4.
On December 5, 2014 Glover, Jr was nominated for two Grammy Awards. He was a contender for Best Rap Album for Because The Internet (Glassnote Records) and Best Rap Performance for his single, “3005.”
On March 21, 2015 Glover, Jr won an mtvU Woodies Award for Best Video Woodie for the song "Sober" from the Kauai EP.
As of February 2016, Because the Internet has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping over 500,000 copies.
Glover's third album, Awaken, My Love!, spawned the single "Redbone", which peaked at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually earned him his first Grammy Award. In 2018, Glover released "This Is America", which debuted at number-one on the Hot 100, and won four Grammy Awards, including for Song and Record of the Year.[13] Glover's fourth album, 3.15.20, was released in 2020.[14]
3005
Childish Gambino Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I'm alone, I'd rather be with you
Fuck these other niggas, I'll be right by your side
'Til 3005, hold up
Okay, hold up, wait a minute, all good just a week ago
Crew at my house and we party every weekend so
On the radio, that's my favorite song
Now the thrill is gone
Got no patience, 'cause I'm not a doctor
Girl why is you lying? Girl why you Mufasa?
Yeah, mi casa su casa, gotta strip it like Gaza
Got so high off volcanoes, now the flow is so lava
Yeah, we spit that saliva, iPhone got message from Viber
Either the head is so hydra, or we let bygones be bygones
"My God, you pay for your friends?" I'll take that as a compliment
Got a house full of homies, why I feel so the opposite?
Incompetent ain't the half of it
Saturdays with young lavishes
Saddest shit, is I'm bad as it
Beans, they took from the cabinet (whoa)
Sorry, I'm just scared of the future
'Til 3005, I got your back, we can do this, hold up
No matter what you say or what you do
When I'm alone, I'd rather be with you
Fuck these other niggas, I'll be right by your side
'Til 3005, hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (but you ain't)
No matter what you say or what you do
When I'm alone, I'd rather be with you
Fuck these other niggas, I'll be right by your side
'Til 3005, hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up)
I used to care what people thought
But now I care more
Man nobody out here's got it figured out
So therefore, I've lost all hope of a happy ending
Depending on whether or not it's worth it
So insecure, no one's perfect
We spend it, with no shame
We blow that, like Coltrane
We in here, like Rogaine
Or leave it, like Cobain
And when I'm long gone, whole crew sing a swan song
'Cause we all just ticking time bombs
Got a Lambo like Lebron's mom
And no matter where all of my friends go
Emily, Fam, and Lorenzo
All of them people my kinfolk
At least I think so
Can't tell
'Cause when them checks clear, they're not here
'Cause they don't care
It's kinda sad, but I'm laughing whatever happens
Assassins are stabbed in the back of my cabin
Labrador yapping
I'm glad that it happened, I mean it
Between us, I think there's something special
And if I lose my mental, just hold my hand
Even if you don't understand, hold up
No matter what you say or what you do
When I'm alone, I'd rather be with you
Fuck these other niggas, I'll be right by your side
'Til 3005, hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (but you ain't)
No matter what you say or what you do
When I'm alone, I'd rather be with you
Fuck these other niggas, I'll be right by your side
'Til 3005, hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up), hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up (hol' up)
Hol' up, hol' up
Hol' up, hol' up
Hol' up, hol' up
Hol' up, hol' up
We did it! Yay!
Nigga you so thirsty
Childish Gambino's song V. 3005 is about him wanting to be with someone no matter what happens. He says that when he is alone, he would rather be with that person than be with anybody else. He doesn't care about anyone else and wants to be with the person until the year 3005. In the second verse, he talks about how he used to have a lot of friends and how he used to party every weekend, but now he's lost all the thrill and no longer has any patience. He raps about how he is scared of the future and is unsure of what will happen. However, he assures the person he loves that he will always be by their side, no matter what happens. Throughout the song, he repeats the phrase "hold up" to emphasize important points.
One interesting fact about the song is that it was released in 2013 and became Childish Gambino's first Platinum-certified single. The song was also nominated for the Best Rap Performance at the Grammy Awards in 2015. Another interesting fact is that the music video for "V. 3005" was shot in one take with Gambino walking throughout the video, taking selfies, and people passing him by. The music video features a split screen and shows Gambino walking while the other part of the screen shows the lyrics scrolling.
"V. 3005" is a continuation of the concept of Gambino's relationship with Roscoe's Wetsuit, a recurring character he created throughout his music career. This song is the follow-up to his earlier song "3005 Beach Picnic Version," which was released in 2013 on SoundCloud. Additionally, the song was featured in The Walking Dead mid-season finale in 2013. The song's title, "V. 3005," means "verse 3005" and represents the idea that the song is just one part of a larger story.
The song's melody was inspired by Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." The chorus of "V. 3005" features the line "Hold up" repeated eleven times, which was a nod to Outkast's hit song "Ms. Jackson." The song's outro is a sample from "No Exit" by Blondie. Additionally, "V. 3005" was used in the trailer of the coming-of-age film "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" in 2015.
Chords:
Verse:
Ebmaj7, D7, Abmaj7, G7
Chorus:
Ebmaj7, D7, Abmaj7, G7 (x4)
Line by Line Meaning
No matter what you say or what you do
The singer values the person addressed above anything else
When I'm alone, I'd rather be with you
The singer heavily depends on the person addressed for happiness and comfort
Fuck these other niggas, I'll be right by your side
The singer does not care about the people around them as long as they have the person addressed
'Til 3005, hold up
The artist plans to stay loyal and with the person addressed for a long time
Okay, hold up, wait a minute, all good just a week ago
An unexpected change has occurred in the artist's life recently
Crew at my house and we party every weekend so
The singer recently had a fun and enjoyable life
On the radio, that's my favorite song
The singer enjoys mainstream/popular music
Made me bounce around, like I don't know, like I won't be here long
Despite feeling happy and carefree in the past, the artist now feels uncertain about the future
Now the thrill is gone
The artist lost their sense of excitement or happiness
Got no patience, 'cause I'm not a doctor
The artist lacks patience but acknowledges that they are not a professional
Girl why is you lying? Girl why you Mufasa?
The singer does not trust the person addressed and questions their motives
Yeah, mi casa su casa, gotta strip it like Gaza
The artist invites anyone to their place but acknowledges that they may need to clean up afterwards
Got so high off volcanoes, now the flow is so lava
The singer used to feel invigorated and creative (like a volcano) but now feels sluggish and stagnant (like lava)
Yeah, we spit that saliva, iPhone got message from Viber
The singer and their friends communicate often and informally
Either the head is so hydra, or we let bygones be bygones
The singer and their peers have complex problems to deal with or choose to move on from past issues
"My God, you pay for your friends?" I'll take that as a compliment
The artist is accused of having superficial relationships but chooses to interpret it positively
Got a house full of homies, why I feel so the opposite?
Despite being surrounded by friends, the artist feels lonely or disconnected
Incompetent ain't the half of it
The singer has a low opinion of themselves
Saturdays with young lavishes
The singer spends time with wealthy and extravagant people
Saddest shit, is I'm bad as it
The artist acknowledges that their life is miserable
Beans, they took from the cabinet (whoa)
The artist and their peers may have stolen something
Sorry, I'm just scared of the future
The artist is afraid of what is to come
'Til 3005, I got your back, we can do this, hold up
Despite uncertainties, the singer plans to support and stay with the person addressed
I used to care what people thought
The artist used to be self-conscious about other people's opinions
But now I care more
The singer has become more confident and self-assured
Man nobody out here's got it figured out
The singer believes that no one really knows everything about life
So therefore, I've lost all hope of a happy ending
The singer has become disillusioned about the concept of a happy ending or resolution
Depending on whether or not it's worth it
The artist will make decisions based on whether the outcome is valuable or not
So insecure, no one's perfect
The artist has flaws and is aware of others' imperfections as well
We spend it, with no shame
The singer and their peers spend frivolously without concern for others' opinions
We blow that, like Coltrane
The singer and their peers spend money as if they are famous jazz musician John Coltrane
We in here, like Rogaine
The artist and their peers are present and active
Or leave it, like Cobain
The artist may end their life like Kurt Cobain did
And when I'm long gone, whole crew sing a swan song
The artist's friends will remember them through song or tribute after they are gone
'Cause we all just ticking time bombs
Everyone has limited time on earth and could die at any moment
Got a Lambo like Lebron's mom
The artist has a fancy car like LeBron James' mother
And no matter where all of my friends go
The singer's friends may leave or go separate ways
Emily, Fam, and Lorenzo
The singer mentions specific names of friends
All of them people my kinfolk
The singer considers their friends to be like family
At least I think so
The artist is uncertain about whether their friends feel the same way
Can't tell
The artist is unsure about their friends' loyalty
'Cause when them checks clear, they're not here
The singer's friends may only be around when money is involved
'Cause they don't care
The singer's friends may not truly care about them
It's kinda sad, but I'm laughing whatever happens
The artist acknowledges the sad reality of their situation but chooses to cope with humor
Assassins are stabbed in the back of my cabin
The artist feels paranoid and distrustful of others
Labrador yapping
There is noise or disruption from a dog
I'm glad that it happened, I mean it
Despite hardship, the singer is grateful for their experiences
Between us, I think there's something special
The artist believes they have a unique connection with the person addressed
And if I lose my mental, just hold my hand
The singer asks the person addressed to comfort them in difficult times
Even if you don't understand, hold up
The singer does not expect the person addressed to fully comprehend their struggles
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Donald Mckinley Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Stephen Eric Ponce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@franckh.beugre
“Got a house full of homies , why i feel so the opposite “ was my wake up call to change friends
@G3nUWU
period
@cazz7073
Congratulations, it always hard to let go
@simontrejo1542
^-^
@extraterrestrial3509
Pfftt I even moved to the east coast and back to the west coast to figure that out over the years they were never my friends ... 😢
@Mriseedrunkpeople
A point of pride is understanding you can be a million versions of yourself in confidence and honoring yourself doesn't mean conforming. Be free to be you, every version of you.
@pablomayer5798
"Mí casa es tu casa", Profesor Chang will be proud
@shinigamilofi
SEÑORRRRRR chang
@heyithinkitsfucking
Aaaadios
@elizaaa4564
It’s Kevin 😭