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]
III. Telegraph Ave
Childish Gambino Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
LA, it's ya girl, Yesi Ortiz
Got some brand-new music
I need y'all to turn it up and lemme know what you think
It's Lloyd called "Oakland" on Power 106
I was making Japanese
And she's watching DVDs
Now I'm driving up the 5
And she waits 'til I arrive
In Oakland, in Oakland
Everything that I wanted
Only gotta drive for the moment
Tell me "turn around," then I'm on it
For the moment, but you know me
You know how I get when I'm lonely
And I think about you in the moment
But everything you do is so Oakland, so Oakland
Foot on the gas
I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
Before I get to The Bay
Babe, that's a problem
'Cause I'm way too scared to call
And you might get me to stay, no
I don't really want to drive
But I think I'd rather die
In Oakland, in Oakland
With my hands on two and ten
So I guess it all depends
On Oakland, on Oakland
And I'm nervous, truth be told
I never saw me growing old
In Oakland, in Oakland
And if I married you tonight
It would probably start a riot
In Oakland, in Oakland
Everything that I needed
Now that I got you in your feelings
Everything you won't say, you tweet it
And a nigga don't like that shit at all
So retreating
Can we just roll with the feeling?
Can we just roll for a minute?
Wait a minute
Foot on the gas
I'm just tryna pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
But I'm really not ready, girl
That's a problem
'Cause I'm way too scared to fall
And I know that you choose to stay, no
All the girlfriends saying, "Here we go again" (go again)
Rich kid but he act like a gentleman (gentleman)
Last one didn't end like it should've been (should've been)
Two dates and he still wanna get it in
And they're saying it's because of the Internet
Try once and it's on to the next chick
XO, the O face on your exes, right?
And we can do the same thing if you wanna have better
When your thoughts can't breathe and you thinking asthmatic
And you wanna be a mom and I wasn't mad at her
I was thinking 'bout me, I'd be really bad at it
'Cause I'm thinking 'bout me, weeks in Dubai
Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah, we can try
So let's try
(Talk, say some things)
(Say some things)
(Oh) whoa
(Oh) whoa
I took off my nine to five
But you still don't have the time to kiss me (just hit me)
And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy, you miss me
I got furniture to move, and we'll both be thirty soon
In Oakland, in Oakland
The only one I know is you, so the fuck I'm supposed to do
In Oakland, in Oakland?
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Childish Gambino's song III. Telegraph Ave., the singer describes a long-distance relationship fraught with fear, uncertainty and longing. The song's opening features a radio DJ introducing a new track by R&B artist Lloyd called "Oakland" on Power 106, a radio station in the Los Angeles area. The singer is making Japanese food in Oakland while his girlfriend watches DVDs. He then drives up the 5 freeway to Oakland to be with her. The singer is nervous and unsure about the relationship, singing about his fear of commitment, the desire to leave and the fear of staying. He worries that if he marries her tonight, it would start a riot in Oakland.
Line by Line Meaning
I was making Japanese And she's watching DVDs In Oakland, in Oakland
I was occupied with Japanese cuisine while she was excitedly watching DVDs, and all of this took place in Oakland.
Now I'm driving up the 5 And she waits 'til I arrive In Oakland, in Oakland
I'm currently driving up to Oakland on freeway 5, and my significant other is waiting for me there.
Everything that I wanted Only gotta drive for the moment Tell me 'turn around,' then I'm on it
All that I desire is in Oakland, and I only require a moment’s drive. Moreover, if she requests me to turn around, I’ll do it promptly.
For the moment, but you know me You know how I get when I'm lonely And I think about you in the moment But everything you do is so Oakland, so Oakland
This could be just for the moment, but you know how I get when I become lonesome, and I ponder over us during the moment. Irrespective of that, you conduct yourself in a unique Oakland style.
Foot on the gas I'm just trying to pass All the red lights And the stop signs I'm ready to go Before I get to The Bay Babe, that's a problem 'Cause I'm way too scared to call And you might get me to stay, no
The accelerator pedal is down, and I'm attempting to pass by traffic signals and stop signs. I aim to arrive at The Bay, but that's problematic because I don't wish to call you, and you might convince me to remain there.
I don't really want to drive But I think I'd rather die In Oakland, in Oakland With my hands on two and ten So I guess it all depends On Oakland, on Oakland
Frankly, I don't want to drive there, and I would willingly lose my life. Nevertheless, I steer at ten and two while we're in Oakland, so it all depends on that.
And I'm nervous, truth be told I never saw me growing old In Oakland, in Oakland And if I married you tonight It would probably start a riot In Oakland, in Oakland
Honestly, I'm anxious since I never imagined growing old in Oakland. Moreover, if we get married tonight, it would most likely begin a disturbance there.
Everything that I needed Now that I got you in your feelings Everything you won't say, you tweet it And a n***a don't like that shit at all So retreating Can we just roll with the feeling? Can we just roll for a minute? Wait a minute
Previously, all that I yearned for is presently with you, and it prompts you to become emotional. You tweet everything that you can't express, and this annoys me. Perhaps we should retreat from this scenario and just go with the flow for some time.
All the girlfriends saying, 'Here we go again' (go again) Rich kid but he act like a gentleman (gentleman) Last one didn't end like it should've been (should've been) Two dates and he still wanna get it in And they're saying it's because of the Internet Try once and it's on to the next chick XO, the O face on your exes, right? And we can do the same thing if you wanna have better When your thoughts can't breathe and you thinking asthmatic And you wanna be a mom and I wasn't mad at her I was thinking 'bout me, I'd be really bad at it 'Cause I'm thinking 'bout me, weeks in Dubai Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah, we can try So let's try
The girlfriends are already predicting the future outcome. Although I'm a rich kid, I behave like a gentleman, but my previous relationship didn't end well. We've been on two dates already, but I still want to make love to you. According to them, it's because of the influence of the internet. If I make a single mistake, I'll move to the next girl. As for you, XO reminds me of the expression on your ex's face. If you want a better relationship, we can try the same thing. Your thoughts seem like an asthmatic person gasping for air, and you aspire to be a mom, which I don't mind, but I don't think I'll be good at it. Instead, I imagine weeks in Dubai, the Fourth of July, and a house in Kauai.
(Talk, say some things) (Say some things) (Oh) whoa (Oh) whoa
There's a conversation happening, or people are just making small talk. This could be expressing emotions about something, but ultimately it leads to a 'whoa' reaction.
I took off my nine to five But you still don't have the time to kiss me (just hit me) And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone? It's iffy, you miss me I got furniture to move, and we'll both be thirty soon In Oakland, in Oakland The only one I know is you, so the f**k I'm supposed to do In Oakland, in Oakland?
Although I quit my nine-to-five job, I don't even have the luxury of a single kiss. If I leave you alone, would you still answer my call case. Honestly, the situation feels uncertain. I have a bunch of furniture to move, and we have much less time before we hit 30. The only person I know is you. I'm in Oakland - what does the future hold for me here?
In Oakland, in Oakland In Oakland, in Oakland In Oakland, in Oakland In Oakland, in Oakland
Repeat of the chorus, affirming the setting is still Oakland.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ludwig Emil Tomas Goransson, Donald Mckinley Glover, Rochelle Jordan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jordan Rivera
Just so I can sing along...
[Intro]
Power 106!
LA, it's ya girl, Yesi Ortiz
Got some brand-new music
I need y'all to turn it up and let me know what you think
It's Lloyd called "Oakland" on Power 106
[Verse 1: Lloyd]
I was making Japanese
And she's watching DVDs
In Oakland, in Oakland
Now I'm driving up the 5
And she waits till I arrive
In Oakland, in Oakland
Everything, that I wanted
Only gotta drive for the moment
If you tell me "turn around," then I'm on it
For the moment, but you know me
You know how I get when I'm lonely
And I think about you and the moments
But everything you do is so Oakland, so Oakland
[Hook 1]
Foot on the gas
I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
Before I get to The Bay
Babe, that's a problem
Because I'm way too scared to call
And you might get me to stay, and oh
[Post-Hook]
I don't really mind the drive
But I think I'd rather die
In Oakland, in Oakland
With my hands on two and ten
So I guess it all depends
On Oakland, on Oakland
And I'm nervous, truth be told
I never saw me growing old
In Oakland, in Oakland
And if I married you tonight
It would probably start a riot
In Oakland, in Oakland
[Verse 2]
Everything, that I needed
Now that I got you in your feelings
Everything you won't say, you tweet it
And a nigga don’t like that shit at all
So treated
Can we just roll with the feeling?
Can we just roll for a minute?
Wait a minute
[Hook 2]
Foot on the gas
I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
But I'm really not ready, girl
That's a problem
Cause I'm way too scared to fall
And I know you choose to stay, and oh
[Verse 3]
All the girlfriends saying "here we go again"
Rich kid but he act like a gentleman
Last one didn't end like it should've been
Two dates and he still wanna get it in
And they're saying it's because of the Internet
Try her once and it's on to the next chick
X-O the O face on your exes...right?
And we can do the same thing if you wanna have at it
When your thoughts can't breathe and you thinking asthmatic
And you wanna be a mom and I wasn't mad at it
I was thinking 'bout me, I'd be really bad at it
Cause I'm thinking 'bout me, weeks in Dubai
Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah we can try
So let's try
[Outro]
Whoa
I took off my nine to five
But you still don't have the time to kiss me, just hit me
And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy, you miss me
I got furniture to move, and we'll both be thirty soon
In Oakland, in Oakland
The only one I know is you, so the fuck I'm supposed to do?
In Oakland, in Oakland (x8)
Jordan Rivera
[Verse 2]
Everything, that I needed
Now that I got you in your feelings
Everything you won't say, you tweet it
And a nigga don’t like that shit at all
So treated
Can we just roll with the feeling?
Can we just roll for a minute?
Wait a minute
[Hook 2]
Foot on the gas
I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
But I'm really not ready, girl
That's a problem
Cause I'm way too scared to fall
And I know you choose to stay, and oh
[Verse 3]
All the girlfriends saying "here we go again"
Rich kid but he act like a gentleman
Last one didn't end like it should've been
Two dates and he still wanna get it in
And they're saying it's because of the Internet
Try her once and it's on to the next chick
X-O the O face on your exes...right?
And we can do the same thing if you wanna have at it
When your thoughts can't breathe and you thinking asthmatic
And you wanna be a mom and I wasn't mad at it
I was thinking 'bout me, I'd be really bad at it
Cause I'm thinking 'bout me, weeks in Dubai
Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah we can try
So let's try
[Outro]
Whoa
I took off my nine to five
But you still don't have the time to kiss me, just hit me
And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy, you miss me
I got furniture to move, and we'll both be thirty soon
In Oakland, in Oakland
The only one I know is you, so the fuck I'm supposed to do?
In Oakland, in Oakland (x8)
ruben bustos
[Verse 1: Lloyd]
I was making Japanese
And she's watching DVDs
In Oakland, in Oakland
Now I'm driving up the 5
And she waits till I arrive
In Oakland, in Oakland
Everything, that I wanted
Only gotta drive for the moment
If you tell me "turn around," then I'm on it
For the moment, but you know me
You know how I get when I'm lonely
And I think about you and the moments
But everything you do is so Oakland, so Oakland
[Hook 1: Lloyd]
Foot on the gas
I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
Before I get to The Bay
Babe, that's a problem
Because I'm way too scared to call
And you might get me to stay, and oh
[Post-Hook: Childish Gambino and Lloyd]
I don't really mind the drive
But I think I'd rather die
In Oakland, in Oakland
With my hands on two and ten
So I guess it all depends
On Oakland, on Oakland
And I'm nervous, truth be told
I never saw me growing old
In Oakland, in Oakland
And if I married you tonight
It would probably start a riot
In Oakland, in Oakland
[Verse 2: Lloyd]
Everything, that I needed
Now that I got you in your feelings
Everything you won't say, you tweet it
And a nigga don’t like that shit at all
So treated
Can we just roll with the feeling?
Can we just roll for a minute?
Wait a minute
[Hook 2: Lloyd]
Foot on the gas
I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights
And the stop signs
I'm ready to go
But I'm really not ready, girl
That's a problem
Cause I'm way too scared to fall
And I know you choose to stay, and oh
[Verse 3: Childish Gambino]
All the girlfriends saying "here we go again"
Rich kid but he act like a gentleman
Last one didn't end like it should've been
Two dates and he still wanna get it in
And they're saying it's because of the Internet
Try her once and it's on to the next chick
X-O the O face on your exes...right?
And we can do the same thing if you wanna have at it
When your thoughts can't breathe and you thinking asthmatic
And you wanna be a mom and I wasn't mad at it
I was thinking 'bout me, I'd be really bad at it
Cause I'm thinking 'bout me, weeks in Dubai
Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah we can try
So let's try
[Outro: Lloyd]
Whoa
I took off my nine to five
But you still don't have the time to kiss me, just hit me
And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy, you miss me
I got furniture to move
And we'll both be thirty soon
In Oakland, in Oakland
The only one I know is you, so the fuck I'm supposed to do?
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
Nicholas Brown
If youre coming back to this song, you know real music
Don
Been listening to this since I was in 5th grade Lmaoo idek how I found out about it but I guess my music taste always been good
MeadowsAtDawn
Even better coming back to it
OJ
✌️
SHHEESH
I wish I could erase all my memories of this song so I can fall in love with it again
Leysha De La Rosa
SHHEESH I hope you see this. Just wanted to let you know that I feel you in this 100%!!!
C THA DON BOKC
Me too
Junior
on god
2a2g Design
That's right 🔥
Mika Foshee
Never could fall out of love with it. Unconditional.