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]
The Real
Childish Gambino Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hell yeah I do it bigger
I got eight figures like I'm skatin' in the winter
Niggas thought that I was kiddin'
These raps are not my sketches
I'm a sick boy, nigga, when I cough I hope you catch it
My germs in your system, now you coughin' like asthmatic
All of my "I'm tired of it" turns into your "Wish I had it"
She said this dick is hers, I don't wanna take it from her
Your dick stay chilly, it's a cold, rough world
I get superhero pussy, she a PowerPuff Girl
Shit just got real like Pinocchio turds
Yo nigga is Geppetto, I don't want no instrumentals
Leave the vocals on my shit
Like the song givin' me head
And your bitch can't sleep 'cause she used to my bed
She could have any dick, you just mad she chose-d mine
Schoolin' all you niggas and my mouth will make it Columbine
I am just a rapper, man, I ain't got no clothing line
My clothing line has closed the line and let me shop at closing time
Yo boy got stacks like I'm standin' in a Borders line
Hidin' from you bitches 'cause real nigga's hard to find
Work this shit like overtime
Yeah, my clothes are so designed
Closet look like Bloomingdale's, yo closet look like fashion jail
I break you out, I post for bail
This money make me Olsen twins, you call your bitch, you hearin' this
Uh uh uh
Yes it's necessary to be flier than canaries
Stay fresh to death like a mint cemetery
I do not talk, yeah my life a library
Eat her out and leave her cold, make that hole my Ben & Jerry's
Broke the mold on you bitches, man, I am so unique
You are not a rapper, if you were you'd hardly speak
I am Stone Mountain and I haven't reached my peak
Fuck her like I'm mad at her then I turn the other cheek
This shit is amazing, check me in my sweater, man
Comme des Garçons, bitch, nobody do it better, man
But I do it better, man
When it comes to pussy girls whisper in my ear "No one else can do this to me"
You's a cutie but you gotta know I'm married to my work
And these niggas ain't shit so I guess they must be urine
Gotta gift this bitch, like Christmas, bitch
I'm a act and rap, Will Smith this bitch
When rappers start rappin' over indie shit
Just remember I was first to hit this shit
The difference is I'm different, bitch
How the fuck can these niggas be dickless pricks?
Man, what the fuck you gon' do?
I don't need to talk to you
I am just a rapper too
In this verse from Childish Gambino's song The Real, the rapper asserts his dominance and success in the music industry. He boasts about having eight figures and spending money however he wants because he's worked hard for it. Gambino also talks about the power of his music, comparing it to a virus that infects anyone who listens, making them "cough like asthmatic." He implies that even though he doesn't need the money, his success and innovation in rap make him worthy of the fame and fortune that has come with it.
Gambino also takes time in this verse to talk about his talent and uniqueness as a rapper, referencing his Stone Mountain roots and his commitment to his craft. He talks about his fashion sense and being one of the first rappers to embrace indie music. He brags about being able to satisfy women better than anyone else and implies that he doesn't care about anyone else's opinions or success.
Overall, The Real is a song about staying true to oneself, staying committed to one's craft, and rising above the opinions and expectations of others to succeed in one's own way.
Line by Line Meaning
Motherfuck a nigga
Disregard negative energy and focus on elevating oneself.
Hell yeah I do it bigger
I surpass expectations and strive for greatness.
I got eight figures like I'm skatin' in the winter
I have achieved wealth that allows me to live life luxuriously.
Niggas thought that I was kiddin'
Others underestimated me and my abilities.
These raps are not my sketches
My words hold significant value and should not be taken as just mere ideas.
I'm a sick boy, nigga, when I cough I hope you catch it
I have powerful messages that I hope inspire those who hear them.
My germs in your system, now you coughin' like asthmatic
My ideas have influenced and left a lasting impact on others.
All of my "I'm tired of it" turns into your "Wish I had it"
What others take for granted, I desire and strive to achieve.
I don't need this money, but I spend it like I wanna
I have the financial security to enjoy life without worrying about expenses.
She said this dick is hers, I don't wanna take it from her
I respect women's autonomy and do not engage in non-consensual behavior.
Your dick stay chilly, it's a cold, rough world
Life can be tough and unforgiving, but maintaining a positive attitude helps overcome obstacles.
I get superhero pussy, she a PowerPuff Girl
I have an extraordinary partner who strengthens and supports me.
Shit just got real like Pinocchio turds
The situation just became serious and should not be taken lightly.
Yo nigga is Geppetto, I don't want no instrumentals
Others may rely on external factors to succeed, but I believe in my own talent and individuality.
Leave the vocals on my shit
I demand my own voice and do not need others to speak on my behalf.
Like the song givin' me head
A song that resonates with me and leaves a lasting impression.
And your bitch can't sleep 'cause she used to my bed
I have left a lasting impression on others and they cannot move on from our experiences together.
She could have any dick, you just mad she chose-d mine
Jealousy and insecurity stem from the fear of being inadequate compared to others.
Schoolin' all you niggas and my mouth will make it Columbine
My lyrics and messages are powerful and impactful, similar to the Columbine school shooting.
I am just a rapper, man, I ain't got no clothing line
I do not need to follow the trend of creating a clothing line to validate my success.
My clothing line has closed the line and let me shop at closing time
I have achieved success to the point where I am invited to exclusive opportunities and events.
Yo boy got stacks like I'm standin' in a Borders line
I am financially secure and my success is evident in the wealth I have accumulated.
Hidin' from you bitches 'cause real nigga's hard to find
True authenticity and individuality are rare qualities to find in others.
Work this shit like overtime
Persistence and hard work are necessary to achieve success.
Yeah, my clothes are so designed
My fashion choices are unique and differentiate me from others.
Closet look like Bloomingdale's, yo closet look like fashion jail
My wardrobe is extensive and diverse, while others' wardrobes lack originality and creativity.
I break you out, I post for bail
I have the power to influence and help others break free from societal norms and expectations.
This money make me Olsen twins, you call your bitch, you hearin' this
My wealth has allowed me to have a lavish lifestyle and influence those around me.
Yes it's necessary to be flier than canaries
It is important to stand out and be unique in a world full of conformity.
Stay fresh to death like a mint cemetery
Maintaining freshness and originality makes an everlasting impression.
I do not talk, yeah my life a library
My experiences and life lessons have significant value and can inspire others.
Eat her out and leave her cold, make that hole my Ben & Jerry's
My sexual encounters satisfy me and the partner involved, leaving them yearning for more.
Broke the mold on you bitches, man, I am so unique
I break free from societal norms and expectations, making me stand out from the rest.
You are not a rapper, if you were you'd hardly speak
As a rapper, it is your duty to use your voice to inspire and bring forth change.
I am Stone Mountain and I haven't reached my peak
I have potential for even greater success and impact on the world.
Fuck her like I'm mad at her then I turn the other cheek
I can switch between being passionate and tender in a sexual encounter.
This shit is amazing, check me in my sweater, man
My success and achievements are astonishing and deserve recognition.
Comme des Garçons, bitch, nobody do it better, man
My fashion choices are unparalleled and unique to me.
But I do it better, man
I excel in all aspects of my life and constantly strive to improve.
When it comes to pussy girls whisper in my ear "No one else can do this to me"
My sexual performance is unmatched and celebrated by those who experience it.
You's a cutie but you gotta know I'm married to my work
My commitment to my craft and success takes precedence over romantic relationships.
And these niggas ain't shit so I guess they must be urine
Others' lack of success and impact leave them insignificant and undesirable.
Gotta gift this bitch, like Christmas, bitch
My sexual prowess and performance is a gift and celebrated like a holiday.
I'm a act and rap, Will Smith this bitch
I possess the talent and ability to succeed in both the acting and music industry, like Will Smith.
When rappers start rappin' over indie shit
I was one of the first to move away from traditional rap and venture into new sounds and styles.
Just remember I was first to hit this shit
My influence and impact in the rap industry are undeniable and worthy of recognition.
The difference is I'm different, bitch
My unique talents, qualities, and perspective separate me from others and make me stand out in a positive way.
How the fuck can these niggas be dickless pricks?
Others lack the talent, drive, or skill to succeed in the rap industry.
Man, what the fuck you gon' do?
When faced with obstacles and challenges, it is important to persevere and continue to work hard.
I don't need to talk to you
Those that doubt my abilities or beliefs do not have a significant impact on my life.
I am just a rapper too
I am a talented and unique rapper who adds value to the rap industry.
Contributed by Elliot D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@StudioScarecrow
crazy how much better he's gotten since this
@theidkguy8132
what do u mean?This was pretty good
@beejwalden2009
He's ten times better in these tracks and ep.
@juanthompson7395
But this hits different for people who like this rap style and this is my favorite Gambino
@ashertv9534
crazy how much better he's gotten then 2014
@benjichillin5226
The old gambino was fire too the point dexter is a guilty pleasure
@G15j3004
This beat is....clean as hell
@gemjule
tbh still obsessed with this
@TheMuzikTrail
I hope his last rap project is “I am just a rapper 3”
@marisaorlando3658
"When rappers start rapping over indie shit just remember I was the first who did this shit"