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 Gรถransson 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 Gรถransson 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 โI got a new album coming out soon, so this is the last time weโre gonna play a lot of this shit.โ 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, โ3005.โ
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]
Unnecessary
Childish Gambino Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My hotel cost a kilo, banking like a free throw
Fuck y'all, we A-Team, y'all plan B like Walgreens
Cop that shit and paint it black, niggas want they summer back?
Ha-ha, no way, hublots, Dolce
Beans in my hand, girl in the car
She still with her man, but she seeing me tomorrow
Homegirl on that Master P, watch us ball like referees
Used to sport them Filas cause my cousin pack them heaters
We don't wife 'em like Khalifa, we just party then we leave 'em
Tell 'em that we hittin', we don't really see 'em
My girl look best when she only wear a fitted
Q and 'Bino in the house and you niggas in the senate
Get it?
Four thou' on my fit, that's unnecessary
Skiing in Japan, that's unnecessary
Molly on my rider, that's unnecessary
'Bino spit the fire, that ain't even necessary
That's unnecessary, that's unnecessary
That's unnecessary, that's unnecessary
Roll out on a plane, that's unnecessary
'Tussin and champagne, nigga that ain't even necessary
They said don't buy the belt and I got it
They said don't get the Rollie and I bought it
Nigga, I'm balling
My fucking mixtape can get you through college
Getting them dollars
Showing my pearly white teeth, I'm a nigga that's flawless
Came a long way from dumping out Impalas
Same gun and pants, different ski mask from coppers
All of this copper
Knock knock, who could it be? Niggas know I got it on lock
Yawk, yawk, bitch rappers better move 'fore them niggas get dropped
Mr. Flop boy, you got your label hot
I'm the hardest out, you's a table cloth
Unnecessary balling, I was carted off
Been fucking with my side bitch so much my main bitch can't stand it
Hunned racks in three months, man this shit is outstanding
Seen a dollar go to stupid racks, billion, trillion
Nigga, that's what I call building
'Bino what it do, let's go half on a million
Bathroom DVR, that's unnecessary
Pushing in that bulletproof, that's unnecessary
Stunting at the mall, that's unnecessary
Condo on my arm, that ain't even necessary
That's unnecessary, that's unnecessary
That's unnecessary, that's unnecessary
Ibiza for a day, that's unnecessary
Shows a hundred K, nigga that ain't even necessary
Black Lip Bastard
Actual natural disaster
I did a song about DMT
Soulja Boy did one right after
3 eyes, these guys ain't seeing me
No radio showed up over B.o.B
G-O-D Emcee
I'm the devil with angel wings
Pilot Talk, currency
Stole the show, burglary
I love that flow but I got more
Open condoms in condos
Open bottles of Moet
White with white girls in Eugene
We used to call hoes on 3-way
And take 'em out to the movies
And now we just do it our way
She driving stick in the driveway
Just popped a molly with Miley
She do shrooms every blue moon
Hundred million trillion muthafuckin' racks nigga
Pinot grigio the lean'll go in that nigga
Now that's unnecessary
Been a legend since elementary
Ayo, Bino, tell these niggas I ain't no joke
She don't need speak, she ain't giving no throat
You are under my control
Suspend the L's but I'm on a roll
Grade A, honor roll
Mayday, Soul!
In โUnnecessary,โ Childish Gambino is joined by fellow rappers Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul to brag about their wealth and success in the hip-hop industry. The lyrics highlight the opulence and excesses of their lifestyle as they boast about their expensive hotel rooms, luxury watches, and unnecessarily expensive shopping sprees. They also talk about their relationships with women as well as the use of drugs like Molly and shrooms, indicating a sense of reckless behavior.
Gambino, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul seem to be unapologetically indulgent in their success, enjoying the luxuries that come with their fame, but they also acknowledge that much of it is unnecessary. The song draws attention to how hip-hop culture and the consumption of material goods has become intertwined, as the rappers use their wealth to set themselves apart from others and elevate their status within the music industry.
โUnnecessaryโ is a braggadocious song that exemplifies the materialistic and opulent nature of hip-hop culture. It is a commentary on the excesses and extravagance that come with wealth and fame, but also reveals the recklessness that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Who the fuck, Gambino, this nigga on your TiVo?
Gambino is being asked who the man on his TV is.
My hotel cost a kilo, banking like a free throw
I am doing great, my hotel is expensive and I have money like I can easily make a free throw.
Fuck y'all, we A-Team, y'all plan B like Walgreens
We are superior, the A-Team, while y'all are mere back up, plan B like Walgreens.
Cop that shit and paint it black, niggas want they summer back?
People are questioning if summer has ended because they want it back so badly.
Ha-ha, no way, hublots, Dolce
I laugh as I say no way, I am too luxurious with Hublots and Dolce.
Beans in my hand, girl in the car
I have some cash in my hand, and a girl in my car.
She still with her man, but she seeing me tomorrow
This woman is in a relationship, yet satisfyingly she plans to see me tomorrow.
Homegirl on that Master P, watch us ball like referees
A girl is inspired by Master P and she predicts us balling like referees.
Unnecessary roughness? We just trying to function
There is objection about inappropriate behavior, but we are just trying to function and have a good time.
Used to sport them Filas cause my cousin pack them heaters
In the past, I used to wear Filas because my cousin had guns and Filas looked tough.
We don't wife 'em like Khalifa, we just party then we leave 'em
We do not marry women like Khalifa does, we just party and then leave them.
Tell 'em that we hittin', we don't really see 'em
We say that we might attend, but we never really go.
My girl look best when she only wear a fitted
My girlfriend looks the best when she only wears a fitted cap.
Q and 'Bino in the house and you niggas in the senate
Q and Gambino are in charge, while the others are not.
Get it?
Do you understand?
Four thou' on my fit, that's unnecessary
I spent four thousand on my outfit, which was excessive.
Skiing in Japan, that's unnecessary
Going skiing in Japan was not needed, it was excessive.
Molly on my rider, that's unnecessary
Having molly on my rider was not needed or necessary.
'Bino spit the fire, that ain't even necessary
Gambino has spit out fire while rapping, which was a cool thing but not really needed.
Roll out on a plane, that's unnecessary
No need to fly out on a plane, it was an excessive way to travel.
'Tussin and champagne, nigga that ain't even necessary
Drinking champagne and cough syrup is not needed, it is excessive.
They said don't buy the belt and I got it
Someone said that I should not buy this belt, so I did buy it.
They said don't get the Rollie and I bought it
Someone said that I should not buy the Rolex watch, but I did end up buying it.
Nigga, I'm balling
I am in fact, doing very well.
My fucking mixtape can get you through college
My mixtape is so great that it can get you through college.
Getting them dollars
I am making money.
Showing my pearly white teeth, I'm a nigga that's flawless
I am proud to show off my pearly white teeth, and believe I look flawless.
Came a long way from dumping out Impalas
I have made significant progress since dumping out of a Chevy Impalas.
Same gun and pants, different ski mask from coppers
I have the same gun and pants, but I prefer to use varying ski masks depending on who I'm confronting.
All of this copper
I have an abundance of riches.
Knock knock, who could it be? Niggas know I got it on lock
Who's knocking and doesn't know I'm on top of things?
Yawk, yawk, bitch rappers better move 'fore them niggas get dropped
Rappers better keep their distance, or else any people surrounding me could drop them.
Mr. Flop boy, you got your label hot
I do not like talking to someone who is currently flopping so bad that they are making their label look bad.
I'm the hardest out, you's a table cloth
I am the toughest musician, while someone else is merely a useless tablecloth.
Unnecessary balling, I was carted off
The balling was in excess and ended up getting me carted off.
Been fucking with my side bitch so much my main bitch can't stand it
I have been seeing my mistress so much that my main girlfriend cannot take it anymore.
Hunnedracks in three months, man this shit is outstanding
I made a lot of money in three months and it is surprising to me.
Seen a dollar go to stupid racks, billion, trillion
It is ridiculous how much a dollar can potentially add up to, be it billions or trillions.
Nigga, that's what I call building
That is how one builds their way up to wealth.
'Bino what it do, let's go half on a million
What's up Gambino? Do you want to split a million dollars with me?
Bathroom DVR, that's unnecessary
Installing a DVR in the bathroom seems excessive and is not needed.
Pushing in that bulletproof, that's unnecessary
Riding in a bulletproof car is not needed and too excessive.
Stunting at the mall, that's unnecessary
Showing off at the mall with excessive actions is not needed.
Condo on my arm, that ain't even necessary
Having a condo on my arm is not needed, it is too excessive.
Ibiza for a day, that's unnecessary
Going to Ibiza merely for a day is unnecessary and too much.
Shows a hundred K, nigga that ain't even necessary
Making a hundred thousand is a mere indulgence, it is not needed nor necessary.
Black Lip Bastard
I am a Black Lip Bastard.
Actual natural disaster
I'm a true natural disaster.
I did a song about DMT
I wrote a song about DMT.
Soulja Boy did one right after
Soulja Boy went on to do one right after I did my song.
3 eyes, these guys ain't seeing me
I have 3 eyes, and others cannot see me.
No radio showed up over B.o.B
B.o.B did not exceed me on the radio.
G-O-D Emcee
I am the God of Emcees.
I'm the devil with angel wings
I am both the devil and an angel, which is a paradox.
Pilot Talk, currency
I engage in pilot talk, meaning I talk to people who are worth a lot of money.
Stole the show, burglary
I stole the show from everyone else, it was an act of burglary.
I love that flow but I got more
I still like that flow, but I can do even better than that.
Open condoms in condos
I am in the habit of opening condoms in condos.
Open bottles of Moet
I have in the habit of opening bottles of Moet.
White with white girls in Eugene
I am in Eugene, hanging out with white girls.
We used to call hoes on 3-way
In the past we would have conference calls with the hoes.
And take 'em out to the movies
We would take them out to movies.
And now we just do it our way
Nowadays we just do things on our own terms.
She driving stick in the driveway
She is driving a car with a stick shift in the driveway.
Just popped a molly with Miley
I just took a molly with Miley Cyrus.
She do shrooms every blue moon
She takes shrooms every now and then.
Hundred million trillion muthafuckin' racks nigga
I have just an ungodly amount of riches, it defies belief.
Pinot grigio the lean'll go in that nigga
Adding pinot grigio to the lean will temporarily sedate that person.
Now that's unnecessary
That is simply not needed.
Been a legend since elementary
I have been a legend since elementary school.
Ayo, Bino, tell these niggas I ain't no joke
Hey, Gambino, tell these people that I am no joking matter.
She don't need speak, she ain't giving no throat
She is not talking or giving a blow job.
You are under my control
You are under my influence and cannot get away.
Suspend the L's but I'm on a roll
Ignore my losses, I am on a winning streak.
Grade A, honor roll
I received good grades in school and am an honor roll student.
Mayday, Soul!
This is an obvious distress signal, something is wrong and help is needed.
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Donald Glover, Quincy Matthew Hanley, Herbert Anthony Stevens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RobwardJr
Black Lip Bastard
Actual natural disaster
I did a song about DMT
Soulja Boy did one right after
3 eyes, these guys ainโt seeing me
No radio showed up over B.o.B
G-O-D Emcee
Iโm the devil with angel wings
Pilot Talk, currency
Stole the show, burglary
I love that flow but I got more
Open condoms in condos
Open bottles of Moet
White with white girls in Eugene
We used to call hoes on 3-way
And take 'em out to the movies
And now we just do it our way
She driving stick in the driveway
Just popped a molly with Miley
She do shrooms every blue moon
Hundred million trillion muthafuckin' racks nigga
Pinot grigio the leanโll go in that nigga
Now that's unnecessary
Been a legend since elementary
Ayo, Bino, tell these niggas I ain't no joke
She don't need speak, she ain't giving no throat
You are under my control
Suspend the L's but I'm on a roll
Grade A, honor roll
Mayday, Soul!
philip hillman
and now we just do it our way she driving stick in the drive way just popped a Molly with miley
she do shrooms every blue moon
hundred million trillion mothaphucking racks nigga !
pinot grecio the lean"ll go in that nigga
now that's unnecessary
been a legend since elementary
ayo
bino
tell these niggas I ain't no joke
she don't need speech she ain't giving no throat
DatGee2
2020 got me going through classics. This is one without a doubt. Just get the right speakers it hits different
Terrence Chapman
Fr
Anthony Allen
Facts!
In My Zone
Fax ๐
HALFMOONCLUB
Nah fr my boy
elihu 909
This Is One Of Ab Souls Dopest Verses
Gypsyblood777
YES
In My Zone
Super fax ๐ one of my favorite and one of his best ever.
JIGGY DRAGON
His flow so crazy, this is the song that made me find out about him
Derik Hawkey
All facts