Glover's latest Childish Gambino album “Awaken, My Love!” was released in 2016. In February, his song “This Is America won the Grammy.
On the silver screen, Donald Glover stars as Simba in Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Lion King. On stage, Donald Glover performs as Childish Gambino, the artist behind songs like “Sober” and “This is America.” Is Donald Glover done releasing music as Childish Gambino? Here’s what we know about the musician’s latest projects.
Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, stars in Disney’s ‘The Lion King’
Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover, is a renaissance man. He’s an actor, singer, writer, rapper, comedian, dancer, and director. Some know him from his song “Sober.” Others know him as Lando Calrissian from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Recently, Disney fans know him as the voice of adult Simba in the company’s adaptation of The Lion King. There, Donald Glover stars alongside actors like Seth Rogen, Eric Andre, James Earl Jones, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
But The Lion King isn’t the only movie Donald Glover worked on recently. The actor had roles in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and The Martian. Before that, Donald Glover was a cast member on the comedy series, Community, and the comedy-drama series, Atlanta.
In addition to voice acting as Simba, Disney features Donald Glover on The Lion King’s 2019 soundtrack, performing songs “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” In terms of his solo music, created under the stage name “Childish Gambino,” the artist might be throwing in the towel.
Donald Glover sings ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ on ‘The Lion King’s’ soundtrack
Aside from his work on The Lion King’s soundtrack, Childish Gambino’s most recent song was the 2018 hit, “This Is America.” The song won the Grammy Award for “Song of the Year” and the Grammy Award for “Best Music Video.” In a previous statement, Donald Glover said he would take a step back from music to focus on other projects.
“I stand by that,” Donald said, after accepting his Grammy Award. “I’m really appreciative of this. I’m making another project right now, but I like endings, I think they’re important to progress.”
Donald Glover is currently touring in Australia as Childish Gambino because the tour was postponed due to an injury. The artist also has a few shows lined up in the United States in the fall. Although Donald Glover previously stated this would be the end of Childish Gambino, in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the artist stated he still loves music and creating music.
“I think I’m going to still do shows, I’m not quite sure,” Glover said. “I mean, I broke my foot, I had to make up these shows… but I love music, I really love making music.”
Travis Scott released his version of Childish Gambino’s “Feels Like Summer”
Even though Childish Gambino might not be releasing music, his music still lives on through artists like Travis Scott. The rapper recently released his re-imagined version of Childish Gambino’s song, “Feels Like Summer.” Kylie Jenner shared a clip along with a promotion for her line of beauty products, Kylie Skin.
Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Lion King premieres in the United States on July 19, 2019.
Review by Tim Sendra
Over the course of a backpack's worth of mixtapes and a couple of albums that won him commercial success, if not critical acclaim, Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) staked a claim as one of the brainiest, weirdest, and most inventive rappers around. His 2015 EP Kauai widened his approach a bit, with Glover doing more singing than rapping in a hazy modern R&B style, showing off a voice so smooth that it's almost unfair that one guy can have so much going for him. While working on his new TV series, Atlanta, Glover and his longtime sidekick Ludwig Göransson seem to have had some kind of musical awakening brought on by late-'60s dipped-in-psychedelia soul and early-'70s earthy funk. 'Awaken, My Love!' has fuzz guitars, vintage synths of all kinds, burbling organs, grimy basslines, and masses of backing vocals adorning the songs; the influence of Sly Stone and George Clinton's various groups is strong, and Glover doesn't rap at all. He does use his voice like an acrobat, though, sometimes crooning sweetly, other times screaming like a demon. He doesn't have a classic soul singer's voice, but what he does have is personality and it comes through loud and clear, even through the murkiest moments of nasty funk. Glover and Göransson construct the album like a soundtrack to a nostalgic trip, hitting all the sweet spots of that magic moment when funk and soul got truly odd and inspiring. Tripped-out ballads like 'Me and Your Mama' and 'Terrified' bump up against massive jams like 'Riot' and 'Boogieman,' and totally oddball moments like 'California' match up well with heartfelt songs about fatherhood ('The Night Me and Your Mama Met,' 'Stand Tall'), which give the album its heart. Empowering pop-soul songs ('Have Some Love'), gloomy tales of the entertainment biz ('Zombies'), late-night detours into true love ('Redbone') -- everything Glover tries comes off just right and every note on every song is perfectly placed. Göransson and the tight crew of musicians must all be dedicated students of the era's sounds, and they play with controlled passion and fire. It's not an academic exercise by any means, though. The songs are all as memorable as Bootsy Collins' star-shaped sunglasses, and Glover's vocal gymnastics and impassioned delivery vault things past into more rarified air. It's true that the album owes a deep debt to the sounds that inspired it, but there are times when the music, voices, and words come together to make something that sounds owned by Childish Gambino alone. It's a departure, an update of the past, a statement of artistic intent from one of the true polymaths of the millennial era, but above all, 'Awaken, My Love!' is a stone-cold blast from beginning to end. ['Awaken, My Love!' was also released on LP.]
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