Childish Gambino’s fifth and final musical venture, “Bando Stone and The New World,” marks the end of the once-wandering persona created by Donald Glover 19 years ago. Glover decided to retire the moniker after no longer finding music fulfilling.
Throughout his career, Childish Gambino has explored various musical styles, from introducing himself as an eccentric backpack rapper in his early albums ‘Camp’ and ‘Because The Internet,’ to evolving into a world-building experimentalist in ‘Awaken, My Love!,’ ‘Atavista,’ and his 2020 self-leaked project ‘3.15.20.’
The album doubles as the soundtrack to Glover’s upcoming dystopian survival movie of the same name and returns to many of his past works. It’s full of cinematic interludes reminiscent of ‘Because The Internet,’ while tracks like ‘Survive’ feel like radio-worthy leftovers from ‘Atavista.’ Even on ‘Yoshinoya,’ Gambino takes aim at critics with his laid-back flow and middle finger extended.
‘Bando Stone and The New World’ sees Gambino moving forward as well. Lyrically, he has matured into a man who touches on themes such as fatherhood, love, faith, and more, while his sonic repertoire receives a fresh expansion. For example, ‘Lithonia’ sees him try his hand at a mini rock opera, injecting it with a similar grungy angst as Radiohead’s ‘Creep,’ while ‘Got To Be’ samples Atlanta club and evokes Prodigy.
Glover collaborates with Afro-fusion superstar Amaarae, R&B pioneer Jorja Smith, confident spitter Flo Milli, and his son Legend on the record, but despite its sonic variety, it lacks a clear sense of cohesion or theme compared to his previous work. ‘Bando Stone and The New World’ is a bittersweet farewell to the legend of Childish Gambino. The album, released under RCA Records, dropped on July 19, 2024
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