Bando stone and the new world aoty

Childish Gambino’s fifth studio album,
Bando Stone and The New World
, is probably the strangest little outlier of an album I’ve reviewed, to-date. Not because it’s anything stylistically odd or unexpected, but because of exactly
what
it is.

More on that in a moment.

First, if you aren’t familiar with Childish Gambino, his real name is Donald Glover, and he is a multipronged talent — rapper, singer, actor, comedian, and more. He got his start writing episodes of
30 Rock
for Tine Fey in 2007, when he was 23, then went on to act in
Community
and
Atlanta
on the TV side; he’s also played The Prowler in
Spiderman: Homecoming,
Lando Calrissian in
Solo: A Star Wars Story
, and he was the voice of Simba in the live-action
The Lion King
—just to name a few of his more notable acting credits.

His music career kicked off in 2011 with a wildly successful debut album,
Camp
. And by ‘wildly successful’, I mean that it
debuted
at #11 on the Billboard 200. Most debut albums don’t get anywhere near that list. By comparison:




Taylor Swift
’s debut album (2007) debuted at #19;




Kendrick Lamar
’s debut album (also 2011), debuted at #119;



and neither debut from

Childish Gambino’s ‘Bando Stone and the New World’: All 17 Songs Ranked


Rappers who announce their retirement often end up like that one friend who declares, “I’m never drinking again” — then, weeks, maybe months later, are found on Instagram chugging an entire bottle of Casamigos. Not to say they weren’t sincere about quitting; it’s just, more often than not, they needed a break, a pause, a chance to reset, to recalibrate. Musicians are no different.

Donald Glover, since 2017, has teased the retirement of his rap alias Childish Gambino. This wasn’t the same Glover who spent the early 2010s rhyming for respect as a world-building, punchline-pushing actor-turned-rapper but a highly successful multi-hyphenate soaring on the wings of several career milestones: a hit television show (FX’s
ATLANTA
), a hit record (“Redbone”) and a starring role in a hit film franchise (Lando Calrissian in
Solo: A Star Wars Story
), not to mention a loyal fanbase who watched his every move and knew his every rap.

Seven years later, the accolades in film, music, and television have increased, but his commitment to retiring the alter-ego born in an NYU


by: Irene Moran

On July 19th, Childish Gambino released his sixth album
Bando Stone and The New World
. This album runs for around an hour and contains 17 songs. Childish Gambino released this album around 2 months after another one he released in May, titled
Atavista
.

 

This album was very interesting in the best way possible. Many people, including myself, are loving the track “Lithonia”, which was also released as a single. This song is also accompanied by a music video, which features Alex Wolff in it as well — known for
Hereditary
,
A Quiet Place
, and more. 

 

The album opens with “H3@RT$ W3RE M3@NT T0 F7¥” which in my viewpoint is the most different song out of the rest of the songs on the album. It actually might be my least favorite from the album. I feel as though it doesn’t fit the vibe for the rest of the album. Especially with “Lithonia” being right after it, it’s very different. 

 

When “Lithonia” comes on, it’s that song that “makes people float out of their seat.” It’s just so mesmerizing. When I heard the first breakdown around 54 seconds into the song, all I could say was, “Wow.” I didn’t know how else to react. The song is so catchy



Atwood Magazine’s writers discuss Childish Gambino’s final album ‘Bando Stone and The New World,’ unpacking the songs themselves, the artist’s illustrious 14-year journey, and the legacy of musical innovation and disruption that Donald Glover’s alter ego now leaves behind.



Featured here are Atwood writers Ankita Bhanot, Ciaran Short, Dimitra Gurduiala, Dominic Kureen, and Minna Abdel-Gawad!





— —


To start, what is your relationship with Childish Gambino’s music?



Ciaran Short
: I’ve been a fan of Donald Glover for what feels like my entire conscious life, particularly in terms of my relationship with the internet and the early mixtape and YouTube eras. I have a brother who’s five years older than me, so I luckily got exposed to a lot of music and comedy that I likely wouldn’t have otherwise, principally Childish Gambino and derrickcomedy. I have a very vivid memory of being about ten years old and my brother begrudgingly tolerating my presence with him and his friends, and hearing Childish Gambino’s first mixtape
Sick Boi
for the first time. His music sounded accessible to me in a different way than a lot of other hip-hop and I’ve closely followed everyt