Childish Gambino Sheds Light On Leaving Rap Name Behind In New “Hot Ones” Episode

Donald Glover was the latest spice-ridden guest on Hot Ones with Sean Evans, and it was a very fun and compelling conversation to watch go down. Moreover, he compared the process of eating ten increasingly spicy chicken wings and answering Evans’ questions to ayahuasca, and we still don’t know if he meant that in a good or bad way. Jokes aside, this new episode lands right before the release of Glover’s new album, Bando Stone & The New World, which will seemingly be his final effort under the Childish Gambino moniker. During this interview, he remarked on what this name means to him, how he sees its retirement, and who contributed to these conclusions.

“A collaborator of mine, fam and I, we talked about the death of Superman a lot,” Childish Gambino said on Hot Ones. “I always knew Childish Gambino was like a character, and on some level, I wanted it to end. I almost feel like Childish Gambino is like the boss from The Office. Like, ‘That stuff worked 10 years ago.’ All that stuff worked, but now it’s like a different thing. It’s like, ‘Oh, it’s a little sad.’ But it’s like, wow, the cycle kind of continues, which is great, I think.”

“The Childish Gambino story from the Wu-Tang Clan,” the multi-hyphenate said towards the end of the Hot Ones episode, explaining the meaning of his rap name (taken from a Wu-Tang name generator) that he’s come to understand. “RZA told me it’s a story of a child turning into a boss. This last sunset walk is for the fans. This is for you.”

“If this isn’t the best live show you’ve seen,” Childish Gambino joked about his upcoming world tour, which begins in Oklahoma on August 11 and will get support from WILLOW and Amaarae. “After the first song, if you’re like, ‘I gotta go,’ you can leave and I’ll give you your money back. That’s how much I care about all of this. That’s not a joke. My lawyers will be like, ‘It’s a joke,’ but it’s not a joke. I will set it up so you can go.”