Childish Gambino
Biography
Donald McKinley Glover Jr., known professionally as Childish Gambino, is an American actor, comedian, singer, rapper, writer, director, and producer. He was born on September 25, 1983, at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Glover attended the DeKalb School of the Arts and later graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006 with a degree in Dramatic Writing.
Career Beginnings
While at NYU, Glover was part of the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy. His work caught the attention of Tina Fey, and at age 23, he was hired as a writer for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, where he worked from 2006 to 2009 and occasionally made cameo appearances. He and his co-writers won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series in 2008. In 2009, he joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Community as Troy Barnes, a role he played for five seasons.
Music Career as Childish Gambino
Glover's musical career began under the stage name Childish Gambino, a name he found using a Wu-Tang Clan name generator. After several self-released mixtapes, he signed with Glassnote Records and released his debut studio album, Camp, in 2011. This was followed by Because the Internet in 2013, which earned him his first Grammy nominations.
"Awaken, My Love!" and "This Is America"
In 2016, Gambino released "Awaken, My Love!", a significant departure from his hip-hop style, embracing funk and psychedelic soul. The album received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, and its single "Redbone" won the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. In 2018, he released the single and music video for "This Is America," a powerful commentary on gun violence and racism in the United States. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, becoming the first rap track to win in these categories.
Later Albums
His fourth studio album, 3.15.20, was released in 2020. A reworked version of this album, titled Atavista, was released in 2024, followed by his final studio album under the Childish Gambino moniker, Bando Stone & the New World.
Acting and Atlanta
In 2016, Glover created, wrote, and starred in the FX series Atlanta. The show follows Earnest "Earn" Marks (played by Glover) as he manages the rap career of his cousin in Atlanta. The series has received widespread critical acclaim for its surreal humor and examination of race and culture. For his work on Atlanta, Glover has won two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for acting and directing. His win for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series was the first for an African American. Beyond television, Glover has appeared in films such as Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) as Lando Calrissian and provided the voice for adult Simba in the 2019 remake of The Lion King.