Eminem isn’t the only rapper to kill off his alter-ego this year. Tomorrow, Childish Gambino joins Slim Shady in the pile of discarded personas, as Donald Glover releases his final album—titled Bando Stone & The New World—under that name. What better time and place, then, for the artist to commemorate the stage name that launched his career than on Hot Ones, a show celebrating the chicken wing—another art form that Glover helped elevate with his infamous Atlanta Lemon Pepper Wet.
“I always knew Childish Gambino was, like, a character. On some level, I wanted it to end,” Glover said while processing his first spicy wing. “I feel like the Childish Gambino character is almost like the boss from The Office. It’s like, yeah, that worked 10 years ago… but now it’s, like, a different thing. It’s like, oh, it’s a little sad but it’s also like wow, the cycle kind of continues, which is great I think.”
As an accomplished actor as well as musician, Glover certainly understands the appeal of slipping into someone else’s shoes to protect your own soul. “I don’t want to be the king and I also don’t have to be the peon, like I’m the joker in the court. I get to do what I want,” he said of rejecting the expectations of the rap and comedy communities respectively. “I think that’s probably been the hardest part of people understanding [his project], which is why I chose the character path.”
For a while, that meant some fans recognized him as Troy from Community (maybe the death of Childish Gambino means the movie is actually coming along?) and others demanded he “start rapping again.” Now, he says, “most people are like, ‘oh, it’s Donald,’ which is good.”
So how will Gambino take his final bow? “This last sunset walk is really about, like, this is for the fans, this is for you,” Glover said. “If this isn’t the best live show you’ve ever seen. If after the first song, you’re like, ‘yeah I got to go,’ you can leave and I will give you your money back. That’s how much I care about all of this.” He added that this promise is “not a joke. My lawyers will be like, ‘That’s a joke,’ but it’s not a joke.” R.I.P. Childish Gambino. You had a great run.