Childish Gambino Says He Created ‘Awaken, My Love’ Out of Pettiness
the shop
Donald Glover Reveals The ‘Extremely Petty’ Reason That Pushed Him To Make ‘Awaken, My Love!’
After the success of his second album Because The Internet, Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, reached new heights in 2016 with the release of his third album Awaken, My Love! The project was a large shift in the sound that was present on Because The Internet, as Glover had songs that featured him singing as opposed to rapping along with production that combined psychedelic soul, funk, and R&B. As of today, Awaken, My Love! is Glover’s most successful album and during a recent appearance on LeBron James’ HBO show The Shop, he explained what inspired him to create the album.
“Did you ever tap into something that is in you that you feel is kind of bad to win?” Childish Gambino asked the group that included Lebron and Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson. “Because I struggle with that. I am naturally petty. Like, extremely petty” He revealed that he made Awaken, My Love! to prove an unnamed critic wrong. “Awaken, My Love was literally because somebody said, ‘Oh, he can’t make a hit.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, not only will I make a hit, I won’t make a single video for it.’”
After its release in December 2016, Awaken, My Love became his highest-charting release after it debuted at No. 5 on the albums chart. The project also birthed Glover’s most successful single with “Redbone” which peaked at No. 12 on the singles chart and is currently 5X Platinum.
You can view the clip from the upcoming episode above. The full episode airs on March 4 at 9 am PST exclusively on UNINTERRUPTED’s YouTube channel.
Jay-Z Admits He Used To Forget His Lyrics When He Performed On LeBron James’ ‘The Shop’
LeBron James‘ HBO Show The Shop returns for its fourth season this Friday, bringing with it an impressive list of guests including Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny, WNBA champion Nneka Ogwumike, and Bron’s big homie Jay-Z. In a new clip previewing the season premiere airing this Friday, the latter makes an admission that might surprise a few fans of the 30-year rap veteran: He wasn’t always as cool, calm, and collected as his rap persona might have you believe.
When LeBron asks whether his guests ever got “so zoned out they couldn’t see anything,” Jay confesses, “In the beginning, I used to get on the stage and just forget all my lyrics.” Of course, Jay is far from the only rapper ever to forget his own lyrics — on stage or otherwise. Both Eminem and Lil Wayne have copped to having to Google their rhymes to ensure they don’t repeat themselves, while current hitmaker Lil Baby was stumped by a TikTokers lyrics quiz when he couldn’t complete his own bars. Among them, it’s probably easiest to forgive Jay and Wayne, who’ve both embraced a style of songwriting heavy on mental formulation without writing anything down.
The Shop airs 5/28 at 9 pm ET on HBO. Watch the promo above.