Wow! #Socialites get into this! According to Donald Glover, under his musical alias Childish Gambino, he initially wrote “This Is America,” as a diss track towards Drake.
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Oop! Donald Glover Says Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” Was Initially A Drake Diss Track
While speaking with GQ, the rapper and actor spoke out about mentoring former First Daughter Malia Obama, “dodging a bullet” with ‘SNL,’ and also how he had another vision for his hit “This Is America.”
The 2018 track was praised and poised as a poignant and uplifting song about race and police brutality in the United States of America, the supposed land of the free.
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However, Glover/Gambino reveals he had other intentions for the song, claiming it hadn’t immediately been meant to be so powerful in the manner it is now.
He explains, “I had the idea three years before. I told [director] Hiro [Murai] the idea, and he’s like, ‘I really want to do that.’… The idea for the song started as a joke. To be completely honest, ‘This is America’ — that was all we had was that line. It started as a Drake diss, to be honest, as like a funny way of doing it. But then I was like, this sh*t sounds kind of hard though. So I was like, let me play with it.”
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For those unknowing, back in 2014, Glover, under his Gambino alias, had stirred up a one-sided beef with Drake. During an Australian concert, Glover claimed his rap alter ego was a better artist than Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and ScHoolboy Q combined.
Clarifying the moment, he later claimed that his big ego took over, further noting that it was all a part of his brand, and that he meant no ill will or hate towards anyone.
He also says he and Drake have reportedly become close friends in the years to follow.
Switching gears from the diss track talk, Glover revealed how he masterfully produced the song and matching video into an iconic moment.
Glover says that he and Murai studied the music video to Michael Jackson‘s 1983 hit “Thriller,” and brainstormed on how to “make people care about anything anymore.” He says, “Well, you have to have a moment in real time.”
Glover adds that all of the Black Lives Matter social protests going on at the time had inspired him to make what he has described as a “We Are The World” -like song, but for the Trap genre.
And for the video portion, he reveals it was shot on film for added drama, and was given three total takes to make it feel “continuous.”
The song went on to win record and song of the year at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
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Additionally, Glover reveals how he felt like he “dodged a bullet” by not being invited to shoot ‘Saturday Night Live.’ He said his friend and cast member Amy Poehler had reportedly told him that his edgy stand-up got him pulled from the table.
He explains, “I dodged so many bullets. Me being on ‘SNL’ would’ve killed me. I got friends who made it on ‘SNL’ and, at the time, I was like, d*mn. But if I got on ‘SNL,’ my career wouldn’t have happened. Thank God I didn’t get some of those pilots. I wanted so desperately to be on ‘Parks and Rec’ because it was the cool, hipster show.”
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