Rapper-actor-producer and universally beloved artiste, Donald Glover, has fired back up his Childish Gambino moniker to cover Alabama Shakes leader Brittany Howard’s 2019 single ‘Stay High’.
The cover arrives as a part of Jaime Reimagined, a remix album that will feature artists like Bon Iver, Syd, Little Dragon, and EarthGang giving their takes on tracks from Howard’s debut solo LP Jaime.
Howard was inspired to create the album as she was approaching her 30th birthday. A major theme was the album’s namesake, Howard’s sister Jaime who died when Brittany was a child, and how to deal with grief. Elsewhere, the album explores interracial marriages, growing up in the wooded outskirts of Alabama, southern identity, and religious faith.
The album is a fantastic window into Howard’s unique musical mind, and it’s such a personal journey that the initial announcement of a remix album was somewhat puzzling to me. Giving up these narratives to other artists feels like letting other people rewrite your own story. Still, Howard is obviously open enough to allow some of her peers to interpret her life through their own lenses, so I’m excited to hear the results.
During the 2017 tour behind his third album “Awaken, My Love!”, Glover seemed to imply that his next album would be the last under the name Childish Gambino. That album, 3.15.20, arrived last year, and his remix of ‘Stay High’ is his first new musical project in the time since. He’s still using the Gambino name, so maybe he isn’t going to retire the moniker after all?
Only time will tell. Until we know for sure, let’s enjoy what could be the last remnants of the Childish Gambino sobriquet. Even if he decides to abandon the stage name, the chances of Glover retiring from music for good are improbable.
Check out Childish Gambino’s take on ‘Stay High’ down below.
