The reason Childish Gambino thought everyone hated him
There are many controversial – if not even hateable – figures in hip-hop. 2024 was a difficult year for Drake, for example. The past five years have been even more difficult for Kanye. And then there’s Diddy, for obvious reasons. But the idea that Childish Gambino would be hated is a random one.
He’s almost somewhat universally respected, whether acting and writing under Donald Glover, or releasing music as Childish Gambino. He made history as the first hip-hop artist to have a song win the Grammy Award Record of the Year and the Song of the Year for his 2018 number one hit ‘This is America’; he later lent his voice as adult Simba in the 2019 The Lion King opposite Beyonce. He has created award-winning television shows, albums, and films. He is considered one of the greatest creatives of his generation.
Sure, there’s an argument to be made that his work could be self-indulgent, and he’s made controversial comments and lyrics before. But ever since his breakout role in Community as Troy Barnes, he’s been somewhat in a league of his own: ever since his celebrated debut album, Camp, he has been acknowledged as a heavyweight visionary.
And yet that doesn’t stop the good, old-fashioned worry that no one, seemingly, is immune to: does everyone hate me?
Speaking to Interview magazine in 2022, in which Donald Glover interviewed himself, the rapper and actor and filmmaker and comedian – well, you get the gist – discussed a time in his life when he assumed everyone hated him upon the release of Camp.
Replying to – um – himself asking what role criticism plays in his life, Gambino said “There’s good takes, there’s bad takes, but most of them are just untrustworthy takes. I liked it more when Camp just came out and it felt like everyone hated me.”
“Because there’d be some actual good insight and it was easier to see who was dealing with their own identity problems, who really hated me, and who just didn’t like me because I didn’t dislike myself,” he continued. “But you can’t believe the good or bad stuff now because it’s all just the economy around you. There’s money and clout in loving and hating you. You have to sift through and try and see if someone is debating in good faith.”
And Gambino being Gambino, he widened his point to encapsulate a wider trend in American political culture.
“The internet doesn’t provide a large-enough amount of that. You know what? I’ll tie in my Joe Rogan and Chappelle answer now, too,” he said, referring to an earlier question he asked himself on the two.
“A lot of people believe both of them are doing what they do in good faith. It’s not cynical. It’s not CNN or Fox. It doesn’t feel to most people like they’re trying to sell something. People are looking for other people to interact with in good faith. Because a lot of this rage is artificial. People have emotional diabetes and don’t even know it.”
Childish Gambino. Musician, actor, film maker, comedian, and, evidently, champion interviewer, too.