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Jason Mendez / Stringer via Getty Images and Savion Washington / Staff via Getty Images
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Childish Gambino and Ravyn Lenae
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Key Takeaways:
- Childish Gambino previewed his new track, which features Ravyn Lenae, on GILGA Radio.
- Their latest collaboration builds on past work and highlights Lenae’s emotional storytelling.
- The release hints at Gambino’s possible return to music despite his earlier retirement announcement.
Donald Glover might not be retiring his Childish Gambino moniker after all. On Sunday (July 6), the multi-hyphenate artist previewed a new record featuring Ravyn Lenae via his own GILGA Radio.
“Caught in a moment, nobody has to know / Moments are forming, eternity spending alone / Gave up the late night for mornings that felt the same / We are forever whenever I say your name,” Gambino croons over the sun-drenched instrumental.
After the “Redbone” hitmaker’s relatively simple chorus, Lenae brings a bit of warmth to the next verse. She sings, “I watch you closely to know you’re smart enough / You’ll answer, surely, there must be a God above.” Listen to the snippet below.
Gambino and Lenae aren’t strangers in the studio. The two previously collaborated on “One Wish,” one of the deeper cuts from the Chicago singer’s sophomore LP, Bird’s Eye. At the time, she called it “one of the most important songs on the album” because it explored the complicated relationship she had with her mostly absent father.
Either way, new music from the “Atlanta” star is a pleasant surprise, especially since he made it clear he’d retired the alias following last year’s Bando Stone and The New World. “It really was just like, ‘Oh, it’s done,’” he told The New York Times. “It’s not fulfilling. And I just felt like I didn’t need to build in this way anymore.”
That being said, Bando Stone and The New World was more than a fitting farewell. Fans got “Lithonia” and “Yoshinoya,” plus really exciting collaborations with Yeat, Chlöe, Flo Milli, Jorja Smith and Amaarae, who appeared on the LP twice.
At the moment, it’s up in the air whether the new Lenae-assisted track signals Gambino’s official return to music or if the record will stay tucked away like his Ye and Kid Cudi-assisted “Say Less.” Regardless, there’s no such thing as too much material when it comes to someone as multifaceted as Glover.
