On Sunday, July 6, Childish Gambino previewed a new song, marking his return on Gilga Radio, HotNewHipHop reported. The new collaboration, the title of which has yet to be revealed, features Ravyn Lenae.
It also marks his first release since Gambino, whose real name is Donald Glover, announced the retirement of his stage name last year.
The preview of Childish Gambino's song was shared on X by NFR Podcast on Monday (July 7) and has since gone viral, receiving over 206K views and 7K likes (at the time of writing this article).
Many netizens voiced their confusion in the tweet's comments section, with one writing:
Some users brought up Gambino's 2024 retirement announcement, while others wondered whether the new song would be released under his real name or stage name.
"I thought he retired bro," commented an X user.
"H&M music," added another.
"But is this under the Childish Gambino name or Donald Glover - I thought there was no more Childish Gambino after Bando Stone," posted a third netizen.
"I miss when Gambino rapped. Nowadays, his music sounds like something you'd hear on the speakers at J.C. Penny," wrote a fourth one.
Meanwhile, others expressed disappointment that the song wasn't a rap track, saying they had been looking forward to hearing Gambino return to rap.
"Beat is crazy was waiting for this ni**a to start rapping but I guess not lowkey disappointing" replied a fifth user.
"from bando stone to new tunes gambinso keeping us on our toes like a dance floor" remarked a sixth one.
"He lost me when he kissed the ni**a on the show and when he dissed Drake for clout even though he took Drake song structure sing hum rap !" commented a seventh netizen.
Childish Gambino talked about his retirement in July 2024
Childish Gambino announced that he planned to retire his stage name ahead of the release of his sixth studio album.
The actor-singer told The New York Times that he no longer found his musical alter ego "fulfilling," saying he saw no "need to build in this way." Gambino explained:
"I’m not 25 anymore, standing in front of a boulder like, 'This has to move.' You give what you can, but there’s beauty everywhere in every moment. You don’t have to build it. You don’t have to search for it."
Gambino's Bando Stone & the New World dropped on July 19, 2024, peaking at number 2 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 16 on Billboard 200 album chart. The 17-track album also received a Grammy nomination for Best Progressive R&B Album in 2025.
In support of his sixth album, Gambino announced The New World Tour, which kicked off in Oklahoma on August 11 but had to be cut short after 17 shows in September due to the singer's health issues.