Donald Glover is preparing for Childish Gambino’s final act, and before Bando Stone & The New World arrives, the multi-hyphenate put his taste buds to the test on Hot Ones Thursday (July 18).
Glover has experimented with hallucinogenics such as ayahuasca, but didn’t realize eating spicy chicken wings would be a comparable experience. “This does feel shamanic,” he told host Sean Evans. “It feels pretty intense already. I feel like I’m about to do ayahuasca.”
In the midst of chowing down on some spicy wings, the 40-year-old put a bow on his Childish Gambino moniker. “A collaborator of mine, fam and I, we talked about the death of Superman a lot … I always knew Childish Gambino was like a character, and on some level I wanted it to end,” he explained. “I almost feel like Childish Gambino is like the boss from The Office, like, ‘That stuff worked 10 years ago.’ All that stuff worked, but now it’s like a different thing. It’s like, ‘Oh it’s a little sad, but its like, wow, the cycle kinda continues, which is great, I think.’”
A quick history lesson: Childish Gambino discovered the name of his alter ego when messing around with a Wu-Tang Clan name generator in college. At the end of the episode, Glover revealed what RZA told him about what the name meant.
“The Childish Gambino story from the Wu-Tang Clan RZA told me it’s a story of a child turning into a boss,” said the actor-musician, who earned his fifth Primetime Emmy nomination for acting July 17. “This last sunset walk is for the fans. This is for you.”
Glover also continued to offer unhappy fans a refund at his upcoming show, which is sure to upset his attorneys. “If this isn’t the best live show you’ve seen — after the first song if you’re like, ‘I gotta go,’ you can leave and I’ll give you your money back,” he promised. “That’s how much I care about all of this. That’s not a joke. My lawyers will be like, ‘It’s a joke,’ but it’s not a joke. I will set it up so you can go.”
The “This Is America” rapper hits the road for a world tour, which kicks off in Oklahoma City on Aug. 11 with support from Willow and Amaarae.
After powering through the hot wings, Glover credited his Community co-star Joel McHale for helping build up his hot-sauce tolerance.
“Joel was literally, like, only eating espressos and eggs because he had a shirt-off scene. He was like, ‘Hot sauce, it’s the only flavor.’ So I started putting hot sauce on everything and then we started getting into a thing with each other,” he added in the post credits. “I realized, ‘Oh yeah, that must’ve boosted my tolerance.’”
Bando Stone & The New World hits streaming services on Friday (July 19). Gambino’s last album is a genre-blending effort featuring guest appearances from Jorja Smith, Flo Milli, Yeat, Steve Lacy and more.
Watch Donald Glover on Hot Ones below.
