Childish Gambino is prepping the release of his upcoming album, because the internet, which hits stores December 10.
In advance of the album’s release, Gambino spoke about the influence of Andre 3000 over his genre-defying music.
“He’s Andre, he’s Andre 3000; he’s probably one of the best,” he said. “But also, he holds a special place. I grew up in Atlanta. And it’s weird, when I went to college, people were like, ‘Have you ever heard of OutKast?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, they’re four records in.’ People didn’t know. They were always around, and they never quite fit the Atlanta scene. The Atlanta scene was like, Lil Scrappy and stuff. People were like, BME Click, and… Crime Mob… I loved those tracks, and they were always doing something a little different. And they allowed a lot of these artists to be as experimental as they are.”
Childish Gambino admitted he had never sought out Andre 3000 or OutKast’s style. “A lot of the tracks, I feel, were influenced by that kind of stuff, even unconsciously, because I never tried to go after that sound, but you listen to Kendrick, too, you can see how he’s a little influenced by it.”
Gambino also spoke about his friendship with Jhene Aiko, with whom the rapper has collaborated multiple times. “She’s the illest. She’s so talented. I don’t think people give her the credit, how much she writes that stuff. The hooks that she does. She has this track on my new album, and she wrote that herself. In like, two days. …It was perfect. She’s dope.”
“We get along well,” he said. “I don’t have to explain anything to her. We just chill, smoke, and vibe. Her energy is special.”
Recently, Childish Gambino and Lupe Fiasco exchanged barbs over Twitter, with Gambino alleging that Lupe had “sneak-dissed” him. “He doesn’t want to fight,” he said about the issue in a recent interview. “That would be a waste of time and money for him. So maybe he’d get sued. Maybe he’d get some attention. I don’t think anybody thinks like that anymore…Most of these people are like, ‘I don’t wanna die. I’m trying to make this money.’”
