After stepping away from music for the last three years, Childish Gambino — the 5-time Grammy-winning musical alter ego of Golden Globe-, Emmy-winning actor, producer and director Donald Glover — officially returns with The Swarm EP, a joint effort with singer-songwriter KIRBY that was released Friday (March 17) via RCA Records.
The six-song project is inspired by and arrives on the same day as Glover’s new Prime Video series Swarm, which follows a young woman named Dre (played by Dominique Fishback) who is obsessed with a fictional pop star that’s eerily similar to Beyonc? named Ni’jah, who’s voiced by KIRBY both in the new show and EP. Swarm was created by Glover and Atlanta writer and producer Janine Nabers, who is Swarm‘s showrunner. Chloe Bailey, Damson Idris and more are also starring in Swarm, while Gambino and Michael Uzowuru are executive producers of The Swarm EP, which Fam Udeorji co-produced.
Gambino’s latest project comes three years after 3.15.20, which was named after its release date at the top of the pandemic. The 12-track LP featured collaborations with Ariana Grande as well as 21 Savage, Ink and Kadhja Bonet and peaked at No. 8 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 13 on the Billboard 200.
At Billboard‘s Golden Globes After Party 2023, Glover spoke to Billboard about what he was looking forward to in 2023. “I just think it’s going to be a better year…. This year is the year of positivity,” he said. “We deserve happiness.”
Listen to The Swarm EP below.
