Donald Glover was the host and musical guest on SNL last night, and it ruled. The Atlanta creator opened the show with a genuinely funny monologue, poking fun at his reputation as a polymath. He helmed a brilliant Migos parody alongside Chris Redd, Kenan Thompson, and A$AP Rocky, cut a fake promo for the Cleveland Cavaliers players who are not LeBron James, and previewed his role as Lando Calrissian by making fun of the lack of diversity in the Star Wars franchise.
But the main source of hype was always the promise of new music. Glover debuted two new songs last night, the first new Childish Gambino cuts since Awaken, My Love! came out at the end of 2016. “Saturday” is a freewheeling, danceable song that showcases Glover’s vocal versatility. He performed it surrounded by friends—including Zöe Kravitz!—on a Grand Central set.
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His second song, introduced by Daniel Kaluuya, was “This Is America.” It’s starker and more confrontational, flickering between bright gospel choruses and some cold, choppy, dead-eyed verses. The Hiro Murai-directed video for the song is out already, and it’s absolutely worth watching.
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