American musician and actor, Childish Gambino born with his legal name, Donald Glover is GQ magazine’s latest cover star, and the rapper/actor connects with the platform for a new interview. During the conversation, it is revealed Gambino’s 2018 hit single “This Is America” was originally supposed to be a Drake diss.

The emotionally-charged single explores themes of social and racial injustice, police brutality, mass shootings, and gun violence prevalent in the United States.

Despite the song’s serious subject matter, Glover revealed that it originated as a joke and was intended to serve as a diss track for the Canadian rapper [Drake].

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“I had the idea three years before,” he explained. “I told [director] Hiro [Murai] the idea, and he’s like, ‘I really want to do that.’ The idea for the song started as a joke. To be completely honest, ‘This is America’ — that was all we had was that line.”

“It started as a Drake diss, to be honest, as like a funny way of doing it. But then I was like, this sh*t sounds kind of hard though. So I was like, let me play with it.”

The music video with direction from filmmaker Hiro Murai. The track topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Gambino’s first number-one song on the charts.

The song won in all four of its nominated categories at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Music Video.

During an interview, Glover revealed that the scene was shot on film to enhance its dramatic impact, and it was filmed in three consecutive takes to achieve a “continuous” feel. The conversation also delved into Glover’s initial meeting with Ludwig Göransson, who would later become an Oscar-winning composer and collaborator on Glover’s music projects.

Glover spoke highly of their “amazing chemistry.” Additionally, Glover reflected on not being selected for a role on Saturday Night Live, citing feedback from friend and comedian Amy Poehler that his edgy stand-up comedy style may have been a factor. Glover believed that not being cast on the show was ultimately for the best.

“I dodged so many bullets. Me being on SNL would’ve killed me,” he said. “I got friends who made it on SNL and, at the time, I was like, damn. But if I got on SNL, my career wouldn’t have happened. Thank God I didn’t get some of those pilots. I wanted so desperately to be on Parks and Rec because it was the cool, hipster show.”

Furthermore, in the same GQ interview, Glover shared insights into the creative process behind the music video for “This Is America.” He explained that he and the video’s director, Hiro Murai, aimed to create a modern version of “We Are The World,” but with a trap music twist.

Glover also mentioned that their initial inspiration for the video was Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video, which they hoped to pay homage to through the use of choreography and visual effects.

Watch The GQ interview below.

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