When Donald Glover canceled an in-progress Childish Gambino tour in September 2024, he revealed only that he did so “to focus on my physical health for a few weeks.” Now, the musician/actor has detailed the true nature of his medical issues while performing at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw last night (Nov. 22).
“I had a really bad pain in my head in Louisiana, and I did the show anyway,” he said. “I couldn’t really see well, so when we went to Houston, I went to the hospital, and the doctor was like, ‘you had a stroke.’ And the first thing I thought was like, ‘oh, here I am still copying Jamie Foxx.’ That’s really like the second thing. The first thing was like, ‘I’m letting everybody down.’”
Beyond the stroke, Glover said he also broke his foot and that “they found a hole in my heart. So I had this surgery, and then I had to have another surgery.” The New World tour began a month earlier in Oklahoma City and drew strong reviews for its stage design and use of technology. It came on the heels of what Glover said will be the final Childish Gambino album, Bando Stone and the New World, as well as a film of the same name.
Despite these setbacks, the artist’s first show in more than a year seemed to go off without a hitch, and even featured the live debut of “Psilocybae (Millennial Love)” from 2024’s Atavista and first-time cover of Outkast’s “Protoype” in tandem with acclaimed Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson.
“They say everybody has two lives, and the second life starts when you realize you have one,” Glover said. “You have one life, guys. You should be living your life how you want. If we have to do this again, it can only get better.”
