Childish Gambino Previews ‘Bando Stone & the New World’ LP With ‘Lithonia’

Childish Gambino‘s new album is mere weeks away. On Tuesday, the musician released the rocky, Max Martin and Ludwig Göransson-produced “Lithonia,” the first taste of his sixth album (and film) Bando Stone & the New World, out July 19.

On the track, Gambino sets the scene for the world-creating LP as he introduces a character named Cody LaRae who’s learning that “love is for fools ’cause nobody gives a fuck.” Gambino is set to bring fans deeper into the world with a Little Island “album preview” on July 6.

“My sweet Lithonia/What have you done?/These are your children/I am your son,” he sings on the song’s bridge.

During the 2024 BET Awards, Gambino unveiled a trailer for a seeming comedy-action film of the same name. The trailer follows Gambino playing Bando Stone, a singer who encounters a mother-son pair in a strange world with massive birds and dystopian technology. It’s unclear if the movie will be released the same day as the LP.

The LP will precede his The New World Tour, which begins on Aug. 11 in Oklahoma City, before stops in Philly, Boston Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He’ll head to Europe and Australia later in the year and early next year.

Glover has been teasing the new album with cryptic messages and the phrase “Bardo is coming.” He recently said on an Instagram Live that the album is “mostly about fun.”

“I’m trying to have fun,” he said. “Because I feel like there’s just people not having enough fun… When I was a kid there was, like, big things that would unite us and I just feel bad for y’all. I feel bad for some of y’all.”

In May, he surprise-dropped Atavista — a reimagined version of his 2020 3.15.20 LP — with two new songs. Bando Stone & the New World is set to be the last Childish Gambino album. “We’re releasing Atavista, but after that, there’s the final Childish Gambino album — a soundtrack for the fans,” Glover recently confirmed on his radio show. 

From Rolling Stone US.