Childish Gambino’s Brilliant ‘Atavista’ Finally Gets Its Day in the Sun: Album Review
Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It’s hard to think of an album with a more confusing backstory than Childish Gambino-aka-Donald Glover’s “Atavista,” which was first released stealthily — with little notice, promotion, cover artwork or even song titles — into a dark world four years ago, in the early days of the pandemic, and originally named after its grim release date, “3.15.20.” The album basically kept its light under a bushel for the past four years, until last month when Glover announced on his Gilga internet radio show that he’d be re-releasing it in the near future. And at midnight this past Sunday, it suddenly appeared on streaming services, with three songs removed and two new ones added, bearing the title Glover said he’d originally intended.