Childish Gambino Opens Up the World of 'Bando Stone' With Guitar-Driven New Song "Lithonia"

To reiterate: It’s a rollout, dummy.

Fresh off the release of a two-minute first look at the Donald Glover-directed Bando Stone & the New World, DG and company are keeping the proverbial gas pedal to the floor with the issuing of the long-teased Childish Gambino track "Lithonia." The song, out today, serves as our introduction to the larger world of what was previously billed as the original motion picture soundtrack for Bando Stone. The album is out July 19.

The Bando Stone collection will mark Gambino's sixth full-length and first since 2020’s 3.15.20, which was recently tweaked and reissued as Atavista, complete with a video for "Little Foot Big Foot." In August, Gambino will launch The New World Tour at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Willow and Amaarae will open on select dates of the extensive 2024-2025 run.

As DG himself asserted in June when briefly commenting on Drake and Kendrick's back-and-forth, he’s intentionally made the very idea of "fun," something he sees as currently elusive in pop culture, a central element of the larger Bando Stone rollout.

"The problem is we’re not having enough fun," Glover said during a livestream featuring some cow cameos. "So this rollout that’s coming, it’s mostly about fun. I’m trying to have fun because I feel like there’s just people not having enough fun."