Childish Gambino’s New ‘This Is America’ Video Mirrors the Powerful Imagery Found in Donald Glover’s ‘Atlanta’ — Watch

Donald Glover gave a memorable performance on May 5 as the host and musical guest (as Childish Gambino) on “Saturday Night Live,” and he used the bright spotlight to debut his new song “This Is America” in the second slot of the night. He also dropped a music video for the song online, and it’s a jarringly political and metaphorical work of art. Directed by Hiro Murai, Glover’s close collaborator who helms many episodes of “Atlanta,” the “America” video utilizes the same surreal and controversial tone of the pair’s best work together. Watch it below.

Murai spoke with Hypebeast about the process of making a music video with Glover.

“In the case of like Childish Gambino, he is someone who is a writer by trade, so he is very meticulous about how he writes his ideas,” he said. “I don’t do this with a lot of artist but he would give me a treatment that he wants to do and I’ll go off that, then I’ll give him feedback and pitch him my ideas. But with Childish it feels more like a two-way conversation.”