Childish Gambino has paid tribute to late rappers Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle during his headline Coachella set.
The rapper alter ego of actor Donald Glover took to the stage on Friday night (12Apr19) at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, and tore through hits including Sober, 3005, Feels Like Summer and This Is America.
Gambino also debuted a new song during his 90-minute set, which was performed with a gospel choir, on a raised structure in the middle of the audience.
And the 35-year-old had a strict list of rules he wanted his audience to follow, and told them to get off social media during his performance.
“Put your phones down,” he commanded, according to Variety. “This is not a concert. This is church. If you came here to hear your favourite song, you should go home and do that. If you want to come here and just take Instagram pictures and s**t, you should go in the back and boo right now. I want you all to feel this s**t.”
Gambino later paid tribute to his fellow musicians, Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle, as well as his father, Donald Glover, Sr., who died late last year (18).
“I lost my dad this year. We lost Nipsey… What I’m starting to realise is all we really have is memories at the end of the day. All we really are is data and you pass it on to your kids and friends and family,” he poignantly shared.
“There’s a hundred thousand of you out here right now. There’s a good chance that at least one of y’all won’t see next week. So what I’m saying is, while you’re here, while we’re here, feel something, and pass it on,” Gambino continued.
He then cheekily asked the audience if they had any marijuana, and confessed he usually smoked a joint before his performances to calm his nerves but didn’t before his Coachella gig.
“I get nervous at big shows, so usually I smoke before the show, but I’m gonna smoke during the show tonight – is that all right?” he declared from the stage, and later found an accomplice in the crowd.
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