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With Childish Gambino's sixth and final studio album, Bando Stone & The New World, finally delivered to fans on all major streaming platforms, online discussions and breakdowns of the rapper's lyrics have been spreading across fan forums on Reddit, X, and more.
Although the project is explosively diverse, with Donald Glover bringing in a range of sonic vibes from hip-hop to pop-rock, a song that appears to be on every fan's mind is the ninth track on the LP titled Yoshinoya.
"Theyve been beefing for years" - Said one Childish Gambino fan on a Reddit thread.
"Childish gambino yoshinoya is 100% a drake diss right" - One user questioned on X.
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The record was produced by Triangle Park, which splits the composition into two parts. The record initially opens with an ambient Lo-Fi production before ramping up into a hard-hitting trap beat halfway through the song, with Glover speaking on themes like loyalty, authenticity, and integrity.
The lyrics, delivery, and cadence brought forward on the track are assertive and aggressive, which is part of the reason why fans believe Childish Gambino to be targeting a specific individual.
With hidden bars and vague callouts, many suspect the Atlanta rapper to be taking shots at Drake, who was recently engaged in a violent back-and-forth with Kendrick Lamar.
Throughout the track subtle hints are dropped that suggest the rapper is targetting Drake, with Childish Gambino making references to the Canadian rapper's nicknames like "The Boy" as well as seemingly making fun of Drizzy's 2023 hit Rich Baby Daddy.
Breaking down all the possible Drake references on Childish Gambino's 'Yoshinoya'
Based on the fan reactions online, Gambino dissing Drake on his final studio album isn't a surprise given that the two rappers have been silently shading each other for years. Back in 2023, Glover sat down for an exclusive interview with GQ magazine to discuss his highly successful This Is America record, where he explained:
"The idea for the song started as a joke. To be completely honest, ‘This is America’ that was all we had, was that line. It started as a Drake diss, to be honest, as like a funny way of doing it. But then I was like, this s--t sounds kind of hard though. So I was like, let me play with it."
This feature will catalog every single bar from Yoshinoya where Childish Gambino appears to be taking shots at Drake.
Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader's discretion is advised.
(Chorus)
"This my life, they busting for it / We don't hold back, we must move forward / Stay where you at, you're supposed to, boy / N----s is fake, I won't ignore it"
In the second half of Yoshinoya's opening hook, Childish Gambino appears to shade Drake's status in the industry by calling him fake as well as referencing his nickname "The Boy" to infantilize the Canadian rapper.
(Verse 1)
"I put your boy in the seat / You got your biz' in the streets / I wash my hands when I eat / I never hand her the key / I don't know no one BD / But they dependent on me / N----s don't know where I'm at / I find your house on the app"
Childish Gambino opens the first verse by implying that he's placing a spotlight on the "Boy" by putting him in a hot seat to seemingly discuss the OVO CEO's career and status. He takes shots at Drake and Sexyy Red's collaboration Rich Baby Daddy by suggesting that he doesn't need to depend on anybody to make a hit.
Glover then proceeds to explain how information about Drake is freely available on the "streets," implying a lot of the allegations Kendrick Lamar brought up in his diss tracks were factually correct.
He also sends a nod toward Kenny's final contribution to the beef by referencing the cover art of Not Like Us, which used a Google Maps screenshot of Drizzy's mansion.
"People around you ain't slatt / They plottin' hard whеn you slatt / They got a gun in your back / This who you trust when you sleepin' at night / I'm in the mirror, I see what I likе / It is what it is, I'm right when I'm right"
Similar to how Kendrick Lamar suggested that a lot of the people within Drizzy's close circle are wishing for his downfall, Gambino explains that Drake's friends and close ties act fake around him and have been silently plotting his downfall.
He even appears to refer to Drake's flow and lyrics from his 2018 record Mob Ties on the final "It is what it is" line.
"F--k with my kids, you f--k with your life / You f--kin' these hoes, I'm f--kin' my wife / AK not silent like knife / Think he won't do it, I might / I gotta do what I like / I gotta—"
Childish Gambino ends his first verse by seemingly issuing a warning to Drake and any other rapper who decides to take shots at his family or kids. This could be Glover speaking from Kendrick's perspective, as Drizzy had taken several shots at K-Dot's fiancée Whitney Alford and their kids on tracks like Push Ups and Family Matters.
The double entendre on the final line appears to allude to Drake's relationship with streamer DJ Akademiks, who is well known for his close association with the OVO CEO. The "silent like knife" line seems to double down on Gambino's claims of people within Drizzy's circle openly betraying him.
(Verse 2)
"N----s jokes are so dad / They haven't seen their son in a month / Sold some apple stock to buy a farm, I needed to stunt / I told 'em take the back end points, he wanted to front / Now his career's in a blunt"
Childish Gambino appears to take further shots at The Boy in the second bar of his second verse, where he highlights Drizzy's relationship with his son Adonis Graham to suggest that Drake is an absentee father.
He also alludes to the rap beef that found Drake going up against the biggest artists in current-day hip-hop like Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin, Future, Kanye West, and more.
Glover's final line implies that Drizzy's career was getting "smoked" (i.e. going up in flames) after Kenny fired back with his diss tracks.
"If it's written in stone / Freak it and leave it alone / Give it time, let the truth come to light / Let 'em catch up / N----s peepin' like, damn, he was right / Rather have my foot on they neck than they hand on the mic / Rather die a good man with a bad wife"
Donald continues to poke fun at Drake by implying how he was precise in dissing the OVO CEO during his interview with GQ magazine, citing that the "truth" eventually did come to light during the Canadian rapper's beef with Kendrick Lamar.
"These n----s almost fifty and they dressin' like a hype beast / Used to get the peach milkshake and add the eight-piece / White boy throwin' dirt on my name for the think piece / Checks off, death, murder, and pain, leave you empty / I curse you with that knowledge"
Childish Gambino's bar here exaggerates Drake's age to make the rapper appear much older than he is, with Glover claiming Drizzy is pushing "fifty" even though the rapper is only 37 years old.
He even appears to reference Rick Ross' diss track Champagne Moments, where the MMG CEO's lyrics primarily revolved around Drake being an outsider in hip-hop with Rozay calling him a "white boy" throughout the record.
"Put they hands on a woman for the clout but said I'm wildin' / Death before dishonor / On my mom like Keke Palmer / I'm allergic to the drama, you saw me and Tyler / I'm allergic to this rap shit / Made a song, but spent more time writin' the caption / I'm an actor, you can put that on set / I'm about that action"
Childish Gambino continues to subtly reference Not Like Us, with the rapper alluding to him picking Kendrick's side during the beef. He interpolates lyrics from Kenny's song which shaded Drizzy for being an actor who's unable to deliver original records.
He also makes fun of Drake for responding to Kenny with Instagram captions instead of more aggressive diss tracks, proclaiming himself as an actor who can actually rap and take "action".
"My tweets all lower case, I saw these n----s cappin' / My homegirl said you a stalker, so we ain't dappin' / I ain't see you, man, what happened? Man, the blog era overtakin' all our stars / My favorite spot was 'bout to close, so I made some calls / B---h n---a, eat a d--k and doggy bag the b-lls"
The final bar finds Childish Gambino calling Drake out for allegedly being a stalker, with Glover implying the Canadian rapper was being inappropriate with one of his friends.
This could potentially be a reference to Jorja Smith and Drake's alleged relationship from back in 2018 since the young singer also appears as a feature on Bando Stone & The New World.
The final line of this verse seemingly finds Childish Gambino making fun of Drizzy's 2023 album For All The Dogs, citing his intention to take one final shot at Drake before retiring his famed moniker.
Although these lyrics are supposedly aimed at Drizzy, neither Glover nor Drake have responded to these claims online. Check out our complete breakdown of Childish Gambino's sixth and final studio album Bando Stone & The New World here.
