Childish Gambino has lent his talents to comedian/musician Zack Fox‘s zany new anime, Yoppaman.
Fox announced the show on Wednesday (June 12), sharing an almost three-minute pilot that gives viewers a taste of the wacky animated humor that he’s looking to turn into a full series.
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“In 2022 I started developing an animated idea with my good friend and collaborator Chibu Okere,” Fox wrote on YouTube. “We’re both Atlanta-raised artists who grew up on stuff like Devilman, FLCL, Evangelion, 90’s cartoon network, and of course black southern folklore/music/comedy/fashion etc. so we wanted to make something that synthesized all of that into a big gumbo pot.
“YOPPAMAN is the spawn of that synthesis. Our question was simple: What if the employees at a dilapidated 24 hour diner (a la Waffle House) beat so many peoples’ asses that they got enlisted to protect earth in shiny bodysuits (a la The Power Rangers)?”
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He continued: “Early on we knew the idea was special and extremely stupid so we’ve held it close, building out the world independently instead of rushing to sell it to a network.
“The most important thing to us is making something that our kid selves would be excited to watch right now, and sharing it with y’all as it grows (inshallah) into a season (or 2, 3?) of television.”
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Fox then thanked Gambino (a.k.a. Donald Glover) for helping him and Okere develop the show alongside his creative company GILGA.
“In 2023 we introduced Donald Glover to the idea and he was hype to help us build it and it’s been a blessing having him and the folks at GILGA share their platform and resources with us,” he said.
“As a gift to y’all we funded a lil short with our own bread so we can show you a piece of our universe instead of trying to tell you. Hope y’all enjoy it. Tell your friends about YOPPAMAN.”
Childish Gambino has plenty of projects of his own in the works. The rapper/actor recently returned to music with Atavista, an updated version of his 2020 LP 3.15.20.
The reworked project features official song titles and a slightly different tracklist, along with new vocals from Young Nudy — adding to previous guests 21 Savage, Ariana Grande, Ink and Kadhja Bonet.
Glover is expected to release a second new album this summer called Bando Stone in the New World, which will serve as both the soundtrack for a film of the same name and his final release under his rap moniker.
Details on that record remain scarce, although Bino did recently debut unreleased collaborations with Kanye West and Kid Cudi on his GILGA Radio show which may make the cut.
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The Atlanta star has also announced the New World Order Tour, a massive 58-date trek that will take him across North America, Europe and Oceania between August 2024 and February 2025. He’ll be joined on the road by fellow genre-bending stars Willow Smith and Amaarae.
