Perhaps inspired by the song title, Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, camped out in the upper reaches of his falsetto for his new cover of Brittany Howard’s “Stay High.”
The track appears on Jaime Reimagined, a compilation inspired by Howard’s 2019 album Jaime. EARTHGANG and Michael Kiwanuka also contribute new versions of Howard’s songs, while remixes comes from Bon Iver, BadBadNotGood, Jungle, and more.
Glover’s take substitutes pulsing synths for Howard’s sunny guitar, and he’s added flourishing strings for a touch of drama. The man is good at just about everything, though his natural instrument does not compare favorably to one of the greatest vocalists of their generation. But he makes up for it with grinning enthusiasm, and you can just about hear him smile through every note of the song. Check out Childish Gambino’s cover of “Stay High” below.
Last week, Howard lent her vocals to jazz drummer Nate Smith’s new track “Fly (For Mike),” and later this fall, she’ll join My Morning Jacket for a handful of tour dates. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or Stubhub. As for Glover, he recently signed on to star in a Mr. and Mrs. Smith TV series with Phoebe Waller-Bridge and inked a multi-year deal with Amazon.
