This is a pretty cool story. Nearly 14 years ago, the Beastie Boys performed at Madison Square Garden, which would become the focal point of their 2006 documentary Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! The film reportedly featured footage captured by 50 audience members who were supplied with handheld cameras. At the time of the documentary’s release, the fan-captured footage was just as normal as anything we’ve seen, but fast forward to today and it turns out one of the fans spotted in the documentary happens to be a young Childish Gambino.
Discovered by a fan on Reddit, the clip, which has been circulating online, finds what appears to be a young Donald rapping along to Bestie Boy’s song “Three MC's and One DJ.” Fans are convinced that is indeed a young Childish Gambino, who at the time was 21 years old and attending NYU.
For those doubting it’s him, the multi-talented artist has also shown love to the Beastie Boys in the past as well. He shared his condolences following Adam "MCA" Yauch's 2012 death, and even compared his Gambino alter-ego to the legendary hip-hop trio. When asked if he'd "outgrow Childish Gambino for Middle-Ageish Gambino?," he said: "I hope not. That’s like, 'Are the Beastie Boys ever going to be Beastie Men?' Childish Gambino will always be Childish Gambino, but hopefully it will grow with my audience.”
Check out the clip of young Gambino (below).