Artist Spotlight: Donald Glover/Childish Gambino

Donald Glover is a prodigy. Although I am posting about him due to his rap persona Childish Gambino, Glover’s talent is staggering. While still at NYU he was a writer on 30 Rock (He would later rap: I figured I was different from these other guys/ When I wrote for 30 Rock/ I was under twenty-five). In 2008, Donald Glover quit 30 Rock to pursue an acting career. In 2009, he began starring in the NBC show “Community”, a show that has received cult status.

In addition to acting and writing:

1) He has a gap commercial…

2) Stand-up comedy…

3) Sketch Comedy

4) Accomplished DJ/producer who remixed a Sufjan Stevens album while in college…

While Donald Glover was pursuing the above opportunities, he managed a burgeoning music career.

I first heard Donald Glover’s musical talent back in February on the show Community.

CHILDISH GAMBINO

Childish Gambino, which is a name Glover got from a Wu-Tang name generator on the internet, is the most exciting artist in music today in my opinion. He raps, sings, produces beats, and uses live instruments. His rap style relies on a lot of word play, but he also tells a narrative of how a Black nerd from the suburban Atlanta is making waves in Hollywood. Let there be no doubt that Childish Gambino is a proficient rapper, but for me it is the story he tells that makes his art so compelling. How many rappers are talking about being a Black nerd? What rapper is dropping Smurfs references in raps or is openly excited for the Muppet Movie? Forget rappers, how many people are talking openly about low self-esteem, suicide, and self-doubt? Childish Gambino pulls the listener into his current celebrity lifestyle filled with whiskey, drugs, and girls, while never losing touch with his own journey.

IAMDONALD TOUR

In Spring 2011 Glover embarked on the IAMDONALD nation-wide tour. The concerts were a showcase of a combination of his talents: stand-up, sketch comedy, and music. Donald Glover was able to blend these talents together seamlessly and creatively subverted the idea of genre. Part of the show’s theme was a meta-narrative of Glover’s struggle over whether to embrace the full scope of his creativity, or suppress his talents in order to pursue one genre at a time.

This is an impromptu music performance while Glover was on the IAMDONALD tour.