Donald Glover And Why the World Is Better for Having Him in It
“’Work This Hard, You Get Respect", Donald Glover is the reason the term “Renaissance Man” exists.
Donald Glover is the reason the term Renaissance Man exists. Most of you will recognize Glover as one half of a large reason why Community is as successful as it is, the character Troy Barnes, best friend of Abed, the infamous fictional embodiment of all that WhatCulture! represents. I, however, got my first taste of Glovers genius back in early 2007 while sitting in my dorm hoping Stumble Upon would show me something awesome and it did. The website discovery engine directed me to the sketch comedy group, DERRICK Comedys homepage where I watched the first of many videos that made me laugh harder than I had in years. The sketch consists of three white spelling bee finalists awkwardly struggling to spell the word niggerfaggot chosen by a black judge, played by Glover. Even as I reminisce on it, Im forcing myself to stifle my laughter from the sketch not because of its repeated use of two of the ugliest, most vile words in the English language, but because of its unique combination of brilliance, irreverence, and most of all style what I would eventually learn is Glovers modus operandi in all his artistic endeavors. Watch the sketch for yourself below; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2nTbqbtGug Not only has Glover (who is not related to actor Danny Glover of Lethal Weapon fame) earned recognition under the radar, but also very much on the grid, albeit behind the scenes, as a writer for The Daily Show in 2005 and 30 Rocks award-winning 2008-2009 season. Not satisfied to stop with being one of the most talented young comedic writers in television, Glover has also worked to become an accomplished stand-up comedian with appearances on HBOs Funny as Hell, Comedy Centrals Live at Gotham, as well as his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents. Glover will appear on Comedy Central again this month in his first one-hour stand-up special, WEIRDO, on Saturday, November 19th. Apparently the small screen cannot contain Glover as he will be one of the many celebrities appearing in The Muppets as well as The To-Do List, a comedy about a girls sexual bucket list she wishes to complete before heading off to college, slated for release in 2013. In addition to releasing dozens of outrageously hilarious videos, including what is probably their most popular, Bro Rape (a short mockumentary which makes fun of not rape of course, but that elusive missing link in human evolution known as the Bro), DERRICK comedy is also responsible for the indie comedy Mystery Team in which three absurdly childish boyhood friends on the verge of graduating high school parlay their amateur detective skills into attempting to solve an actual murder for a girl played by Parks and Recreations Aubrey Plaza a project which Glover was star, writer, producer, as well as composer yes, on top of it all Glover is also a talented musician who is releasing his major label debut on Tuesday, November 15th under the name Childish Gambino. 
Oh, and because music, television, and film arent enough for his resume, Glover can also count himself as an influence in the world of comic books. Although Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian Michael-Bendis developed the idea for Miles Morales, the half black, half Latino character whom has recently filled your friendly neighborhood web-slingers sticky shoes, before seeing Glover, Bendis reportedly stated his decision was confirmed upon seeing Glover in a Spider-Man suit in the season two premiere of Community, a nod to the Twitter campaign, #donald4spiderman, which petitioned to allow Glover the opportunity to audition for The Amazing Spider-Man, Marc Webbs reboot of the franchise. The Marvel character creator himself, Stan Lee, approved of the audition, though it never came to fruition. Because WhatCulture! has recently expanded to cover so many different mediums, almost all of which Glover has a sizable presence in, coupled with the release of his new album and comedy special this month, I thought this would be the perfect moment to illuminate readers as to the cultural significance of such a young, hard-working, successful jack-of-all-trades. Of all the areas that WhatCulture! now covers in which Glover has considerable influence, I would like to specifically focus on his career as hip-hop artist Childish Gambino. Glover should be recognized for all his achievements, however, no project allows him to showcase so much of what hes all about other than Childish Gambino, a name he derived from a Wu-Tang Clan name generator. But make no mistake Gambino is not just another avenue for Glover to demonstrate exclusively how funny he is. Glover says it best in Hero when he exclaims, This is Nas Illmatic, not Eddie Murphys Delirious. Though his lyrics are extremely witty and have moved me to laugh out loud (such as when in Let Me Dope You he states hes as fucked up as a hang-glidin whore house,), they appear in songs whose tone demand the audience take them seriously. As a rapper, Glover is as much a contender for the title of best in the game as Drake or Lil Wayne. Although Gambino doesnt have the fame or notoriety of those artists, he certainly has the skills and the work ethic. 
While Gambinos lyrics include the requisite amount of bragging about money and women, since coming into his own on his latest full-length and most praised work, 2010s Culdesac, that boasting feels deserved. Whereas 2008s Sick Boi relied heavily on superficial devices concerning clothes and cliques as vehicles for his songs which had little to no connection among one another, Gambinos works since then have gradually displayed a growing coherent thematic depth and emotional development unfamiliar to the majority of pop music. In The Last, the closing track to Culdesac, Glover opens up about his childhood as a young African-American who did not neatly fit the mold of the typical black male saying, Now I'm going to a school where I get beat up because I ain't get down with them other kids, probably cause I talk too white and I got a dad who's there. Momma couldn't take it, sold the place and got us out of there. Guest room, now the six of us splitting one with a restroom. Now I'm going to this school called Rock Ridge, school of the neighborhood we tried to buy a house in. There's not a lot of black kids so I stick out like a sore thumb with some bad acne, but really what I wanna know is why I never fit in right, like a fat dude getting on a packed flight. Even when I make friends in the hallways, I'm wishing I was someone else always. But I'm happy that that shit happened to me cause it taught me most important is to do me.One does not need to have been in the exact same circumstances Glover found himself in to relate to the lyrics which speak to anyone who has never felt like they genuinely belonged. Glover is such a charismatic figure because he was once an outsider who is now not only on the inside, but at the top. The key to appreciating ones accomplishments is knowing the challenges that were overcome to achieve those victories. In Im On It when Gambino says he was so broke he could be found Walkin 'round NYU, looking for a dollar, too proud to ask my friends or my struggling father, it sets up the listener to feel almost proud when he states how hes gone from driving a Toyota Camry to a Chrysler Phantom. Throughout the album Glover can be heard talking about his expensive jackets and glasses but he also acknowledges his sisters tuition, recognizing that while hes come into some financial success, money is merely a means, not an end, or as he explains,
I'm in a weird place, I got a little money, but money won't buy you time if all the time is running from me. There's so much I wanna do like write a script or write a book, get an hour on HBO, and date a girl who likes to cook. And stop having all of these crushes on all of my friends girlfriends, I think I'm jealous they got someone when the world ends. It looks nice, I gotta get me one of those. I haven't found Mrs. Right, but I'm on it though.Usually when I listen to popular rap I do so tongue-in-cheek, with an sarcastic sensibility concerning the absurdity of the lyrics, however, when I listen to Childish Gambino I do so without a trace of irony, consistently finding myself genuinely rooting for the underdog who has so diligently forged his own path.
Throughout the album Glover speaks of how as a child he was bullied but as an adult he is looked up to as a success, though he still struggles with how to handle his rise to fame. While Culdesac is very much concerned with struggling to achieve ones dreams citing alcoholic behavior and suicidal thoughts, it is by no means a depressing or miserable experience in fact, quite the opposite. Culdesac, which consists of 15 full songs, very impressively blends clever plays on words including abundant pop culture references, emotionally revealing heart-on-sleeve confessions, and beats that range from fast-paced, complex, bass heavy tracks to smooth ballads to party songs that are downright infectious I dare you to play Put It In My Video to see if your girlfriend can help from dancing along with it. Childish Gambino delivers the freshest, most intellectually sophisticated take on the current wave of popular hip-hop and aside from constructing his own insanely catchy beats as mcDJ, using not only electronic manipulation, but also actual instruments, often incorporating samples by artists ranging from singer Adele to indie-rock group Grizzly Bear, and writing the sharpest, most clever lyrics Ive ever heard, Gambino deserves the most credit for releasing so much for so little nothing, in fact. All six of the official releases by Gambino, comprising over 60 songs, since 2008, have all been freely downloadable from his website. The fact that Glover took the time to not only practice and hone his craft for years before releasing his first album, and did so at zero cost to his audience for three full albums, two mix tapes, and a stellar EP is a testament to how much Glover sincerely cares about his art, as opposed to someone who tries to use their celebrity influence to cash in on as much as possible. Just as Gambino puts it, labels want me to hurry and cash my check in, but I keep my shit free til the last possible second. It seems as though after releasing so much free material on his own, Gambino has found the major label hes comfortable with, Glassnote Records, whove also released folk rock sensation Mumford & Sons Sigh No More in the U.S. The debut, Camp, can be heard in its entirety through Glovers official site (iamdonald.com) and drops on Tuesday, November 15th. The official video for the albums first single, Bonfire, is absolutely worth checking out as it displays director Dan Eckmans immense talent for effectively facilitating a captivating visual narrative. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNLlXFqPn2U Glover could easily sully his various projects by acting as some sort of cross-promotional marketing beast, but he doesnt he respects the many fields in which he practices and lets each project stand on its own legs. However, this doesnt mean Glover ignores the opportunity to deliver truly one-of-a-kind experiences to his fans. Although Glover has taken lengths to make sure people know that Childish Gambino is not a primarily comedic enterprise, he did embark on a unique endeavor which wove his musical exploits with his comedic stylings on the IAMDONALD tour which spanned 23 venues across 33 days from April to May of 2010. The tour was composed of musical performances as well as sketches and bits of stand-up. While Glover respects each of his projects as individual enterprises, the fact that the IAMDONALD tour was a success speaks to the versatility of Glover but also the universality of captivating artistic expression. Donald Glover is the reason the term Renaissance Man exists. I derive so much satisfaction from following Donald Glovers career, his history as Childish Gambino in particular, because I find it profoundly inspiring. Glover overcame challenges and worked hard to find success doing what he loves. He didnt have to sell his soul or compromise his convictions, rather, he followed his convictions and its definitely paid off. Too often young people convince themselves that one can only find success by sacrificing what they love so when I see someone succeed because they specifically refuse to give up what makes them happy, it gives me the strength to continue pursuing what makes me happy. If everyone could be as successful as Donald Glover is for following their hearts, this world would be a much better, more advanced one to live in. The reason youre reading this article on this website, whether or not youre aware, is that there is a significant portion of the worlds population that strives for higher quality media coverage of the most elevated forms culture takes as opposed to poor media coverage which highlights the most loathsome, base, depraved elements of society for no greater motivation than financial profits. If WhatCulture!s readers and contributors frequent the site, and others like it, because we wish to bask in the warm glow of that which may redeem the more disgraceful tendencies of humanity, then Donald Glover is a small spark that may ignite the oily, black sludge which permeates so much of our collective unconscious. That is why on Tuesday I will gladly spend hard-earned money on Childish Gambinos new album, Camp, and make sure I take the time to tune in and enjoy his first one-hour comedy special, WEIRDO, when it premieres on Comedy Central Saturday, November 19th, and I sincerely hope you will do yourself the same favors. 
Childish Gambino's album Camp is available now.