Donald Glover is a Mythical Creature
A love letter to, arguably, the most talented person working in entertainment right now
Legend has it that, many eons ago, the Roman Empire once foretold of an individual who would “basically be the best person ever, you know?” and help usher in a new era of multi-faceted entertainment expertise. Of course, the Romans never would’ve been able to predict what kinds of entertainment, specifically, that the world would come to inherit — and yet, thousands of years later, the basic gist of their prophecy did, in fact, come to fruition. Thanks to the events that have unfolded over the last 12 months, we’ve now officially been given conclusive enough evidence to confirm what the Romans proclaimed has finally taken effect: Donald Glover is [most Ohio State student voice ever] THE pop culture shaman like no one ever was.
Raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Donald McKinley Glover Jr. is an individual with what has become an insurmountably impressive résumé. Initially, however, it wasn’t quite so apparent that Glover would become the shining polymath that he is today — even if, in retrospect, we probably should’ve taken him more seriously. His first major steps toward stardom could be traced back to when he became a writer for the NBC series 30 Rock — the critically-acclaimed show from back when Alec Baldwin wasn’t primarily known for portraying a braggadocios charlatan on Saturday Night Live — and starred in the lesser-known, and undoubtedly mediocre, film Mystery Team. I never watched 30 Rock so I can’t personally speak to that show’s quality aside from mentioning he was awarded by The Writers Guild of America for his work on the show’s third season in 2009. But I can say that while Mystery Team wasn’t a very good movie, it does showcase some of Glover’s very endearing and charismatic potential. Both of these were, of course, just the beginning.
For most people, Glover’s most recognizable gig was that of the cult-classic TV series Community. Believe it or not, I only started watching the show last month — partially because it was a show I’d heard good things about and I needed something to distract me from the fact I couldn’t sleep due to my throat feeling like it was home to the Human Torch, and mostly because I’d known it was where Glover first broke out onto the scene in a major way. Honestly, I can’t believe I hadn’t watched Community until now, since it’s probably going to end up as one of my favorite shows of all-time (which I’m sure I’ll discuss more in the future) and basically the exact type of show suited for me: self-aware, irreverent, a school setting (Fun fact: I’m a sucker for anything of the coming-of-age/school environment ilk and I’ll watch anything that fits those parameters, from The Breakfast Club to Paper Towns and Charlie Bartlett) and full of pop culture references and satirical reenactments. I mean, there’s literally an episode that manages to reference both The Warriors and Die Hard, and it’s so gloriously perfect that I hate myself for not experiencing this show sooner.
As for Glover, who plays the character Troy Barnes, it’s completely understandable as to why people gravitated towards him for this role as it exudes a certain likableness and weirdness that you can’t help but fall in love with, and laugh along with. Now having experienced him and the show, I can only imagine how fans must’ve felt when he’d left the show in the middle of season 5 back in 2013.
But it’s the matter of how Glover left that is intriguing in it’s own right. Going on in a series of Instagram posts isn’t the general course of action most celebrities take, and it’s an example of Glover’s still, to this day, very enigmatic personality. Currently, he’s a virtually non-existant entity on social media — asides from a “Hey, no big deal” one-off tweet that his new album was out—and is remarkably off-the-radar for someone of his stature. Speaking of his album, that’s a whole other side of Glover’s personality; a recording artist by the name of Childish Gambino.
In 2011, Glover’s first major release under his rapper alias, titled Camp, was released to the masses. It’s mostly, aside from some decent instrumentals, rather forgettable and doesn’t need to be discussed much. After all, it’s the 2013 release of Because the Internet that saw a significant improvement and net him two grammy nominations — one for the album itself and Best Rap Performance for the song “3005”. Grammy nominations being somewhat meaningless and death stare aside, I appreciated Because the Internet for being a sharp contrast to most hip-hop records and being quite an ambitious project that found a way to, for the most part, coalesce his love for music and film while also exhibiting his introverted personality with questions of loneliness and apprehension. Truth be told, I still listen to the track “III. Telegraph Ave. (Oakland by Lloyd)” to this day for how distinct and moody it’s melody is. But most importantly, you could see he had the musical, and in-general, talent within himself.
Strangely enough, after Because the Internet was released Glover seemed to—just as previously mentioned with his social media accounts — disappear from the public eye almost entirely. I literally remember unfollowing his inactive twitter account, thinking something along the lines of “oh well, this guy was pretty fun for while it lasted” and hastily launching myself off of the bandwagon like Heat fans after Lebron left and assumed there wouldn’t be much of substance from Glover that I’d care for. I was a fickle and cowardly lad, I’ll admit it, for whatever that’s worth. But then like a blast from the not-so-distant past, I was reacquainted with Mr. Glover when I saw 2015’s Oscar-nominated The Martian.
While Glover wasn’t exactly a major show-stealer or unforgettable inclusion to the degree of someone like Evan Peters’ Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past, for example, it was undeniably fun to see the actor make an appearance in a major release. Furthermore, I couldn’t shake the feeling I had; that there was just something about this guy that was special, something both mysterious and lovably familiar — almost like the feeling you get when something, or someone, naturally comes back into your life as if it had been there all along. Exciting? Not necessarily, since I hadn’t the slightest clue as to what to expect, or hope for, in this man’s future. But I knew there was something brewing in that head of his. Then, just a year later, that ambiguous and magical clairvoyance of mine was validated: 2016 happened.
While much of the events that occurred in 2016 I could’ve easily done without, there was an admittedly strong showing from entertainment of all variants. Glover was no exception, and it all started when he had been announced as a cast member for Spider-Man: Homecoming. It was like the ultimate hype moment: This guy was going to be in the movie starring my favorite character of all-time. While the extent and circumstances of his role were kept secret, I was still overjoyed to hear the news. It was just another thing to get me excited for not only that film, but Glover’s rising career as well.
The casting, as it turns out, was just the appetizer in a full-course meal of delicious pop cultural cuisine. Indeed, you probably know where I’m going with this, and if you don’t have any idea it means you might be one of the poor souls that haven’t yet experienced it. Of course, I’m talking about the FX show Atlanta—which was created by, and stars, Mr. Glover. In short: It’s one of the most inexplicably insightful, comical, and flat-out unique shows I’ve ever seen.
Also, quick pause, can we just step back for a second and reflect a bit on the already absurdly impressive rap sheet of success this man has had? The most common comparison I’ve heard people make is to Jamie Fox, and that alone should stress just how much of an exciting prodigy we’re dealing with here.
Moving on, though, I recommend you read some of the other pieces out there (since lord knows I can’t do it justice) that have already captured what makes the show so special —and, ultimately, so important considering today’s social climate. Atlanta is like a dark, witty sitcom that tells the adventures of three people — up-and-coming rapper “Paper Boi”, the consistently stoned Darius, and the Princeton dropout Earn (Glover’s character)—in Atlanta and reacting to various scenarios and issues that surround them. It vacillates between ingenious humor and being an acute social commentary on what it’s like to be black in this country, except it’s seamless transition between comedy and introspectiveness are as fluid as an NBA star’s crossover—bouncing from one end of the spectrum to the other as if the two are directly related. I’ve never seen a show go from a hauntingly disturbing look at mental health and police brutality to only minutes later having two characters gush over some special chicken wings. Oh, and if you ever wanted a fictitious Justin Bieber that was black, there’s that too.
Don’t get me wrong, the politics and insights in Atlanta — or lack thereof—aren’t necessarily a revolution for what they precisely talk about, but how they’re talked about. Often times it feels like shows, or even movies, have the whole “HEY, this is the police brutality episode. (with emphasis on that period)” almost like they’re forcibly trying to meet some social justice requirement. Somehow, Atlanta makes you think more for how little it preaches a message; more like gentle, yet strong nudges that resonate more than the loud, scheduled school-bell rings of importance. It tells you to think, but not exactly what to think, which is perhaps the highest level of respect a show can give to it’s viewer.
The Golden Globes obviously felt as much, as the show scored two wins for Best Television Series-Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Show for Glover himself. Now just ask yourself this: In a now-Donald Trump presidency, imagine the possibilities for the show’s second season. Yeah, my mind races with ebullience just as much as yours probably does with that irresistibly tasty prospect.
But, as if almost to say he wasn’t nearly satisfied enough, Glover still had a few more tricks up his 2016 sleeve. First, on October 21st, it was announced that the star would be playing Lando Calrissian in the 2018 untitled Han Solo film. Then, to shake things up from the film and television business, Glover released his second album titled “Awaken, My Love!” which was released on December 2nd, and yet again brought us into the mind of Childish Gambino.
While the Han Solo movie has certainly had a rather tumultuous going of things as of late, I’m still beyond excited to see what Glover brings to the role. As for the Gambino album, which is actually an R&B/Soul record rather than a Hip-Hop one, I’m a little trepidatious in how I exactly feel about it. It’s no way near bad — and I’m pretty sure “Redbone” is one of the five best songs to come out in the last year and a half — yet I can’t help but feel like the message of the album is muddled, and chaotically expressed; like, can you honestly understand some of these lyrics? Sonically, though, the album is as unique as you’d expect from a Gambino project, this time featuring some super-duper funky beats and jazzy instrumentals to surround the all-over-the-place concept. Great album? Not totally, but absolutely has some incredible highlights and again showcases Glover’s extensive talent.
What’s so mind-boggling, after all that’s been said, is that there’s still more to be said about the 33 year-old’s career. We never even touched on some of his other musical prowess, that his campaign to play Spider-Man probably played a major role in the Miles Morales character ever being created, his history in stand-up comedy, the fact that he’s starring as the voice of Simba (!) in Jon Favreau’s live-action remake of The Lion King, or that he’s helping to create an animated Deadpool series for FXX. It’s like a running joke, really, except the joke isn’t a joke and it’s actually an awe-inspiring gallop through the various entertainment ventures Glover seeks to conquer.
Thinking about it, maybe it’s the music video from the hit single “3005” that best encapsulates the multilateral foundation of Glover’s career thus far. To me, it’s like the cathartical reasoning behind everything he’s done: That staying put with thing feels like a repetitive and unsatisfying cycle. You know, the whole ferris wheel being the cycle of life and the teddy bear being the juxtaposition to Glover himself—by his obvious resentment over the whole thing next to the bear’s smile representing the total opposite. By the end, Glover disappears (probably to go make some hit TV series) and the bear stays in the same, blissfully comfortable position it was the whole time. For Glover, things need to end to evolve, and that’s what’s helped to make him what he is today. I’m glad, of course, because what he is today is the most exciting person working in entertainment.
At the end of all this adulation, I realize Donald Glover isn’t actually cool. No, he’s fucking remarkable.
