If you haven’t heard of Donald Glover—a.k.a. Childish Gambino—you’ve probably been living under a rock (not a 30 Rock, though ’cause he wrote for that show). Glover’s growing fame comes from having established himself in about a half-dozen different facets of entertainment, and in every realm he is delivering intriguing art. That’s obviously not an easy feat to pull off, and in his latest video essay, kaptainkristian explores how Glover has managed to build multimedia worlds and still “keep it real.”
kaptainkristian, who’s been delivering one insightful meditation after another on everything from the genius of Alien’s Xenomorph to the brilliance of Futurama’s comedy, deconstructs Glover’s approach to being a “multi-hyphenate” artist. kaptainkristian notes that even though there are other artists who dip into multiple disciplines, Glover is unique because he doesn’t compartmentalize his personality when jumping from medium to medium.kaptainkristian also touches on how Glover has dealt with some seriously harsh criticism during his career, especially when he left Community in season five (Troy and Abed in the Morning forever!). Obviously, the critics haven’t slowed Glover down though, as he continues to make sweet sweet music (sometimes on the spot with Reggie Watts), and of course, amazing television: we dubbed his show on FX, Atlanta, a “melancholy masterpiece.”
“The person on stage when I do stand-up is the exact same person who’s doing rap,” Glover says in the video, “they’re the same dude.” Just one dude who can act, write, direct, sing, rap, and, of course, fly SPACE SHIPS!
What do you think about kaptainkristian’s look at Glover’s multimedia talent? Let us know in the comments below!
Image: Universal
