This is the first of three posts that I will make about artists that have influenced me the most. I’ll do one about who influenced me the most creatively, emotionally, and intellectually. First on this list is Donald Glover. Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino is an actor, musician, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He’s undisputedly a creative genius, his accolades speak for themself. He’s written, and acted in multiple tv shows and movies, created a critically acclaimed show, made a comedy special, and has had a successful music career. But beyond all of his accomplishments, he’s always been someone that I saw myself in.
I discovered him at a point in my life when I felt the most alienated. For most of my childhood and teenage years, I always felt like an outsider, like I didn’t really fit in anywhere. But listening to his music, and watching his standup, as well as some interviews he did at the time, I felt like I could relate to him. He made music for people like me, corny black kids. It seemed like we had similar life outlooks and experiences growing up. We even have the same birthday. Some connected more to people like Tyler the Creator and Odd Future, who were also a big part of this creative movement in the black community, but I always connected more with Donald Glover. His perspective on society, self awareness, and creativity, are all things that I have a lot of respect for.
I appreciate how he’s grown and evolved creatively. I was in 7th grade when I first discovered him, so it was easy for me to get into the music, and other content he was making at the time. But over time the things that he was producing got more complex. There’s a big difference between his song “Freaks and Geeks”, which is more simple and juvenile, and his song “Redbone”, which is timeless and mature. Not to mention his hit show “Atlanta”, and the music video he made for the song “This is America.” It’s like I’m growing up and maturing, as his content is growing up and maturing. This makes me appreciate him even more.
Donald Glover is one of the main people that made me feel like it’s cool to be myself. He made me want to express myself creatively in different ways. While you may not be the biggest fan of his music, as I said earlier, his creative genius is clear. His influence on me creatively is undeniable.
Top 5 favorite songs by him:
- Redbone
- Flight of the navigator
- Me and Your Mama
- Telegraph Ave.
- The Longest Text Message
Below are a couple of videos. One is a biographical video about Donald Glover, and the other is an interview with Rosenberg from a few years ago.
Just some guy on the internet 