Childish Gambino - Tuesday, March 4 - Marquee Theatre
Donald Glover has it all wrong. At least from a historical perspective, anyway. How many times does the actor-turned-musician thing work? Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time," anybody?
But for the most part, Glover doesn't fit the mold. Though he is best known for his role as Troy Barnes on NBC's criminally under-appreciated show Community, he also is a successful stand-up comedian and writer. And he has maintained a steady hip-hop career, rapping as Childish Gambino over samples of Sufjan Stevens and other "indie-tastic" artists (and if you listen closely, you can hear him featured in 30 Rock's breakout Halloween jam "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah").
Glover is funny, for sure. His work a mix of bravado and insecurity, Childish Gambino is a joke. Glover's lyrics are humorous from time to time, and, yeah, he yanked "Childish Gambino" from a Wu-Tang name generator, but Glover takes his music seriously. -- Mike Escoto
Read more about how Childish Gambino breaks the hip-hop mold