Donald Glover

Donald McKinley Glover, Jr. (born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, is an American actor, writer, comedian, rapper, singer, and producer. He first came to attention for his work with Derrick Comedy and subsequently became a writer for the NBC comedy series 30 Rock. He is perhaps best known for his role as college student Troy Barnes on the NBC series Community. After several self-released albums and mixtapes, Glover signed to Glassnote Records in 2011 as Childish Gambino. He released Camp on Glassnote on November 15, 2011. His second studio album, Because the Internet, was released on December 10, 2013. Glover was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2014, Best Rap Album for Because The Internet and Best Rap Performance for his single, "3005". Early life Glover was born at the Edwards Air Force Base, California and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother, Beverly, is a retired daycare provider, and his father, Donald, Sr., is a retired postal worker. His biological parents were also foster parents and Jehovah's Witnesses. Glover graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in dramatic writing in 2006, after attending DeKalb School of the Arts. Career From 2006 to 2009, Glover was a writer for the NBC series 30 Rock where he also had an occasional cameo appearance. He was presented the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the third season of 30 Rock. Glover's stage name, Childish Gambino, came from a Wu-Tang Clan name generator. He released an independent album entitled Sick Boi on June 5, 2008. Glover is a member of the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy, along with Dominic Dierkes, Meggie McFadden, DC Pierson, and Dan Eckman. The group wrote and starred in a feature-length film, Mystery Team, released in theaters in 2009. On September 17, 2009, Childish Gambino released the independent album Poindexter. A pair of mixtapes entitled I Am Just a Rapper, and I Am Just A Rapper 2 were released in close succession in early 2010. Robert Scahill added his producing expertise helping with the majority of the tracks. The track listings for those mixtapes consist of the name of the song "he" raps, followed by the song he raps over. His second album, Culdesac, was set to be released on July 2, 2010, but a couple of last minute additions caused the album to be delayed for a day. The album was made available on July 3. Glover has stated in interviews that on Sick Boi and Poindexter he felt he had to hide behind gimmicks, such as pink hoodies, but with his subsequent projects, he has touched on more personal subject matter, including family, schoolyard bullying, troubled romantic relationships, suicidal thoughts and alcoholism. He has disowned his 2005 album, The Younger I Get, as the too-raw ramblings of what he calls a "decrepit Drake." Glover's stand-up special aired on Comedy Central on March 19, 2010. In May 2010, a fan suggested Glover for the role of Peter Parker in the then-upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man film, encouraging his supporters to retweet the hashtag "#donald4spiderman". The campaign, originally started to see how far social networking could carry a message, quickly gained a large following. The call for Glover to be allowed to audition for the role was supported by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee. Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, who announced an African-American version of Spider-Man a year later, said he had conceived of the character before Glover's campaign went viral. Bendis gave credit to Glover for influencing the new hero's looks; on seeing him dressed as Spider-Man on Community (a nod to the campaign), Bendis said, "I saw him in the costume and thought, 'I would like to read that book.'" Glover would later voice this incarnation of Spider-Man on the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. Glover received the Rising Comedy Star award at the Just for Laughs festival in July 2010. Glover was featured in Gap's 2010 Holiday ad campaign. Donald Glover DJs and produces his own music under the moniker "mcDJ" (pronounced "M-C-D-J"). His music is of the electronic/remix variety and is often made available for free download via his official site. His current album releases include Love Letter in an Unbreakable Bottle and Utterances of the Heart.