Donald McKinley Glover, also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, is an American
actor, writer, comedian, rapper, 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.
In 2011, Glover signed to Glassnote Records, where he releases music under the Childish
Gambino moniker.
After several self-released albums and mixtapes, he released Camp, his first album for the
label, on November 15, 2011.
His second studio album, Because the Internet, was released on December 10, 2013.
Early life Glover was born in Edwards Air Force Base,
California and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
His father is a retired postal worker and his mother is a retired daycare provider.
His 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 and Lakeside High
School.
Career 2006–2010: Acting and music debut
Glover is known for his work on the NBC show Community.
From 2006 to 2009, he 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 performs music under the stage name Childish Gambino, a name he found 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.
Derrick's YouTube videos gained the group nationwide attention and have contributed
to Donald Glover's recognition, as well as his newfound success in the television business.
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 albums consist of the name of the song "he" raps, followed
by the song he raps over.
His third 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 Bendis said, "I saw him in the costume and thought, 'I would
like to read that book.'".
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".
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.
On December 1, 2010, Glover released the first track off of his EP titled "Be Alone".
He released the next track, "Freaks and Geeks", as well as a five-song track list, on February
11, 2011.
On February 25, Donald released the dates for the IAMDONALD tour and also his very first
music video for "Freaks and Geeks".
The music video was shot by Dan Eckman, the director of the Derrick Comedy troupe.
This song would later be used in an Adidas commercial featuring Dwight Howard which brought
the song, and Donald, more recognition.
On March 8, 2011 Donald released his newest EP via his official website.
2011–2012: Camp On March 16, 2011, Glover hosted the mtvU
Woodie Awards held live at South By Southwest.
On March 24, 2011, Glover taped his one hour comedy special Weirdo for Comedy Central;
it aired on November 19.
Donald appeared at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 9 in the 'This Tent' as Childish
Gambino and June 11 at 'The Comedy Theater' with Bill Bailey performing stand up.
Comedy Central streamed the comedy live on their website.
On May 4, 2011, in an interview with TheHipHopUpdate, Glover revealed that he was working on an
LP, to be released in September.
On July 25, 2011, Donald Glover announced that his new album would be entitled Camp.
On October 8, during his Orlando concert, he announced Camp would be released on November
15, 2011.
On August 20, 2011, at the Los Angeles Rock The Bells concert, he gave an interview to
AllHipHop.com, and announced to the crowd that he had signed with Glassnote Records.
On September 20, he released his first official single, "Bonfire".
The IAMDONALD tour made 24 stops in 34 days, beginning with Ames, IA on April 16, and finishing
with Minneapolis, MN on May 19.
In between, this included stops at music venues in Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, and Atlanta.
The Sign-Up Tour was Donald's next pre-album tour.
He visited 11 cities over the course of 38 days in October and November 2011.
Glover made a website for the tour called "Camp Gambino" on November 19, four days after
his album released.
The tour featured special guest Danny Brown and made 20 stops during the course of 32
days along a dates in California in December.
On March 14, 2012, several dates on the CAMP tour were postponed due to a fractured foot
Donald Glover suffered on March 10, while performing in Tampa, Florida.
The tour began in Austin, Texas on April 5 and ended August 10 in Hollywood, California.
On January 11, 2012, Childish Gambino announced on his website that a new mixtape would be
coming out soon.
On April 2, he released a new song, "Eat Your Vegetables and Fruits", through his website.
On May 14, Funkmaster Flex premiered "Unnecessary", featuring Schoolboy Q. On May 16, Gambino
released "We Ain't Them" through his website, produced by himself and frequent collaborator
Ludwig.
On May 22, Donald appeared on Das Racist's radio show "Chillin' Island" where he premiered
a new song, "Tell Me", which featured Himanshu Suri, aka Heems from Das Racist.
On May 26, Donald released "Black Faces", featuring Nipsey Hussle and produced by Boi-1da.
On May 30, he released a third track, "Silk Pillow", featuring Beck and produced by both
Glover and Beck.
On June 25, Glover revealed that the mixtape was to be released on July 4, 2012.
On June 26, Donald premiered another new track, on Sway in the Morning, entitled "One Up",
featuring his brother, Steve G. Lover.
That same day, Donald stated that the mixtape would be titled Royalty.
On July 4, 2012, Glover released Royalty for free via digital download.
On July 7, 2012, Gambino released the track, "Body", featuring Prodigy, which did not make
the cut for the mixtape.
On July 24, 2012, he released the music video for "Fire Fly" through his VEVO account on
YouTube.
On August 21, 2012, BBC Radio 1 premiered Leona Lewis' new song, "Trouble", off her
upcoming album, Glassheart, which features Childish Gambino.
The song was available for purchase via iTunes on October 7, and peaked at #7 on the UK Singles
Chart the following week, making it his first UK top 10 single.
On November 4, 2012 Ludwig Göransson said in an interview with Portable that he and
Donald were in his studio coming up with new ideas for his next studio album.
It was said to be a bigger album, with more people involved.
2013–present: Because the Internet and Community departure
In 2013, Glover signed on to create a music-themed show for FX titled Atlanta in which he will
star, write, and executive produce.
Consequently, Glover decided to reduce his work for NBC, and appeared in only five episodes
of Community's 13-episode fifth season.
Although many TV stations were interested in picking up his half-hour comedy, he ultimately
picked FX due to their willingness to work around his touring schedule.
On October 4, 2013, Glover announced on Twitter that his second studio album was completed.
He further announced this at Homecoming Week at Penn State, stating “I got a new album
coming out soon, so this is the last time we’re gonna play a lot of this shit.”
On October 8, 2013, he announced its title as Because the Internet and revealed that
it would be released in December 2013.
On October 21, 2013, Glover released the first single "3005", and announced a release date
for the album as December 10, 2013.
On February 15, 2014, the rapper launched his Deep Web Tour in the UK.
On February 27, Childish Gambino is scheduled to begin the United States portion of his
tour with a gig at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California.
Discography
Camp Because the Internet
Filmography As Actor
As Writer Concert Tours
Headlining IAMDONALD Tour
The Sign Up Tour Camp Tour
The Deep Web Tour Awards
See also Ludwig Göransson
Derrick Comedy Mystery Team
References
External links Donald Glover on Twitter
Official Facebook page Official Soundcloud profile
Official website