Despite Grammys Win, Donald Glover Still Plans To Retire Childish Gambino
Source: YouTube
Source: YouTube
Donald Glover's 2018 is already off to a promising start. From receiving the Grammy award for Best Traditional R&B Performance to getting ready for the second season premiere of his well-received television series Atlanta, Glover is poised to have a great year.
WATCH: The First 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Trailer With Donald Glover As Young Lando
In recent interview with Esquire, Glover not only spoke about the second season but his role as Lando Calrissian in the forthcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story movie, making art specifically for black people, and feeling like Tupac.
In regards to Atlanta, Glover said that he looked to A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip in regards to wanting the second season be better than the first.
"I tried to do the Q-Tip take on it," Glover said. "After their first album, he was like, 'I'm kicking this sophomore-slump shit in the ass.'"
"I know season two of Atlanta is something because it makes me nervous," Glover added.
In the story Glover also discussed portraying a young Lando, a character that he first voiced his desire to do when he heard a rumor about the role years ago.
"I told my agent, 'I wanna be Lando,' but his agent didn't like his chances. "That was exactly what I needed to hear," Glover told me, "because I'm the person who's not supposed to make it, so much so that I don't think people recognize where I came from and what I’ve done. At a certain point, it does look easy. I do sometimes look like a Mary Sue. I was like, 'Oh, okay, cool.' I studied, I watched the movies a lot, and I killed it, because I was ready."
Below are other notable quotes from the interview. You can also check it out in its entirety here.
Glover on making art for black people:
"Black people do not have the narrative over their story. It's always been written by somebody else," he said. "I also think it's like we have PTSD. There's a lot of things that have happened to us that we don’t completely understand and we're not getting help to understand. That's why information is so powerful and necessary. If you understand, then you don't let it happen again."
Glover on being a father:
"Children are life's greatest context. Parenthood really does make you something more. It asks you questions that no one is ever ready for, and that you’re always ready for. It's like ayahuasca."
Glover on feeling like Tupac:
"I am the new Tupac in a strange way. I grew up similar. I didn't have a mom in the Black Panthers, but my parents were very pro-black. Also, my mom made me go to performing-arts high school. She was like, 'That's where you need to be.' Sometimes you have to play a role for people to understand you, even though you're far more complex than any of that. Sometimes it's really hard to simplify that so people can eat it."
Source: Esquire
