By Taylor Nigrelli
Assistant Sports Editor
On what seems like a monthly basis, a crazy trend sweeps America that can only be described in one word: stupid.
Recently, such trends as Honey Boo Boo Child, “Call Me Maybe” and the phrase “YOLO” (an excuse to do something stupid because “You Only Live Once”) experienced mainstream popularity.
Even the popular music scene is littered with simple lyrics and recycled topics. Low-talent artists such as Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, LMFAO and Ke$ha receive all the attention while low-key, highly talented acts go widely unnoticed. In fact, the man who may be more talented than anyone else in America is struggling to gain mainstream popularity.
By now Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) should have received more respect and attention for his incredible array of talents. The 29-year-old Georgia native is one of America’s best in the fields of acting, rapping, writing and stand-up comedy.
Glover got his “big break” as a staff writer for the Emmy-winning 30 Rock on NBC in 2006, according to writersguildofamerica.org. In 2009, he was given a starring role on another hit NBC comedy; “Community.” As an avid fan of NBC’s Thursday night lineup, I was able to see Glover’s vast talent as both a writer and an actor.
Meanwhile, Glover was also writing stand-up comedy and performing across the country. His routine became so popular that he was given a stand-up special on Comedy Central, the universal sign of “making it” in the world of stand up.
Later, he earned a one hour time slot for his second stand-up special, “Weirdo.” He was starring in one of the most popular comedies on television after showing his ability to write for another and performing stand-up comedy well enough to earn a spot on comedy central; what else could Donald Glover possibly have time for?
As it turns out Glover had been writing rap music under the stage name Childish Gambino for a couple of years, according to Childishgambino.com. He began to release music to the public in 2010, according to the same article. Not only is Glover an Emmy-winning writer, a star in a hit comedy series and one of the world’s funniest stand-up comedians; he’s the best rapper in America.
Glover combines his soft singing voice with hard rhymes, hilarious, genius-level puns and heartfelt, insightful lyrics. His songs give you a view into his personal life, which allows you to connect the message to your own life. Most importantly, his music is enjoyable to listen to in any situation.
Glover has now proven to be one of the most talented in the world in four different fields. Yet, he’s rarely discussed as one of the special performers of our generations. None of his singles have reached the top 100 on Billboard chart according to billboard.com, and his album peaked at 11 on iTunes. He has less than 10 percent of the Twitter followers than lesser performers such as Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj have.
Why does our society shove real talent aside while praising ignorance and stupidity? It’s time for people to start recognizing and appreciating real talent. Perhaps if real artists were recognized more, the young and impressionable would strive to be more like them instead of the role models they are forced to learn from now.
It’s time for society to take a long look at what our standards for popularity have become and change them.
Maybe that change starts with appreciating a young man named Donald Glover.
