Donald Glover is a mystery. In a long, winding, and dense profile with The New Yorker, Glover discussed the racial hurdles inherent in making Atlanta, whether he wants to save society or not, and the brilliance of trap music. One of the most revealing moments of the interview is when the Awaken, My Love-singer describes why he almost didn’t go through with his Grammys performance.
“I went to school with white people who had less talent than me—because I’m talented as f–k—and they’re doing way better than me,” said Glover. “I went to N.Y.U. with Lady Gaga. Now, CBS ran Grammys ads this week, and I’m one of the hotter acts, and they had a visual of the performers on the show: Lady Gaga, Pink, and me. Only they showed some black kid from a fan video—it’s not even me.”
Glover later described why he ended up performing regardless of the perceived slight.
“I was, like, F–k this, f–k them, I’m not going to do the show,” said Glover. “The sad thing is I’m going to do it, because black people don’t get that chance very often.”
Glover did end up performing “Terrified” at the Grammys, while bringing out his Lion King co-star J.D. McCrary. If he was upset about the Recording Academy’s advertisement while onstage, it was hard to tell.
Read the entire The New Yorker profile here.
Be the first to comment