Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Childish Gambino, a.k.a. Donald Glover. At first, I did not like him, but after listening to “Camp,” I instantly became a fan. In this album, Gambino has a unique personality, insanely clever wordplay and an engaging delivery. My one gripe with this album is that he kept calling himself a “white” black guy, a term that people called me in high school that aggravated me.
For me, being a Childish Gambino fan is really funny. For years, since he blew up, people have often compared me to him, to my chagrin. As I said earlier, my peers recognized me as the “white” black guy in school, and the fact that people compared me to a self-proclaimed “white” black guy infuriated me. Eventually, I thought about it and concluded that Donald Glover and I really do have a lot in common. We’re both black nerds who dress like hipsters. We both get our energy from creativity. And honestly – “3005” is probably my theme song. Although I don’t have a pompous side to my personality, Donald Glover and I are pretty much the same people.
Aside from our braggadocious tendencies, 'Bino and I have another difference: how seriously we take ourselves. Personally, I have the tendency to take myself extraordinarily seriously. If you make a harmless joke about me, I’ll take offense to it. If I make a tiny mistakes, it’s the end of the world. If I’m presenting in front of an apathetic audience, I tell myself there’s something wrong with me.
Gambino, on the other hand, does not take himself seriously, at all. Throughout “Camp,” Gambino make fun of himself. In his song “Backpackers,” he claims to be “the only white rapper who’s allowed to say the n-word” and that he’s “double suspect” because he’s a black man who wears short-shorts (brilliant wordplay). Childish Gambino is different and has been ridiculed for it, so instead of letting the ridicule get to him, he copes by making fun of himself!
Childish Gambino, the rapper whom many people compare to, has taught me one thing: there’s absolutely no reason to takes yourself so seriously. Donald Glover understands that each person is a microscopic part of the universe. So, instead of worrying about his nerdy tendencies, he does what he wants and makes fun of his peculiarities.
To a degree, Gambino still kind of irks me when he proclaims himself to be a “white” black guy, but his music has inspired me to not take myself too seriously. Gambino speaks to an audience of “white” black people and encourages them to be themselves (and subliminally encourages them to make fun of their individuality). For that, 'Bino has all of my respect.
Overall, life’s too short, so there’s no need to take yourself so seriously. Instead, just make fun of your insecurities because you’ll lighten your burden and get a few laughs out of it. So, I recommend you to do like Childish Gambino and write witty punchlines about your corniness.
