So 2016 sucked. And yes, next year might be terrible too.
But thankfully, we had Donald Glover, who provided us with some much-needed distractions from the hellscape that was 2016. This was the year Glover — aka Childish Gambino, aka Troy on Community — finally got some goddamn recognition.
Atlanta, the FX series created by and starring Glover, screened at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January.
Those in the audience loved what they saw, but the rest of the world didn't know what to expect from the show, a project which Glover called a "Twin Peaks with rappers." Glover also made his directorial debut with Atlanta, helming two episodes of the series.
Next up is a panel for Donald Glover’s Atlanta, which is the best new show I’ve seen at #TCA16.
Also, @donaldglover's new show 'Atlanta' is something else. Best vibe of anything I've watched all #TCA16.
Now is Atlanta, whose pilot is one I will probably bug you about a lot. I really loved this one. #TCA16
Fast forward to June, and a little taste of Atlanta appeared — and it had us hype.
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Oh, and Atlanta also has the best Twitter account of all time, blessing us with RT-worthy goodness like...
if it wasn’t for rap there’d be a lot of hard AF poets.
“Looks don’t matter.” “Would you kill a ladybug?” “Hell no!” “Ok, a roach?” “Of course.” “Exactly.”
hip hop concerts should have more sign language interpreters
be the person ur profile pic makes it seem like you are
Shout out to whoever runs @AtlantaFX. 👌
Around the same time, news broke that Glover had been cast in Sony's Spider-Man: Homecoming. His role in the 2017 movie is to-be-announced.
OK, so he won't be playing Spider-Man (as many of his fans had hoped and campaigned for using the hashtag #DonaldGloverSpiderMan in 2010), but it was a big moment for him.
Then in September, Glover kicked off PHAROS, a spectacular, otherworldly three-day California concert event in Joshua Tree.
Joshua Tree tonight for #PHAROS (camping/listening party)
Tickets for the event sold out in six minutes. Over those three days, Glover took the stage six times, performing ALL NEW MUSIC, but more on that later.
Days later, Atlanta finally premiered.
People loved it, praising it for its exploration of fatherhood, police brutality, sexuality, poverty, gun violence, among other topics.
It was just two episodes and ATLANTA has already captured moments in the black experience that are rarely if ever shown on TV
Not even 5 mins went by & I already know Darius from #Atlanta is my fav character. @AtlantaFX every line is meme worthy.
In just 2 episodes, #AtlantaFX already covered gun violence, mental health & incarceration, sexuality, transphobia, & police brutality. Wow.
But creating, directing, and acting on a hit TV show wasn't the only thing Glover was up to in 2016. He also released a new, funkadelic album Awaken, My Love!.
It's a departure from his older output for sure. People had mixed feelings about his latest, rap-free album, but everyone agreed "Redbone" was perfect. 💃🏻
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Just listen to it.
He performed it on The Tonight Show and, yes, he nailed the falsetto.
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Glover's live performance game was on point this year, overall. Just see his jam session with Reggie Watts on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
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On top of all that, Glover was also cast in a Star Wars spin-off film. STAR WARS!
He'll be playing a young Lando Calrissian in a stand-alone Han Solo film.
Hello, what have we here? Donald Glover is Lando Calrissian in the untitled 2018 Han Solo Star Wars Story.… https://t.co/vkMoBIz7Al
He seemed pretty thrilled about landing the role himself.
All in all, it seemed like Glover actually had a pretty good year.
And a good Donald Glover year made our 2016 better.
