The list of television stars who have successfully transitioned into respectable rappers isn't long. No, Will Smith doesn't count. But Donald Glover, one of the lynchpins of hit comedy show, Community, is doing his best to change that trend.
His second album under the moniker Childish Gambino has its share of problems: at 19 tracks it's too long and flags towards the end, the constant references to webtalk cliches like hashtags grows tiring and some of the former stand-up comedian's one-liners fall flat ("I'm only looking back if I'm looking at her booty," for example).
But Glover's brand of production perfection earns comparisons to Kanye West on Crawl's Yeezus-style grind, while the sample-based bounce of Sweatpants and No Exit's grimy throb demand repeat listens.
Glover really finds his form when paired with Chance the Rapper on The Worst Guys, where his angry growl recalls a young Kendrick Lamar. He could even be mistaken for Frank Ocean with his R&B crooning on the sweeping widescreen ambitions of album centrepiece, 3005.
He's proved he can wear plenty of hats; all Glover needs to do now is make like a tweet and pare back his sprawling ambition.
