If you thought "rapper-turned-actor" rarely ended well, consider the reverse. As anyone who has experienced "the full Joaquin" will tell you, sometimes even the most charismatic on-screen performers work much better with a script rather than a mic. Donald Glover, however, is the exception. A hugely talented comic, the 28-year-old Georgia-born Glover has written for 30 Rock, starred in cult TV hit Community and even campaigned to be the first black Spider-Man. His latest project saw him pick his rap moniker Childish Gambino on an online Wu Tang Clan name generator (my pseudonym is "Superintendent God-Botherer", since you ask), sign to Island Records and release Camp, a terrific slice of endlessly quotable post-Kanye hip-hop. Sitting in his record company offices in west London in Commes des Garçons trainers, APC jeans and a vintage Disney sweatshirt, he talks to GQ.com about getting Dr Dre to finish Detox, why magicians get dates and why he will be watching Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker...
GQ.com: What's your karaoke song?
Donald Glover: "Kiss From A Rose". At the beginning, people know the intro and react [starts singing the melody]: "Bada-ba-ba-ba-ba-bada-ba…" You're never alone by the time you have to sing the "Baby!" which is the hard part because it gets high. Seal's got a lot of range. I do legit like that song.
What's a Childish Gambino groupie like?
Pretty girls who try to be geeks but obviously aren't. [adopts hipster tone] "Oh, I wear glasses and my hair is in a pigtail." You're hot! You're not fooling me! There are no lenses in those glasses! But it's awesome.
Which lyric are you most proud of writing?
I like "Cause I ain't Mumford / I ain't tryin' to have sons / All I wanted was / Some more like Ashton". It's cute and fun. But I'm also very proud of "So it's 400 blows to these Truffaut n****s". It's a very snobby, geeky lyric but it has my favourite things in it: one of my favourite movies (The 400 Blows) and a double entendre (Truffaut and "true-faux", as in fake).
What was your first meeting with Jay-Z like?
His office is exactly what you expect it to be - big corner office on the top floor in New York in the middle, where you can see all Manhattan and Brooklyn. Leather couch. Fur throws. Whisky glasses.
How would you get Dr Dre to put down the headphones and finish Detox?
I think Dre's really smart - he's putting out singles and when the single hits, he knows what to do with the rest of the album. He might change direction at any point. When "Still DRE" came out and everyone loved it, he knew what the rest of the album [2001] was supposed to be. People want Detox to do well but if it's not great, they want to destroy Dre. That's why he's in this horrible situation. No one is thinking of Dre in the cupboard, worrying, "How the f*** do I do this?" He's human. He wants to do a good job. Why would he make an album that wasn't up to his standards? I think it's funny that some people think he's made a good album but he doesn't want to release it - who does that? Except for Prince...
What's the best way to impress a woman?
Tina Fey told me, "If you really want a woman to like you, just be really good at something." The love, care and the focus you have on one thing is attractive, because women then think, "I can be that thing." It's true - how do you think magicians get women? There was a magician who used to go to NYU - bad acne, total weirdo - and he used to f*** everyone. He was so confident he was going to win you over.
What's the worst job you've ever done?
I used to have to break down boxes at a store specifically for teachers. It wasn't busy - there weren't teachers coming in every day needed stuff. They would come in at the beginning of summer and you would never see them again. I had to work every day from 3-8pm and I'd have broken down all the boxes by 3.30. I'd try not to sleep or play video games, but there was literally nothing else for me to do. I would go around and arrange the [educational] dolls into obscene gestures and put their hands on their genitals. Careers very rarely are a waste of time; jobs usually are.
What's the best thing you can cook?
Osso buco [veal shanks with vegetables]: the slower you roast it, the better. I really like the marrow - that's my favourite part - so you can't let it get too dried out. If it's too dry, it's awful. You've got to keep the lid on and the moisture in.
What's the strangest gift you've received from a fan?
A weird drawing of me and this dude holding hands. I kept thinking, "Are you trying to kill me? One day, when I wake up, are you going to be hovering over my bed?" Even if it had come from a girl it would have been weird. They all want to be friends - but then we've all heard "Stan" by Eminem.
What's the worst thing a critic has said about you?
That I was fake and lying. Or that I was doing Childish Gambino to make money. Because that's what we know about the record industry - boatloads of money coming into it by the day!
Will you be watching Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man?
Yes I will. Actually I saw someone online saying, "I can't wait for the picture of Donald Glover watching the big Spider-Man movie to come out. I can't wait to Tumblr it." I won't be able to go to the movies because people will take pictures! That whole experience taught me you have to be careful what you put out there. #donald4spidermanwas supposed to be a joke. It was a viral thing but people got very upset. Sony started calling me and it took off! Twitter does have an effect on everything - things you put out there, they are out there for good. It was a jumping-off point for the album - I didn't even realise that people still felt that way. I did not know that a black Spider-Man was a big deal. I wasn't militant about it but I thought it would be interesting. Maybe it would be a different story if there weren't three Spider-Man movies that already existed.
Can you recommend a good book?
I have an obsession with books about kids with Asperger's syndrome. I like the way they think - it suits me. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon is great. That and [Jonathan Safran Foer's] Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close - they're on a separate bookshelf. They don't understand what the other books are saying by their facial expressions, but they're perfectly lined-up.
Have you ever had sex to one of your own records?
No. I don't really have sex to music because you stop paying attention to her. There's no faster way to get a woman out of the mood to say she's second priority. I don't usually do it but it did happen the other day - I was having sex to James Blake and it was perfect.
What should no man have in his wardrobe?
Anything with velcro. I used to be really into it but now I've realised I'm an adult. A button or even a zipper is OK. Life is hard - your wardrobe should reflect that. You're a grown man, so take some pride when you have to unzip. Velcro is like saying [adopts whiny tone], "Oh, is it hard keeping this together? We'll do the work for you."
When did you last throw a punch?
Wow! You don't find yourself throw punches anymore. People just pull out the gun. If it was the Twenties, you'd be saying, "This morning!" In the Fifties, "Last week!" People don't want to fight anymore.
What's the worst gig you've ever played?
I guess it actually ended up being really good gig, but we were opening for Kid Cudi at Terminal 5 in New York. Everyone's excited for Cudi, we came on stage and I'm wearing short shorts and a baggy shirt. People were just looking at me and were already mad. So we start jamming but people are just not moving. It felt like when I was doing stand-up and bombing. I started playing and acting like no one else was there and in the end we won them over. By the end people came up saying, "That was really dope - I have to see you again". One thing rap doesn't tend to do is get new fans live. You get all your fans from your records and then you go see them live to support them. It's something that goes with the game - it's expensive to have a band. You can't always have the Roots on backup.
Has anyone referenced in your lyrics ever responded to you? For example: "I've seen it all, like I'm John Mayer's penis hole"?
It's funny - I was at a party with him a couple of weeks ago and was wondering if he was going to say something to me. I would love for there to be some backlash. He must have seen it but I don't think he would be a problem. I think he'd just [say], "Yeah, I f***ed a lot".
Who is your best-dressed British man?
Daniel Craig. Man, that's a good-looking dude. Every time I see him I think, "I'd totally do him". He exudes a confidence that I want. He's got these weird zombie eyes that are piercing - you don't want to look into them but you can't help yourself. He's always dressed super-well but doesn't look like he's trying. I like the polos on his broad shoulders.
Who is the best-dressed man in hip-hop?
Besides me? I guess the easy answer would be Kanye but I don't think he's the best-dressed… He's the most interestingly dressed man in hip-hop. Honestly it might be someone like TI. He never dresses crazy but he's a well-dressed dude -it all fits and it's all neat. Cudi looks very cool - his leather jacket looks awesome.
What's the most important item on your rider?
A Blu-ray of Scott Pilgrim. I've seen it a billion times but I don't think it gets the props it deserves. What sucks is that it solidified something about the business - [adopts movie mogul voice] "See? There's no use in making new movies because people don't know them and don't want to see them." That movie is brilliant - it's funny, very interesting and it has got good values. [preach]
What TV do you never miss?
I'm probably going to get in trouble for this but American Dad is one of my favourite shows. It gets very dark in places but the jokes are there. Sometimes it's really subtle - there is one with a black leprechaun [O'Shamus McPherson] where a mosquito bites him and he says, "Ugh, they love me". It was such a weird joke, like something my uncle would say.
What's the worst haircut you've ever had?
Right before I was on Community, I had just moved to LA and my regular barber was back in New York. I go to this old man barbershop in Crenshaw. Not only did he cut off most of my hair, but it was lop-sided. There was no way you could fix it. You know when you're so angry that tears start coming out of your face? I think it would have been OK if it hadn't been a week before I was starting to shoot this new show.
Describe the way you dance.
Ladies say they like a guy who dances. They don't. I took dance for five years - ballet and tap - but I dance pretty minimal. They want a dude who is confident in his dancing, who knows he can dance but doesn't have to. Most of the time it's more about the woman - which is what ballet is. Whatever she is doing, I accentuate. Lift when you need to, dip when you need to.
Has Apple been in touch after you parodied their ads with your comedy troupe Derrick?
Man, I hope they come calling. I hope they want to make "Gink" a thing. I got to hang out at Pixar - they are the only places in the world where I could imagine doing a day job and it being OK.
What was the last stylish thing that you bought?
A very cool Kitsuné cardigan from Bloomingdales. I remember it was on sale but it was still really expensive - down from $700 to $400. I still didn't have that kind of money but I really wanted it. I still wear it now - it's a very soft and light cable knit.
Have you ever had a recurring dream?
I don't dream anymore. I used to dream that I was falling all the time but I only hit the ground once - I landed on my face. What does that mean? I'm afraid of endings.
Source
Love. this. bitch. I had to post about him after that Awkward Black Girl finale.