A few years ago, I remember seeing a Champs Sports commercial featuring a song by a rapper known as Childish Gambino. At the time I had no idea who Childish Gambino was. I just liked the beat of the song in the commercial.
Fast forward a few years to 2016, and many of you have likely enjoyed, or at least heard of, Childish Gambino's music. However, some of you may not know that Childish Gambino is just the stage name of a man named Donald Glover.
Before he began rapping and found his stage name through a random name generator, Glover was a writer for the show "30 Rock" and a cast member on the show "Community." Due to his background in television, it may not be shocking to hear that Glover now has his own show on FX called "Atlanta."
The show manages to be unique through its humor and attention to detail, and the show just feels like now. You can tell that Glover is in touch with the younger generations and the culture. What is shocking, to probably everyone besides Glover himself, is how well made "Atlanta" is. The show mainly follows Earn (played by Glover), his cousin who is an up-and-coming rapper named Paper Boi, and Paper Boi's best friend Darius, who often steals the show. Throughout the first season, Earn learns the difficulties of managing an artist, being a father, and trying to build relationships.
While Glover has been busy working on his show, he also has been at work on his third album, which was recently announced. But before the album was even announced, the cover art was tucked away as a house decoration in "Atlanta"'s ninth episode, "Juneteenth." This subtlety is a prime example of the attention to small details that Glover uses to make his show stand out.
A great example of the humor that Glover injects into "Atlanta" comes during perhaps the show's strangest episode, "B.A.N." The episode offers a satirical take on TV talk shows, but the real standout scenes are parodies of today's commercials featuring notable brands such as Dodge and Swisher Sweets. While not all of the jokes land, the majority of them do and the humor really helps carry the show.
Also worth noting about the show is how good the soundtracks for each episode are. This was noticeable from the time the first trailers were released in promotion of the show.
Featuring current hits from D.R.A.M. & Lil Yachty to classics from Outkast, there is something here for everyone. Gambino even recorded a song just for the episode "Nobody Beats the Biebs," and it's one of the best sounding tracks he has ever recorded; too bad it may never see an official release.
For anyone who is a fan of hip-hop, pop culture, Donald Glover, or is just looking for a clever, well-written show with strong character, look no further. The show's first season just ended and only has 10 episodes, so you can binge watch it easily. No word yet on if the show will land on popular streaming platforms such as Netflix or Hulu, but you can currently stream "Atlanta" via FX Now using your cable provider. FX has already renewed "Atlanta" for a second season to premiere next year.
