According to Glover: What is Blackness?

Some of you may know him as Childish Gambino, the stage name he usually performs under as a recording artist, or even mcDJ-another stage name for his disc jockey projects- but now he has a new name: Earn. Born Donald Glover, the actor, rapper, comedian, writer and producer has shown us countless times that he cannot be put into a box and; with his new show “Atlanta” he has done it again. With 1.8 viewers on its premiere date and the largest ratings for an FX comedy since the premiere of “Wilfred” in 2011, Glover has definitely sparked our interest. The show follows Earnest “Earn” Marks (played by Glover) and his estranged cousin Paper Boi who are trying to make their way up the Atlanta rap scene. The Princeton dropout desperately seeks to earn redemption in the eyes of his parents, cousin and mother of his child.  

It should come as no surprise that Glover’s approach to the entire show is not what was expected at all. Don’t expect to feel as though you’re watching a grand production with a hot headed director screaming “lights, camera, action!” at the cast. Albeit that may be true, the production team does a great job of keeping the tonal aspect in check. Glover took this opportunity to use his creative talents to shed light on what it means to be black in America.

“The thesis with this show was to show people what it’s like to be black, and you can’t write that down. You have to feel it,” he told critics at FX’s portion of the Television Critics Association press tour.

The show has a very surreal feeling to it- perhaps because being black in America is surreal in itself. With the at-home you feel as though you’re actually following the determined but, broke semi-single father around the Big Peach. “Atlanta” takes a very real look into what it means to be black in America and has characters that nearly anyone can connect with. You’ll find yourself laughing at the irony of the situations presented and even wanting to laugh at the tough jokes as well. You know, the kind that throw the “n-word” around for purpose.

So, how does it feel to be Black in America? You’ll have to watch and see- tune in on Tuesdays at 10PM on FX.