I'm a fan of entertainment. TV, movies, sports, stand up, music, anything... And as a guy who considers himself pretty creative I understand how hard it is to commit to a creatively driven craft and excel. So when you see guys transcend one genre for another, it's impressive. We've seen lots of people do it; From Shaq taking his skills in the post to the recording booth and many Hollywood sets to Will Smith turning his silly raps into a mega star acting career.. But of all those that have tried, who failed and who has done it well?
Though he's found his niche in small bit parts of Hollywood, I think we can consider Shaq a failure for transcending a genre. He was great in one arena and not so great in the others mediums. Eddie Murphy went from stand up juggernaut to Hollywood super star but then he got a little too froggy and tried doing an album. He's not a terrible singer, but 100% fuck no Eddie. Even the greatest basketball player of all time "retired" from basketball to try his hand at baseball. Again, I think we can all agree that his Airness belongs on the hardwoods.
Then there is one of my surprisingly favorite entertainers of all time--- Justin Timberlake.
JT started in the Mickey Mouse club then he moved onto boy band member where he snagged up Britney Spears when she was still a catch. At that point he was an annoying teen heart throb like Beiber, The Jonas Brothers or those One Direction kids. They all are or were on a short list of 'children I would punch'. But once JT left the boy band and started standing up to piss, he began his ascension to legitimate stardom. His music was not really my flavor, but it was still good music, and it was when he hosted SNL that cemented my respect for the man. His timing is phenomenal and add music and dancing to it, he's the kind of triple threat we haven't seen in a very long time. I honestly think he's our generation's Frank Sinatra. Ol' Curly Hair. But I think he is just a born entertainer and he enjoys every second of it.
However, for guys like Justin Timberlake and Shaq, it almost feels like they had the advantage; They were great in one arena and easily given the opportunity to try other avenues of entertainment. Although I don't knock their work ethic, they didn't exactly risk everything to leave their comfort zone and pursue their dreams. The guys that seem like they grind their way into the circles are the ones I really admire. Maybe it's because their love for their art is so glaringly obvious.
Love him or hate him, Ashton Kutcher was smart enough to be a corporate success but he up and moved from Iowa to Hollywood and made things happen for himself. We all know Puffy and Jay Z's rise to the top of their self made empires. Guys like Mos Def and Common got hot on the streets with their music then took it as a challenge to be great at acting too. Neither are Oscar worthy yet, but they're both respectable actors. In all these success stories, one thing seems to be common- a passion for their craft.
Recently I ran across some music that I liked only to find out it is from a comedic actor that I really enjoy. The former NBC comedy 'Community' was about a group of community college students that found themselves in the most bizarre scenarios. From school sized pillow fort wars to a nefarious Trade School Dean trying to take over the school. It was like if the Muppet Babies went to college.
One of the actors from the show's name is Donald Glover. He also goes by the rap name Childish Gambino. He is clearly a talented actor that reminds me of Andy Samberg and like Andy Samberg, Glover wasn't a household name but he was a cult favorite. And they both thrived on the niche that they built for themselves.
Loving his character on Community, anything I saw with him in it, I tried to consume. Just as Samberg and his friends took it upon themselves to write and produce Hot Rod, Donald Glover and company did a light hearted comedy about a kid mystery solving team. Absurd but hilarious and that is just my speed.
I eventually ran across a stand up special he did and was impressed. Going from stand up to acting is one thing, but going from acting to stand up is a whole different can of worms. It was clear he was new to the avenue but had lots of potential because he liked making people laugh. Then I came across one of his albums.
"Because the Internet" is an odd, upbeat and feel good hip hop album. It was not the traditional album with fifteen three-verse songs, but it felt almost like an opera following a young up-and-coming artist trying to find his way through the weekend. I don't mean that in a bad way either, it was actually pretty refreshing. You could feel his soul in the music. That is art.
Then there's guys like Kanye who yells some bullshit over a beat that sounds like a computer and garbage truck are copulating and calls it the greatest art of our generation because he thinks we really value his opinion that much. But what made his latest "album" so bad was that it had no coherence. I think he is becoming so arrogant and greedy that he thought he could shit in your ears and make money doing it.
Because the Internet felt seamless.
It was so different and unpredictable that you couldn't always tell when one song ended and another began. It weirded me out at first, but I eventually found myself addicted to it. If you're looking for that traditional 15 track hip hop album, you'll probably be a little bugged by this album, but if you're a Talib Kweli or Mos Def fan that is open minded to untraditional hip hop, I feel like you'd enjoy it. It surely has that Westcoast feel to it too. He has clean lyrics both slow and smooth as well as fast and crisp. Content is not about gang banging or killing guys who don't respect him, it literally is what I would picture a good Molly trip at the club would be like. Not so weird that sober you can't vibe with it, but so eclectic that you never fall into a lull.
The thing I liked was he would jump from some crazy overloaded beat to a smooth song with excellent vocals from features like Jhene Aiko (who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine) and even laying good harmonies himself on songs like 3005. Never once did I feel like he was making a song because he thought the album needed a particular style intertwined within the stuff he actually enjoyed making- it was all about him expressing himself... And he's funny. I almost liken him to a hip hop version of Tenacious D. Gifted musicians putting a comedic twist to the music.
All in all, this album isn't going to win Grammy's but much like his acting career, I think it will find a following and gain a stronghold among the alternative rap libraries of the future. I know this album will not be everyone's cup of tea, but whether or not this fits my prototypical hip hop profile, it is unique.. Which at my age is a beautiful thing to experience. I think when you don't have the bright light on you it's a little easier to go in the direction you want because there is a lot less expectation, but not everyone has the balls to risk that. Some people are so worried that people won't like it that they tinker with it until it sounds like every other album on iTunes.
In my opinion, Donald Glover has found a way to do well in acting, music and stand up. He's hardly elite at any of these things, but he is darn near great in all three. My personal opinion is that because he truly enjoys each manner of entertainment, he'll never have to worry about getting good because that's just the natural result of practicing.
Though passion alone will not supercede lack of talent, transcending a genre is possible if you can just let go of the wheel and start creating.
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