The Y.H.G.M Brand: Actor to Rapper... How often does this work?

We all know how musicians (especially rappers) like to become actors. Maybe there is some kind of correlation between the story telling found in music and visual expressions found on film. In the 80s Michael Jackson tapped into this theory with the video for “Thriller”, from his album of the same title, by creating a mini- movie visual of the song and allowed him to show a more theatrical side of his talents. He’s done this several more times. Within the past 20 years, none are more famous for putting their acting skills to test on the big and small screen than rappers. Some examples are Ice Cube, Tupac, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Will Smith, LL Cool J, Ice T, Queen Latifah, T.I and Snoop (to name few). The transition from rapping to acting has both worked and failed for rappers. Some of that failure came from premature critiques, but a lot of it came from simply just bad acting. But when that transition worked, it worked.

Now that it is more acceptable to see a rapper turn into an actor, what about the new wave of actors becoming rappers? This transition is not as easy, especially for small screen actors who are known for specifically that role. Not to say that it has not been done before, but the ones most likely to gain more acceptance are musicians who do not rap. With the emergence of an artist like Drake, the trials of that transition is appearant. Even with hot mixtapes to his name, he had to fight to be known as Drake the rapper and not “Jimmy in the wheelchair”, but his talent was undeniable. But is Drake a rarity? How many more successful actor to rapper stories can be told?

Well... it just might be one more, maybe. Actor Donald Glover (known best as Tony Barnes on the NBC sitcom “community”) comes equipped with an alter ego, Chidish Gambino, and 5 mixtapes. His feature on a remixed “rolling in the deep” track and his “freaks and geeks” track are a surprise, but not completely refreshing. Although Glover’s latest mixtape, simply entitled “EP" is only five tracks long, each one is an intimate look at the Childish Gambino persona Glover has crafted. You also get more insight on him as an artist, that was lacking in some of the previous mixtapes. This is done through exaggerated storytelling of how success has affected his personal life. His style can be said to mimic a few of his peers in the rap game, but yet somehow is seemingly distinct. Glover’s only problem would be avoiding the “actor who raps” box enough to be taking seriously, similar to Drake, as well avoiding Drake comparisons since they both have taken the same lane.