DAVE

10 Takeaways From Donald Glover’s Interview With Himself

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Image via Getty/Lionel Hahn

  • He models his career after Willy Wonka

  • Donald’s not interested in “cancel culture,” recorded a feature that may be “too controversial” to release

  • Glover has thoughts on Dr. Umar Johnson’s comment about relationship with mother of his child

  • He addressed Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s exit from ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ series

  • He knows why people connect with Joe Rogan and Dave Chappelle

  • Childish Gambino’s ‘Camp’ hasn’t led to regrets despite the critical response

  • Donald likes ‘Dave’ but doesn’t appreciate comparisons to ‘Atlanta’

  • Glover enjoys ‘Euphoria,’ jokes Zendaya should “leave Sam [Levinson] to come to Death Row”

  • His biggest fear is losing his mother

  • The ‘Atlanta’ creator still believes ‘The Sopranos’ is only show as good as his

Donald Glover Explains How He Would Make ‘Dave’ More Like ‘Atlanta’

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Donald Glover’s show Atlanta gets compared to Lil Dicky’s show Dave a lot. Presumably, it’s because they were both created by rappers who also star in them and because they share a network, FX. Even this very website sorta compared them in a feature about how they depict the weird corners of the rap game in a way that hasn’t been seen before in mainstream media. Glover has said in the past that he doesn’t much like those comparisons, but that didn’t stop him from making one himself in a new interview.

Intriguingly enough, he had all the leeway in the world not to answer the question — or even ask it — since the conversation took place in Interview magazine with Donald interviewing himself. But maybe it’s just been on his mind. He winds up explaining what his (ahem) beef is with Dicky’s show, and how he believes it could be a more honest, “organic” depiction of Dicky’s experience in the rap game — basically, by making it more like Atlanta.

In some recent tweets of yours you reference Dave.

Yeah.

Do you dislike that show?

No! I like that show. But it does bother me when Atlanta’s compared to it.

Why?

You have to think of it like food.

You mean it’s a different flavor.

No. Although I do feel like the flavor is artificial in some sense. The organic show should be about a white rapper who’s more successful than his Black peers from the jump. Because he’s more accessible. But what he actually wants is to be part of the culture, but his success keeps him from that and a lot of his Black peers and friends resent him for it but also feel like they have to fuck with him because it’s good for them. That’s the internal struggle I see. Anyway.

That’s the Donald version of Dave.

Yeah. It’s sadder. What are you gonna do?

Donald goes on to clarify that he doesn’t technically think that Dave should be his version of the show, aptly comparing the two shows to different foods. He also admits that he “can be a snob” but disagrees with assessments that he’s “pretentious.” “Anthony Bourdain wasn’t pretentious,” he says. “But he definitely knew the difference between a dry-aged wagyu and a smash burger. Neither is better or worse than the other. They’re just different experiences. And I wouldn’t want to have either every day.”

Lil Dicky’s Offbeat Comedy ‘Dave’ Has Been Renewed For A Third Season

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Fans of the offbeat hip-hop comedy series Dave can rest easy — Lil Dicky‘s heartfelt yet absurdist brainchild has been renewed for a third season, as confirmed by the show’s official Twitter.

While the confirmation announcement is light on details — when does the show return? Who are the guest stars? How does the show’s Lil Dicky restart his career after blowing off the opportunity of a lifetime to remain loyal to his hype man and the show’s best character, GaTa? — it’s enough to reassure those of us who have been re-bingeing the show on Hulu for the last six months that at least the answers to those questions are forthcoming.

The show is named after its creator — Dicky’s real name is Dave Burd — and loosely based on his life and early career as an aspiring albeit awkward rapper, reproducing such moments as his first radio appearance, his XXL Freshman cypher, and his first big television performance, all while heightening both the drama and the comedy of those events to borderline belief-straining levels of ridiculousness.

The approach has paid off, making Dave one of the most beloved new comedies of the past two years and earning it comparisons — however misguided — to other contemporary classics like Donald Glover’s Atlanta. It’s also revitalized Lil Dicky’s entertainment career, giving him an outlet for his comedic proclivities while finally letting the rest of the world in on the joke. Whenever the show returns, it’ll be with a huge audience — and while we won’t know exactly what to expect, we’ll at least be expecting to laugh and sob in nearly equal measure.

Donald Glover Has A Problem With People Comparing Lil Dicky’s ‘Dave’ To ‘Atlanta’

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Ever since Lil Dicky’s FX series Dave premiered last year, it drew instant and bountiful comparisons to Donald Glover’s show Atlanta. Indeed, there are obvious major parallels: Both shows are made by rapper/comedians, they’re both about what it’s like to be a rapper, and they both air on FX. The two were also paired together in headlines last year when Dave passed Atlanta to become FX’s most-watched comedy series ever. So, while many people put the shows on similar ground. Glover (aka Childish Gambino) is tired of it.

In a now-deleted tweet shared yesterday, Glover took exception to the Atlanta/Dave comparisons, writing, “and just for the record, im watching yall saying ‘dave’ is on par. like yall forgot what we did. no disrespect.” he quickly added, “we got black people on here debating which is better, and IM the sellout?”

In a New York Times interview from this summer, Dicky said he doesn’t think the two shows are that alike: “I’m a big fan of that show, I think it’s a great show. I feel like they’re very different shows.” When the interviewer responded, “I can’t think of two more similar shows,” Dicky replied, “That’s crazy. When I hear it, I don’t feel offended I feel complimented.” He continued, “I think they’re very different. I think our show is trying to be funny — a lot more jokes. Theirs is just the tonal brilliance. I see them as different shows.”

‘Dave’s GaTa Blurs The Line Between Fiction And Reality With His New Song, ‘Check Up’

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For those who watch the “gross, sweet” FXX comedy Dave, one of highlights of the show is the lead character’s interactions with his friend and hype man GaTa. As the show’s titular lead is portrayed portrayed by the real-life Dave Burd — aka Lil Dicky — so to is the show’s GaTa just a lightly fictionalized version of the actual GaTa, who has been Lil Dicky’s hype man since early in his career.

In both the show and IRL, GaTa is a talented rapper in his own right. While the show plays up GaTa using his connection with Dave to help himself breakthrough, in the reality, he’s been releasing a steady stream of his own music since before the two first linked up in the blog rap era. Viewers were reminded of this fact in the latest episode, where GaTa’s new song “Check Up” plays a pivotal role in the episode’s plot.

Of course, with this show, the lines between fiction and reality blur constantly, and so “Check Up” has turned out to be a real song released by the real GaTa to streaming services like SoundCloud, and it’s a catchy, charismatic, club-ready throwback to a time before rap songs were more humming than rapping.

Listen to GaTa’s new song, “Check Up,” below.

Dave Delivers A ‘Clash’ With Stormzy On The Lead Single From His Upcoming Album

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After two long years, South London native Dave is finally back in action. The rapper hadn’t shared much with fans sine the 2019 release of his debut album, Psychodrama, an effort that was highly celebrated in his hometown as it would take home the Album Of The Year crown at the 2020 BRIT Awards, among other awards. Now, Dave is gearing up to drop his sophomore effort, We’re All Alone In This Together, and he prepares its release with its lead single, “Clash” featuring Stormzy.

The collaboration is a brash effort that finds the two rappers talking highly about themselves and their jewelry, watch, and shoe collections, among other things. Dave even takes a moment to shoot his shot with Jordyn Woods, despite her current relationship with Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

In a recent interview with GQ, Dave shared what listeners can expect on We’re All Alone In This Together. “I feel like Psychodrama was me aged zero to 20,” he said. ” Now, I get to go from zero backwards in time and explore stories from before, stuff that led up to the events of the first album: heritage, history, culture, my family, the countries that we come from, the regressive state of humanity in where we are now. Migration is a massive thing for me – boats, freedom of movement.” He added, “The artwork represents that – the journey – all at the same time, as delivering life from the perspective of someone who has just come off the back of all this… It’s a massive change in character.”

You can listen to Dave and Stormzy’s “Clash” above.

We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Pre-order it here.

South London Rapper Dave Announces His Second Album, ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’

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The last time South London rapper Dave released an album was back in 2019 with his debut effort, Psychodrama. The project won lots of awards in its native England. Finally he’s rearing his follow-up, We’re All Alone In This Together, which is set to arrive on July 23. He shared the news during an interview with Ciaran Thapar for GQ, which he described like this:

I feel like Psychodrama was me aged zero to 20. Now, I get to go from zero backwards in time and explore stories from before, stuff that led up to the events of the first album: heritage, history, culture, my family, the countries that we come from, the regressive state of humanity in where we are now. Migration is a massive thing for me – boats, freedom of movement. The artwork represents that – the journey – all at the same time, as delivering life from the perspective of someone who has just come off the back of all this… It’s a massive change in character.

The album’s first tentative single is “Clash,” featuring Stormzy. As for what else to expect, fans will just have to wait a couple of weeks to see.

We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Pre-order it here.