Oh boy. When Donald Glover appeared on Vanity Fair‘s ever popular lie detector segment with Mr. And Mrs. Smith co-star Maya Erskine to promote their new show, Erskine used the opportunity to bombard him with questions about another of his shows — and possibly start a new beef in the process.
Erskine asked Glover — who has also rapped under the stage name Childish Gambino — whether he thinks he’s “more talented” than another rapper-turned-comedy-television-auteur, Lil Dicky, whose show Dave received critical comparisons to Glover’s show Atlanta. Donald’s answer? An unequivocal “yeah.” The interview went live a while ago, but has resurfaced on Twitter and is generating some buzz.
He even acknowledged that “this is gonna start beef,” but stuck to his guns, saying, “I actually like him. I think he’s a really nice guy. I’m just conceited.” Erskine wouldn’t let him off the hook, though, asking, “Were you insulted when critics compared Dave to Atlanta?”
This is something he’s addressed in the past — and I was definitely one of those critics, albeit in less of a “these things are similar” kind of way — but he didn’t shy away from giving another affirmative answer. He explained, “Not because I think that Dave is bad. I actually think that Dave is a good show. I just don’t think they have a lot in common.”
They didn’t… but they kinda did. Both dealt with aspiring rappers getting roped into some truly surreal situations with dark humor, moments of tenderness contrasted with sharp social insights, and surprisingly accurate depictions of the recording industry day-to-day. Both were made by extremely successful rappers known for the comedic nature of their rhymes. And it certainly didn’t help that they were even aired on the same network, FX.
But okay, yeah, there were a lot of differences too. Dave‘s Lil Dicky is a neurotic egomaniac who alternately champions and torpedoes his unlikely career despite or with the support of his colorful cast of friends. However, in Atlanta, Glover played the manager for Brian Tyree Henry’s Paper Boi, who seemed to view rap as more of a means to an end — getting out of the hood.
The only way to resolve this? A rap comedy roast. Have it on FX. Let Erskine, Chloe Bennet, and Vince Staples judge. It’ll be great.
Donald Glover’s been embracing his spicy side lately, admitting recently that his 2018 hit “This Is America” was a low-key Drake diss and sparking a mini-beef between the two actors-turned-rappers. But it sounds like he was just getting started.