Donald Glover is the reason the term “Renaissance Man” exists.

Most of you will recognize Glover as one half of a large reason why Community is as successful as it is, the character Troy Barnes, best friend of Abed, the infamous fictional embodiment of all that WhatCulture! represents. I, however, got my first taste of Glover’s genius back in early 2007 while sitting in my dorm hoping Stumble Upon would show me something awesome – and it did. The website discovery engine directed me to the sketch comedy group, DERRICK Comedy’s homepage where I watched the first of many videos that made me laugh harder than I had in years. Even as I reminisce on it, I’m forcing myself to stifle my laughter from the sketch not because of its repeated use of two of the ugliest, most vile words in the English language, but because of its unique combination of brilliance, irreverence, and most of all style – what I would eventually learn is Glover’s modus operandi in all his artistic endeavors.

Apparently the small screen cannot contain Glover as he will be one of the many celebrities appearing in The Muppets as well as The To-Do List, a comedy about a girl’s sexual bucket list she wishes to complete before heading off to college, slated for release in 2013. In addition to releasing dozens of outrageously hilarious videos, including what is probably their most popular, “Bro Rape” (a short mockumentary which makes fun of not rape of course, but that elusive missing link in human evolution known as the Bro), DERRICK comedy is also responsible for the indie comedy Mystery Team in which three absurdly childish boyhood friends on the verge of graduating high school parlay their amateur detective skills into attempting to solve an actual murder for a girl played by Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza – a project which Glover was star, writer, producer, as well as composer – yes, on top of it all Glover is also a talented musician who is releasing his major label debut on Tuesday, November 15th under the name Childish Gambino.

Oh, and because music, television, and film aren’t enough for his resume, Glover can also count himself as an influence in the world of comic books. Although Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian Michael-Bendis developed the idea for Miles Morales, the half black, half Latino character whom has recently filled your friendly neighborhood web-slinger’s sticky shoes, before seeing Glover, Bendis reportedly stated his decision was confirmed upon seeing Glover in a Spider-Man suit in the season two premiere of Community, a nod to the Twitter campaign, #donald4spiderman, which petitioned to allow Glover the opportunity to audition for The Amazing Spider-Man, Marc Webb’s reboot of the franchise. The Marvel character creator himself, Stan Lee, approved of the audition, though it never came to fruition.

Throughout the album Glover speaks of how as a child he was bullied but as an adult he is looked up to as a success, though he still struggles with how to handle his rise to fame. While Culdesac is very much concerned with struggling to achieve one’s dreams citing alcoholic behavior and suicidal thoughts, it is by no means a depressing or miserable experience – in fact, quite the opposite. Culdesac, which consists of 15 full songs, very impressively blends clever plays on words including abundant pop culture references, emotionally revealing heart-on-sleeve confessions, and beats that range from fast-paced, complex, bass heavy tracks to smooth ballads to party songs that are downright infectious – I dare you to play “Put It In My Video” to see if your girlfriend can help from dancing along with it.

Childish Gambino delivers the freshest, most intellectually sophisticated take on the current wave of popular hip-hop and aside from constructing his own insanely catchy beats as mcDJ, using not only electronic manipulation, but also actual instruments, often incorporating samples by artists ranging from singer Adele to indie-rock group Grizzly Bear, and writing the sharpest, most clever lyrics I’ve ever heard, Gambino deserves the most credit for releasing so much for so little – nothing, in fact. All six of the official releases by Gambino, comprising over 60 songs, since 2008, have all been freely downloadable from his website. The fact that Glover took the time to not only practice and hone his craft for years before releasing his first album, and did so at zero cost to his audience for three full albums, two mix tapes, and a stellar EP is a testament to how much Glover sincerely cares about his art, as opposed to someone who tries to use their celebrity influence to cash in on as much as possible. Just as Gambino puts it, “labels want me to hurry and cash my check in, but I keep my **** free ‘til the last possible second.”

Glover overcame challenges and worked hard to find success doing what he loves. He didn’t have to sell his soul or compromise his convictions, rather, he followed his convictions and it’s definitely paid off. Too often young people convince themselves that one can only find success by sacrificing what they love so when I see someone succeed because they specifically refuse to give up what makes them happy, it gives me the strength to continue pursuing what makes me happy. If everyone could be as successful as Donald Glover is for following their hearts, this world would be a much better, more advanced one to live in.

The reason you’re reading this article on this website, whether or not you’re aware, is that there is a significant portion of the world’s population that strives for higher quality media coverage of the most elevated forms culture takes as opposed to poor media coverage which highlights the most loathsome, base, depraved elements of society for no greater motivation than financial profits. If WhatCulture!’s readers and contributors frequent the site, and others like it, because we wish to bask in the warm glow of that which may redeem the more disgraceful tendencies of humanity, then Donald Glover is a small spark that may ignite the oily, black sludge which permeates so much of our collective unconscious.