By SAMANTHA HART
Staff Writer
On May 5, actor, comedian and rapper Donald Glover will host “Saturday Night Live.” Glover’s rap persona, Childish Gambino, is also going to be on the show, but as a performing artist. This is unusual, because nothing like this has been attempted on SNL before.
This may be the first time that an artist will host the show and have their alter ego perform as a musical guest, but it is not the first time that a person has hosted SNL and performed on the same night. Artists like Ariana Grande, Blake Shelton, Drake, and Miley Cyrus have all hosted and performed on SNL at the same time, according to Variety.
Glover’s appearance was announced on April 14 during John Mulaney’s night as the show’s host, according to Variety.
Glover has risen to stardom since starting as a writer for the sitcom “30 Rock.” He also starred on the hit show “Community” and the award winning show “Atlanta.” Glover has experience with the SNL style. He previously wrote for the sketch comedy group, Derrick Comedy, according to Mashable.
Childish Gambino hasn’t released an album since his 2016 “Awaken, My Love,” which included the Grammy Award-winning “Redbone.” His appearance on SNL is likely related to his recent tour announcement with Rae Sremmurd that would start in Atlanta this September and
conclude in Vancouver. Glover is also going to star in several movies. He is due to play Lando Calrissian in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and as Simba in the new
imaging of “The Lion King.” The “double duty” that Glover/Gambino have on May 5 is likely an attempt to promote both Gambino’s approaching tour and Glover’s new movies.
The peculiar circumstance initially left R&B fans wondering if this was Glover’s own way of signaling the end of Childish Gambino and his rap career. But with the announcement of his new tour, Childish Gambino fans can sleep soundly knowing that their favorite celebrity alter ego isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
