Donald Glover’s favourite classic rock album is a Pink Floyd masterpiece
If there is one figure who can skip the cringing notion and quite comfortably assert himself as a ‘renaissance man’, then it’s Donald Glover. Known by some as rapper Childish Gambino and by others as Lando Calrissian, the actor, rapper, producer and all-round phenomenal creator, Glover has gained a fandom as rich and textural as his portfolio.
Never sticking to one particular art form, Glover has forged a career in both music and film by possessing that most vital of things; aptitude. Never deterred by denial, Glover often struggled to have his voice heard when he was coming up in the dual industries. Eventually finding fame and notoriety in both fields, as a rapper and musician under the moniker of Childish Gambino and through countless important roles on screen, Glover has forged his own path and on his own terms.
Since achieving such worldwide recognition for his work, Glover has chosen his projects carefully, even suggesting that he has now retired his Childish Gambino moniker in favour of more prosperous prospects. It all points to an artist who is incredibly selective in what he puts his name to. It makes the fact that he once picked five albums that he couldn’t live without all the more tantalising.
Amid the selection given to the Toronto Sun were some more obvious choices, including Stevie Wonder’s magnanimous Songs in the Key of Life and the musings of the wildly talented Lauryn Hill and her trademark record Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Acknowledging his generational position, he couldn’t ignore the wonderful talent of Fiona Apple and her seminal LP When the Pawn Hits Conflicts, and the talented Glover also paid tribute to Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But perhaps his most unexpected pick was Pink Floyd’s mercurial Dark Side of the Moon.
Of course, if Glover picking a classic prog-rock album is unexpected to you, then you haven’t really been paying attention. Glover has always provided himself with a wide spectrum of influences and inspiration, so it makes total sense that the same spectrum is made available when picking his most treasured artistic moments too. Though one might not expect Glover and the psychedelic rock outfit to be particular bedfellows, it’s clear that Glover respects craftsmanship in any form and picked out the incredible effort The Dark Side of the Moon, which ranks among Pink Floyd’s best LPs of all time.
While he didn’t offer much to the publication on why he’d take that LP with him into the next inescapable world, he did provide a precursor for his selection, simply stating: “This is really intense.” While that was likely connected to the undue stress of having to pick one’s favourite albums of all time, there’s a good chance it could also be a reflection of the space-aged drama contained within the was on the 1973 LP.
Listen below to Donald Glover’s favourite classic rock record, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.
