Childish Gambino's groundbreaking creativity inspires young Vancouver artists

ChildishGambino's This is America tour lands inRogers Arena on Friday night in a city where he's having aprofound impact on local artists.

At 35 years old, Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino, has done it all: acting, writing, directingand touring the world as a musician.

Glover's success in all these mediaat such a young age is helping others find their own identity and carve their path through a career in entertainment, say many Vancouver artists.

For R&B and hip hop artist Diane Mutabaruka, who goes by Missy D, seeing Glover play a lovable nerdy character named Troy Barnes in the TV show Community exposed her to a black identity that's typically not seen in mainstream media.

"He was an uncommon black character in the show. Usually, when you watch shows, you have this 'cool' stereotype of an African-American character, but I think he was giving a different narrative," said Mutabaruka.

Versatility as an artist

Actor and musician Eugene Mundowa, who goes by the stage name Makadi, says Glover's refusal to be pigeonholed into one genre or medium has given him the confidence to carve his own path.

"I've always had a tough time deciding, 'am I just a singer?' Or 'am I just a rapper?' What mould do I fit in?" Mundowa explained.

"The industry tries to put you in a pocket and my album is a response rejecting that Donald Glover was a huge inspiration."

Finding your identity

Local producer and hip hop artist Koju Kojwang, also known as Kasera, relates to Glover. Kojwang grew up with a mostly white group of friends and struggled to find himself.

"I've always had this identity issue ... then Childish Gambino comes along and he is this image of the in-between," Kojwang said.

"He found this art and this way to express himself and all of a sudden he's relatable to anyone, black or white, old or young, it doesn't really matter."

Hometown hero

In 2016Glover releaseda TV series called Atlanta,based on his hometown.The show has already won two Emmy Awards, including a historic win as the first black director to earn an award for a comedy series.

This return to his hometown is also a source of inspiration for Vancouver artists who want to make their city a hub for creative talent.

"Sometimes in Vancouver, we look to other places like Toronto or California and think 'why do they have all the amazing artists?' But really, this is an incredible city," Kojwang said.

"For Donald Glover to do something like that for Atlanta, [to] double down on the place where he's from, it's really important because it gives people confidence."