‘Atlanta’ Hid a Clever Childish Gambino Easter Egg in 1 of Its Episodes
Atlanta was one of the hottest new shows when it premiered in 2016 on FX. Its first two seasons have been widely recognized for its humor and brilliant storytelling about an Ivy-League dropout who struggles to make ends meet while trying to reconnect with his cousin who may make it big in his rap career.
The show is full of clever anecdotes, and some fans have even noticed various Easter eggs throughout the series, one of which nods to its creator’s own rap career. Learn more about what Atlanta is, Donald Glover’s music career, and the clever Easter egg that connects the two in the show below.
What is ‘Atlanta’?
Atlanta is an American comedy-drama created by Donald Glover, who is known as being a Jack-of-all-trades in the entertainment industry. It stars Glover as Earn Marks, a 30ish-year-old father a young girl, Lottie, who has an on-again-off-again relationship with Lottie’s mother Zazie.
Earn had a bright and promising future, earning a spot at Princeton, before eventually dropping out. Now seeing an opportunity for a new career by managing his cousin’s rap career, Earn sets out to try to reconnect with “Paper Boi” before he makes it big.
The show has been praised for having an all-Black writing staff, and for its accurate portrayals of the Black American story, earning it a 97% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Who is Childish Gambino?
Donald Glover is one of those guys who can do it all. He acts, writes, does stand-up comedy, directs, produces, and he also somehow has time to become a successful rapper under the moniker Childish Gambino.
Glover released several mixtapes and albums in th early 2000s, and was eventually signed by Glassnote Records in 2011. His first official album, Camp, came out in 2011, but the arrival of his second album in 2013, Because the Internet, helped him rise to fame in the music industry. “Awaken, My Love!” was his third album, which emerged in 2016. It features his Grammy Award-winning single “Redbone”, which took home the award in 2017.
Childish Gambino has won four other Grammy Awards, all for his song “This is America”, which discusses race, gun violence, and other difficult topics in a beautiful and haunting way. Glover’s latest album, 3.15.20 was released early last year, and according to Hot Press, he is working on another music project that is set to be, “my biggest by far.”
‘Atlanta’ nods to a then-upcoming Childish Gambino album
According to Mental Floss, some fans noticed the album cover art for Childish Gambino‘s “Awaken, My Love!” in the background of one scene in the “Juneteenth” episode of Atlanta. Interestingly, this particular episode premiered in October 2016, which was two months before the album itself was released. You probably won’t see the album it unless you’re looking for it, but some eagle-eyed fans noticed the cover art and took to Twitter to share their findings.
Atlanta is known for its clever-writing, sharp-witted humor, and incredible acting, and many fans appreciate little details like this that are also carefully placed throughout the show. Fans have been waiting for new seasons to premiere for years, but numerous delays have halted the process. The first two seasons are available for streaming on FX, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. According to Thrillist, season three and four are set to drop in late 2021 early 2022.
