Donald Glover Reveals Why He Almost Didn't Perform At The Grammys

Donald Glover is a mystery. In a long, winding, and dense profile with The New Yorker, Glover spoke the racial hurdles inherent in making Atlanta, whether he wants to save society or not, and the brilliance of trap music. One of the most revealing moments of the interview is as soon as the Awaken, My Love-singer mentions why he almost didn't go through with his Grammys performance.


"I went to school with white people who'd much less talent than me—because I’m talented as f--k—and they’re doing way better than me," mentioned Glover. "I went to N.Y.U. With Lady Gaga. Right now, CBS ran Grammys ads this week, and I’m one of the hotter acts, and so they had a visual of the performers on the show: Lady Gaga, Pink, and me. Only they showed some black kid from a fan video—it’s not even me."


Glover later described why he ended up performing without consideration of the perceived slight.


"I was, like, F--k this, f--k them, I’m not going to do the show," mentioned Glover. "The sad thing is I’m going to do it, because black people don’t get that chance very often."


Glover did just be performing "Terrified" at the Grammys, while bringing out his Lion King co-star J.D. McCrary. If he was furious about the Recording Academy's advertisement while onstage, it was hard to tell.


Read the full The New Yorker profile here.