A community of interest gathers at Stonehenge, England, for the summer solstice.

The term community has two distinct meanings: 1) A group of interacting people, living in some proximity (i.e., in space, time, or relationship). Community usually refers to a social unit larger than a household that shares common values and has social cohesion. The term can also refer to the national community or international community, and, 2) in biology, a community is a group of interacting living organisms sharing a populated environment. A community is a group or society, helping each other.

In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.

Since the advent of the Internet, the concept of community has less geographical limitation, as people can now gather virtually in an online community and share common interests regardless of physical location. Prior to the internet, virtual communities (like social or academic organizations) were far more limited by the constraints of available communication and transportation technologies.

The word "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift"), a broad term for fellowship or organized society.^[1] Some examples of community service is to help in church, tutoring, hospitals, etc.

Perspectives from various disciplines[link]

Sociology[link]

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v t e

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft[link]

German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies distinguished between two types of human association: Gemeinschaft (usually translated as "community") and Gesellschaft ("society" or "association"). In his 1887 work, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Tönnies argued that Gemeinschaft is perceived to be a tighter and more cohesive social entity, due to the presence of a "unity of will."^[2] He added that family and kinship were the perfect expressions of Gemeinschaft, but that other shared characteristics, such as place or belief, could also result in Gemeinschaft. This paradigm of communal networks and shared social understanding has been applied to multiple cultures in many places throughout history.^[3] Gesellschaft, on the other hand, is a group in which the individuals who make up that group are motivated to take part in the group purely by self-interest. He also proposed that in the real world, no group was either pure Gemeinschaft or pure Gesellschaft, but, rather, a mixture of the two. )

Social capital[link]

If community exists, both freedom and security may exist as well. The community then takes on a life of its own, as people become free enough to share and secure enough to get along. The sense of connectedness and formation of social networks comprise what has become known as social capital.^[4]

Social capital is defined by Robert D. Putnam as "the collective value of all social networks and species (who people know) and the inclinations that arise from these works to do things for each other (norms of reciprocity)."^[5] Social capital in action can be seen in all sorts of groups, including neighbors keeping an eye on each others' homes. However, as Putnam notes in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000), social capital has been falling in the United States. Putnam found that over the past 25 years, attendance at club meetings has fallen 58 percent, family dinners are down 33 percent, and having friends visit has fallen 45 percent.^[6]

The same patterns are also evident in many other western countries. Western cultures are thus said to be losing the spirit of community that once were found in institutions including churches and community centers. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg states in The Great Good Place that people need three places: 1) the home, 2) the office, and, 3) the community hangout or gathering place.^[7] With this philosophy in mind, many grassroots efforts such as The Project for Public Spaces are being started to create this "Third Place" in communities. They are taking form in independent bookstores, coffeehouses, local pubs, and through new and innovative means to create the social capital needed to foster the sense and spirit of community.^[8]

Psychology[link]

Community[link]

In a seminal 1986 study, McMillan and Chavis identify four elements of "sense of community": 1) membership, 2) influence, 3) integration and fulfillment of needs, and 4) shared emotional connection. They give the following example of the interplay between these factors:

Someone puts an announcement on the dormitory bulletin board about the formation of an intramural dormitory basketball team. People attend the organizational meeting as strangers out of their individual needs (integration and fulfillment of needs). The team is bound by place of residence (membership boundaries are set) and spends time together in practice (the contact hypothesis). They play a game and win (successful shared valent event). While playing, members exert energy on behalf of the team (personal investment in the group). As the team continues to win, team members become recognized and congratulated (gaining honor and status for being members), Influencing new members to join and continue to do the same. Someone suggests that they all buy matching shirts and shoes (common symbols) and they do so (influence).^[9]

To what extent do participants in joint activities experience a sense of community?

A Sense of Community Index (SCI) has been developed by Chavis and colleagues and revised and adapted by others. Although originally designed to assess sense of community in neighborhoods, the index has been adapted for use in schools, the workplace, and a variety of types of communities.^[10]

Studies conducted by the APPA show substantial evidence that young adults who feel a sense of belonging in a community, particularly small communities, develop fewer psychiatric and depressive disorders than those who do not have the feeling of love and belonging.^{[citation needed]}

Anthropology[link]

Cultural (or social) anthropology has traditionally looked at community through the lens of ethnographic fieldwork and ethnography continues to be an important methodology for study of modern communities. Other anthropological approaches that deal with various aspects of community include cross-cultural studies and the anthropology of religion. Cultures in modern society are also studied in the fields of urban anthropology, ethnic studies, ecological anthropology, and psychological anthropology. Since the 1990s, internet communities have increasingly been the subject of research in the emerging field of cyber anthropology.

Archaeology[link]

Archaeological studies of social communities. The term “community” is used in two ways in archaeology, paralleling usage in other areas. The first is an informal definition of community as a place where people used to live. In this sense it is synonymous with the concept of an ancient settlement, whether a hamlet, village, town, or city. The second meaning is similar to the usage of the term in other social sciences: a community is a group of people living near one another who interact socially. Social interaction on a small scale can be difficult to identify with archaeological data. Most reconstructions of social communities by archaeologists rely on the principle that social interaction is conditioned by physical distance. Therefore a small village settlement likely constituted a social community, and spatial subdivisions of cities and other large settlements may have formed communities. Archaeologists typically use similarities in material culture—from house types to styles of pottery—to reconstruct communities in the past. This is based on the assumption that people or households will share more similarities in the types and styles of their material goods with other members of a social community than they will with outsiders.^[11]

Social philosophy[link]

Communitarianism[link]

Communitarianism as a group of related but distinct philosophies (or ideologies) began in the late 20th century, opposing classical liberalism and capitalism while advocating phenomena such as civil society. Not necessarily hostile to social liberalism, communitarianism rather has a different emphasis, shifting the focus of interest toward communities and societies and away from the individual. The question of priority, whether for the individual or community, must be determined in dealing with pressing ethical questions about a variety of social issues, such as health care, abortion, multiculturalism, and hate speech. Gad Barzilai has critically examined both liberalism and communitarianism and has developed the theory of critical communitarianism. Barzilai has explicated how non-ruling communities are constructing legal cultures while interacting with various facets of political power. Being venues of identity construction justifies collective protections of communities in law, while the boundaries with other communities, states, and global forces should be sensitive to preservation of various cultures. Gad Barzilai has accordingly offered how to protect human rights, individual rights, and multiculturalism in inter-communal context that allows to generating cultural relativism.

Business and communications[link]

Organizational communication[link]

Effective communication practices in group and organizational settings are very important to the formation and maintenance of communities. The ways that ideas and values are communicated within communities are important to the induction of new members, the formulation of agendas, the selection of leaders and many other aspects. Organizational communication is the study of how people communicate within an organizational context and the influences and interactions within organizational structures. Group members depend on the flow of communication to establish their own identity within these structures and learn to function in the group setting. Although organizational communication, as a field of study, is usually geared toward companies and business groups, these may also be seen as communities. The principles of organizational communication can also be applied to other types of communities.

Ecology[link]

In ecology, a community is an assemblage of populations of different species, interacting with one another. Community ecology is the branch of ecology that studies interactions between and among species. It considers how such interactions, along with interactions between species and the abiotic environment, affect community structure and species richness, diversity and patterns of abundance. Species interact in three ways: competition, predation and mutualism. Competition typically results in a double negative—that is both species lose in the interaction. Predation is a win/lose situation with one species winning. Mutualism, on the other hand, involves both species cooperating in some way, with both winning.

Interdisciplinary perspectives[link]

Socialization[link]

Lewes Bonfire Night procession commemorating 17 Protestant martyrs burnt at the stake from 1555 to 1557.

The process of learning to adopt the behavior patterns of the community is called socialization. The most fertile time of socialization is usually the early stages of life, during which individuals develop the skills and knowledge and learn the roles necessary to function within their culture and social environment.^[12] For some psychologists, especially those in the psychodynamic tradition, the most important period of socialization is between the ages of one and ten. But socialization also includes adults moving into a significantly different environment, where they must learn a new set of behaviors.^[13]

Socialization is influenced primarily by the family, through which children first learn community norms. Other important influences include schools, peer groups, people, mass media, the workplace, and government. The degree to which the norms of a particular society or community are adopted determines one's willingness to engage with others. The norms of tolerance, reciprocity, and trust are important "habits of the heart," as de Tocqueville put it, in an individual's involvement in community.^[14]

Community development[link]

Community development, often linked with Community Work or Community Planning, is often formally conducted by non-government organisations (NGOs), universities or government agencies to progress the social well-being of local, regional and, sometimes, national communities. Less formal efforts, called community building or community organizing, seek to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change in their own communities.^[15] These skills often assist in building political power through the formation of large social groups working for a common agenda. Community development practitioners must understand both how to work with individuals and how to affect communities' positions within the context of larger social institutions.

Formal programs conducted by universities are often used to build a knowledge base to drive curricula in sociology and community studies. The General Social Survey from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University are examples of national community development in the United States. In The United Kingdom, Oxford University has led in providing extensive research in the field through its Community Development Journal,^[16] used worldwide by sociologists and community development practitioners.

At the intersection between community development and community building are a number of programs and organizations with community development tools. One example of this is the program of the Asset Based Community Development Institute of Northwestern University. The institute makes available downloadable tools^[17] to assess community assets and make connections between non-profit groups and other organizations that can help in community building. The Institute focuses on helping communities develop by "mobilizing neighborhood assets" — building from the inside out rather than the outside in.^[18]

Community building and organizing[link]

The anti-war affinity group "Collateral Damage" protesting the Iraq war

In The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace, Scott Peck argues that the almost accidental sense of community that exists at times of crisis can be consciously built. Peck believes that conscious community building is a process of deliberate design based on the knowledge and application of certain rules.^[19] He states that this process goes through four stages:^[20]

1. Chaos: When people move beyond the inauthenticity of pseudo-community and feel safe enough to present their "shadow" selves. This stage places great demands upon the facilitator for greater leadership and organization, but Peck believes that "organizations are not communities", and this pressure should be resisted.
2. Emptiness: This stage moves beyond the attempts to fix, heal and convert of the chaos stage, when all people become capable of acknowledging their own woundedness and brokenness, common to us all as human beings. Out of this emptiness comes
3. True community: the process of deep respect and true listening for the needs of the other people in this community. This stage Peck believes can only be described as "glory" and reflects a deep yearning in every human soul for compassionate understanding from one's fellows.

More recently Peck remarked that building a sense of community is easy but maintaining this sense of community is difficult in the modern world.^[21] Community building can use a wide variety of practices, ranging from simple events such as potlucks and small book clubs to larger–scale efforts such as mass festivals and construction projects that involve local participants rather than outside contractors.

Community building that is geared toward citizen action is usually termed "community organizing."^[22] In these cases, organized community groups seek accountability from elected officials and increased direct representation within decision-making bodies. Where good-faith negotiations fail, these constituency-led organizations seek to pressure the decision-makers through a variety of means, including picketing, boycotting, sit-ins, petitioning, and electoral politics. The ARISE Detroit! coalition and the Toronto Public Space Committee are examples of activist networks committed to shielding local communities from government and corporate domination and inordinate influence.

Community organizing is sometimes focused on more than just resolving specific issues. Organizing often means building a widely accessible power structure, often with the end goal of distributing power equally throughout the community. Community organizers generally seek to build groups that are open and democratic in governance. Such groups facilitate and encourage consensus decision-making with a focus on the general health of the community rather than a specific interest group. The three basic types of community organizing are grassroots organizing, coalition building, and "institution-based community organizing," (also called "broad-based community organizing," an example of which is faith-based community organizing, or "congregation-based community organizing").^[23]

If communities are developed based on something they share in common, whether that be location or values, then one challenge for developing communities is how to incorporate individuality and differences. Indeed, as Rebekah Nathan suggests in her book, My Freshman Year, we are actually drawn to developing communities totally based on sameness, despite stated commitments to diversity, such as those found on university websites. Nathan states that certain commonalities allow college students to cohere: “What holds students together, really, is age, pop culture, a handful of (recent) historical events, and getting a degree” (qtd. In Barrios 229). Universities may try to create community through all freshman reads, freshman seminars, and school pride; however, Nathan argues students will only form communities based on the attributes, such as age and pop culture, that they bring with them to college. Nathan’s point, then, is that people come to college and don't expand their social horizons and cultural tolerance, which can prevent the development of your social community. (Barrios, Barclay. Emerging: Conetmporary Readings for Writers. New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2010.)

Community currencies[link]

Some communities have developed their own "Local Exchange Trading Systems" (LETS)^[24] and local currencies, such as the Ithaca Hours system,^[25] to encourage economic growth and an enhanced sense of community. Community Currencies have recently proven valuable in meeting the needs of people living in various South American nations, particularly Argentina, that recently suffered as a result of the collapse of the Argentinian national currency.^[26]

Community service[link]

Community service is usually performed in connection with a nonprofit organization, but it may also be undertaken under the auspices of government, one or more businesses, or by individuals. It is typically unpaid and voluntary. However, it can be part of alternative sentencing approaches in a justice system and it can be required by educational institutions.

Types of community[link]

Participants in Diana Leafe Christian's "Heart of a Healthy Community" seminar circle during an afternoon session at O.U.R. Ecovillage

A number of ways to categorize types of community have been proposed; one such breakdown is:

1. Geographic communities: range from the local neighbourhood, suburb, village, town or city, region, nation or even the planet as a whole. These refer to communities of location.
2. Communities of culture: range from the local clique, sub-culture, ethnic group, religious, multicultural or pluralistic civilisation, or the global community cultures of today. They may be included as communities of need or identity, such as disabled persons, or frail aged people.
3. Community organizations: range from informal family or kinship networks, to more formal incorporated associations, political decision making structures, economic enterprises, or professional associations at a small, national or international scale.

Communities are nested; one community can contain another—for example a geographic community may contain a number of ethnic communities.^[27]

Location[link]

Possibly the most common usage of the word "community" indicates a large group living in close proximity. Examples of local community include:

• A municipality is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a town or village.

Wakefield, Ma. is an example of a small town which constitutes a local community.

Although large cities are also municipalities, they are often thought of as a collection of communities, due to their diversity.

• A neighborhood is a geographically localized community, often within a larger city or suburb.
• A planned community is one that was designed from scratch and grew up more or less following the plan. Several of the world's capital cities are planned cities, notably Washington, D.C., in the United States, Canberra in Australia, and Brasília in Brazil. It was also common during the European colonization of the Americas to build according to a plan either on fresh ground or on the ruins of earlier Amerindian cities.

Identity[link]

In some contexts, "community" indicates a group of people with a common identity other than location. Members often interact regularly. Common examples in everyday usage include:

• A "professional community" is a group of people with the same or related occupations. Some of those members may join a professional society, making a more defined and formalized group. These are also sometimes known as communities of practice.
• A virtual community is a group of people primarily or initially communicating or interacting with each other by means of information technologies, typically over the Internet, rather than in person. These may be either communities of interest, practice or communion. Research interest is evolving in the motivations for contributing to online communities.

Overlaps[link]

Some communities share both location and other attributes. Members choose to live near each other because of one or more common interests.

• A retirement community is designated and at least usually designed for retirees and seniors—often restricted to those over a certain age, such as 56. It differs from a retirement home, which is a single building or small complex, by having a number of autonomous households.
• An intentional community is a deliberate residential community with a much higher degree of social communication than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political or spiritual vision and share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include Amish villages, ashrams, cohousing, communes, ecovillages, housing cooperatives, kibbutzim, and land trusts.

Special nature of human community[link]

Definitions of community as "organisms inhabiting a common environment and interacting with one another,"^[28] while scientifically accurate, do not convey the richness, diversity and complexity of human communities. Their classification, likewise is almost never precise. Untidy as it may be, community is vital for humans.^{[citation needed]} M. Scott Peck expresses this in the following way: "There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community."^[29]

See also[link]

Community portal

• Wikipedia books: Community
• Community theatre
• Outline of community

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Barzilai, Gad. 2003. Communities and Law: Politics and Cultures of Legal Identities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Beck, U. 1992. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage

— 2000. What is globalization? Cambridge: Polity Press.

• Canuto, Marcello A. and Jason Yaeger, eds. (2000) The Archaeology of Communities. Routledge, New York.
• Chavis, D.M., Hogge, J.H., McMillan, D.W., & Wandersman, A. 1986. "Sense of community through Brunswick's lens: A first look." Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 24-40.
• Chipuer, H. M., & Pretty, G. M. H. (1999). A review of the Sense of Community Index: Current uses, factor structure, reliability, and further development. Journal of Community Psychology, 27(6), 643-658.
• Christensen, K., et al. (2003). Encyclopedia of Community. 4 volumes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Cohen, A. P. 1985. The Symbolic Construction of Community. Routledge: New York.
• Durkheim, Émile. 1950 [1895] The Rules of Sociological Method. Translated by S. A. Solovay and J. H. Mueller. New York: The Free Press.
• Cox, F., J. Erlich, J. Rothman, and J. Tropman. 1970. Strategies of Community Organization: A Book of Readings. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers.
• Effland, R. 1998. The Cultural Evolution of Civilizations Mesa Community College.
• Giddens, A. 1999. “Risk and Responsibility” Modern Law Review 62(1): 1-10.
• Lenski, G. 1974. Human Societies: An Introduction to Macrosociology. New York: McGraw- Hill, Inc.
• Long, D.A., & Perkins, D.D. (2003). Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Sense of Community Index and Development of a Brief SCI. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 279-296.
• McMillan, D.W., & Chavis, D.M. 1986. "Sense of community: A definition and theory." American Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23.
• Nancy, Jean-Luc. La Communauté désœuvrée - philosophical questioning of the concept of community and the possibility of encountering a non-subjective concept of it
• Newman, D. 2005. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Chapter 5. "Building Identity: Socialization" Pine Forge Press. Retrieved: 2006-08-05.
• Peck, M.S. 1987. The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84858-9
• Perkins, D.D., Florin, P., Rich, R.C., Wandersman, A. & Chavis, D.M. (1990). Participation and the social and physical environment of residential blocks: Crime and community context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 83-115.
• Putnam, R. D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon and Schuster
• Sarason, S.B. 1974. The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

— 1986. "Commentary: The emergence of a conceptual center." Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 405-407.

• Smith, M. K. 2001. Community. Encyclopedia of informal education. Last updated: January 28, 2005. Retrieved: 2006-07-15.
• Tönnies, F. 1887. Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Leipzig: Fues's Verlag, 2nd ed. 1912, 8th edition, Leipzig: Buske, 1935; translated in 1957 as Community and Society. ISBN 0-88738-750-0

External links[link]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Introduction to Sociology

Donald Glover (Childish Gambino)
Glover at PaleyFest 2010
Born	Donald McKinley Glover (1983-09-25) September 25, 1983 (age 28) Edwards Air Force Base, California, U.S.
Residence	Silver Lake, California, U.S.
Other names	Childish Gambino
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian, musician
Years active	2002–present
Home town	Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S.
Website
http://www.iamdonald.com/

Donald McKinley Glover^[1] (born September 25, 1983) is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work with Derrick Comedy. He is best known for being a writer for 30 Rock, and for his role as college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community. In 2011, Glover signed to Glassnote Records under the stage name Childish Gambino; his first studio album, Camp, was released on November 15, 2011.

Early life and education[link]

Glover was born on September 25, 1983 on Edwards Air Force Base, California^[2] to parents Beverly and Donald Sr. and raised as a Jehovah's Witness in Stone Mountain, Georgia.^[3] Contrary to a persistent rumor, he is not related to actor Danny Glover.^[4] In addition to a biological brother and sister, Glover grew up alongside foster children taken in by his parents.^[3] Glover attended Rockbridge Elementary School and DeKalb School of the Arts before studying at New York University, graduating with a degree in Dramatic Writing in 2006.^[5]

Career[link]

TV and Film[link]

Glover is known for his work on the NBC show Community with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase. Glover was a writer for the NBC series 30 Rock from 2006 to 2009, where he also had an occasional cameo appearance. He was presented the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Candace Comedy Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the third season of 30 Rock.^[6]

In 2008, rumors surfaced that Glover was to become a cast member of Saturday Night Live and that he would portray Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Glover denied the SNL rumors on his Facebook profile, stating, "Just to let people know. I was NOT asked to SNL. I just auditioned and there's been a rumor spreading around the web. Just trying to clear the air."^[7]

Glover's stand-up special aired on Comedy Central on March 19, 2010.

In May 2010, Glover started a campaign on Twitter to be allowed to audition for the role of Peter Parker in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man film, encouraging his supporters to retweet the hashtag "#donald4spiderman".^[8] The campaign, originally started to see how far social networking could carry a message, quickly gained a large following.^[9] The call for Glover to be allowed to audition for the role was supported by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee.^[10] Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, who announced an African-American version of Spider-Man a year later, said he had conceived of the character before Glover's campaign went viral.^[11] Bendis gave credit to Glover for influencing the new hero's looks; on seeing him dressed as Spider-Man on Community (a nod to the campaign) Bendis said, "I saw him in the costume and thought, 'I would like to read that book.'".^[12]

In June 2010, it was announced that Glover would receive the Rising Comedy Star award at the Just for Laughs festival in July.^[13]

Glover was featured in Gap's 2010 Holiday ad campaign.

On March 16, 2011, Glover hosted the mtvU Woodie Awards held live at South By Southwest.

On March 24, 2011, Glover taped his one hour comedy special Weirdo for Comedy Central; it aired on November 19.^[14][15]

Donald appeared at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 9 in the 'This Tent' as Childish Gambino and June 11 at 'The Comedy Theater' with Bill Bailey performing stand up. Comedy Central streamed the comedy live on their website.^[16]

Derrick Comedy and other projects[link]

Glover is a member of the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy, along with Dominic Dierkes, Meggie McFadden, DC Pierson, and Dan Eckman. Derrick's YouTube videos gained the group nationwide attention^{[citation needed]} and have contributed to Donald Glover's recognition, as well as his newfound success in the television business. The group wrote and starred in a feature-length film, Mystery Team, released in theaters in 2009.

In January 2012, Donald made a cameo as himself in the YouTube webseries (Episode 12) "The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl". He was on the show to meet the main character who is a big fan of Donald Glover and was taken backstage at one of his concerts.^[17]

Music[link]

Childish Gambino in concert at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City (October 17, 2010)

Donald Glover DJs and produces his own music under the moniker "mcDJ". His music is of the electronic/remix variety and is often made available for free download via his official site. His current album releases include Love Letter in an Unbreakable Bottle and Utterances of the Heart.

Glover raps and performs under the stage name Childish Gambino,^[18] a name he found from a Wu-Tang Clan name generator.^[19] He released an album entitled Sick Boi on June 5, 2008. On September 17, 2009, Childish Gambino released the album Poindexter. A pair of mixtapes entitled I Am Just A Rapper, and I Am Just A Rapper 2 were released in close succession in early 2010. Robert Scahill added his producing expertise helping with the majority of the tracks. The track listings for those albums consist of the name of the song "he" raps, followed by the song he raps over. His third album, Culdesac, was set to be released on July 2, 2010, but a couple of last minute additions caused the album to be delayed for a day. The album was made available on July 3.^[20] Glover has stated in interviews that on Sick Boi and Poindexter he felt he had to hide behind gimmicks, such as pink hoodies, but with his subsequent projects, he has touched on more personal subject matter, including family, schoolyard bullying, troubled romantic relationships, suicidal thoughts and alcoholism. He has disowned his 2005^[21] album, The Younger I Get, as the too-raw ramblings of what he calls a "decrepit Drake."

On December 1, 2010, Glover released the first track off of his EP titled "Be Alone". He released the next track, "Freaks and Geeks", as well as a five-song track list, on February 11, 2011. On February 25, Donald released the dates for the IAMDONALD tour and also his very first music video for "Freaks and Geeks".^[22] The music video was shot by Dan Eckman, the director of the DerrickComedy troupe. This song would later be used in an Adidas commercial featuring Dwight Howard which brought the song, and Donald, more recognition. On March 8, 2011 Donald released his newest EP via his official website.^[23]

On May 4, 2011, in an interview with TheHipHopUpdate, Glover revealed that he was working on an LP, to be released in September.^[24]

During the weekend of the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, Donald performed with his band and his DJ, SoSuperSam, at the House of Blues in San Diego.^[25] Donald performed a new song from his LP and explained why he had not used Twitter or Tumblr in a while.^[26]

On July 25, 2011, Donald Glover announced that his new album would be entitled Camp. On October 8, 2011, during his Orlando concert, he announced Camp would be released on November 15, 2011.

On August 20, 2011, at the Los Angeles Rock The Bells concert, he gave an interview to allhiphop.com, and announced to the crowd that he had signed with Glassnote Records.^[27] This means that his music will be published onto physical media for the first time including cds and vinyl.

In September 2011, Childish Gambino played at the BruinBash festival at UCLA. On September 20, he released his first official single, "Bonfire". It received much praise on blogs and music message boards.^{[citation needed]}

On November 15, 2011, he performed "Heartbeat" from his album Camp on Conan.

On January 11, 2012, Childish Gambino announced on his website that a new mixtape would be coming out soon. Pictures of Stone Mountain appear to be the cover for his mixtape. On April 2, he released a new song, "Eat Your Vegetables", through his website IAmDonald.com. He said that he has recorded 25 songs for the mixtape and that it will be released "extremely soon." Because of his frequent use of the word on his site and Twitter account, many believe the new mixtape will be titled "Royalty". This was later cleared up by Donald on the BET show, 106 & Park, on May 1, where he stated that "Royalty" was just the name he gave to the group of his friends/musicians that he travels and performs with. On May 14, Funkmaster Flex premiered "Unnecessary", featuring Schoolboy Q. On May 16, Gambino released an untitled track (dubbed "We Ain't Them" by fans) through his website, produced by himself and frequent collaborator Ludwig. On May 22, Donald appeared on Das Racist's radio show "Chillin' Island" where he premiered a new song, "Tell Me", which featured Himanshu Suri, aka Heems from Das Racist. On May 26, Donald released another untitled track (dubbed "Black Faces" by fans) through his website, featuring Nipsey Hussle and produced by Boi-1da. On May 30, he released a third track through his website which he named "Silk Pillow" (via his Twitter account), featuring Beck and produced by both Glover and Beck.

Tours[link]

IAMDONALD Tour[link]

The IAMDONALD tour made 23 stops in 33 days, beginning with Ames, IA on April 16, and finishing with Minneapolis, MN on May 19. In between, this included performances in music venues in cities such as Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, and Atlanta. The tour's shows in New York at the Bowery Ballroom on May 10, and in Brooklyn at Williamsburg Music Hall on May 14, both sold out in three hours after tickets were released on March 4.^[3]

Sign-Up Tour[link]

The Sign-Up Tour was Donald's next pre-tour. He visited 11 cities over the course of 38 days in October and November 2011.^[28]

CAMP Tour[link]

Donald's next tour will be nationwide. He made a website for the tour called "Camp Gambino" on November 19, four days after his album released.^[29] The tour will also feature special guest Danny Brown. The tour will make 20 stops during the course of 32 days along a dates in California in December.^[30] As reported on his website on March 14, 2012, several dates on the CAMP tour have been postponed due to a fractured foot Donald Glover suffered on March 10, while performing in Tampa, Florida. The tour will now begin in Austin, Texas on April 5 and end August 3 in Detroit, Michigan.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

As Childish Gambino[link]

Studio albums[link]

Independent Albums[link]

• Sick Boi (2008)
• Poindexter (2009)
• Culdesac (2010)

Extended Plays[link]

• EP (2011)

Mixtapes[link]

• I Am Just a Rapper (2010)
• I Am Just a Rapper 2 (2010)
• Unknown Title (2012)^[38]

Singles[link]

• Break (AOTL) (2011)
• Untouchable
• It's On
• The Longest Text Message
• Eat Your Vegetables (2012)
• Unnecessary (ft. ScHoolboy Q) (2012)
• Tell Me (ft. Heems) (2012)
• Black Faces (ft. Nipsey Hussle) (2012)
• Silk Pillow (ft. Beck) (2012)

Collaboration Songs (as featured artist)[link]

• Who Dat Pt. 2 with J. Cole & Spencer Datt (2011)
• Womyn 2 with Heems (2012)
• Level Up (International Remix) with Sway (2012)
• Tricks with Ludovin (2012)
• Giants with Josh Osho (2012)

mc DJ[link]

• Love Letter in an Unbreakable Bottle
• Utterances of the Heart
• Fuck Yaselves
• The Works
• New Year's Eve Mix
• Illin-Noise
• Apple Sauce: Fiona Apple Remix Album
• A Charlie Brown X-mas EP

As An Actor[link]

• "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" from 30 Rock: Official Soundtrack (2010)
• "101 Rap", "Somewhere Out There" from Community: Music from the Original Television Series (2010)
• "Troy and Abed's Christmas Infiltration Rap" Community (2011)

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Donald Glover

• Donald Glover at the Internet Movie Database
• Donald Glover on Twitter
• Official website
• Derrick Comedy's Official Site
• Review of Childish Gambino at Starland Ballroom

Steve Porter (born c. 1978)^[1] is a music video producer, remixer and DJ originally from Amherst, Massachusetts. Porter, who began producing music at the age of sixteen while attending The Williston Northampton School, was discovered by Chris Fortier in 1999^[2] and was signed to Fortier's Fade Records label. Since this time he has toured the world extensively on DJ tours and has released numerous remixes and original productions using his own name and monikers Chop Shop, Driven Child, Saturated Fatty, HDF & Bons and Agent 001 with fellow Boston DJ/producer Eli Wilkie. Porter placed #2 in the DJ Times "America's Best DJ"^[3] award and has been consistently ranked among the worlds top dj's in numerous^{[weasel words]} polls.^[4]

He calls the blend of various genres of dance music "Porterhouse." 2005 saw the release of Homegrown, a DJ-mixed artist album on FDS Recordings. In 2006 he released the "Porterhouse" compilation which included many of his close friends productions in the mix. In 2007, Porterhouse 2 was released on EQ recordings from Australia.

Music Video Remixes[link]

Slap Chop Remix[link]

Porter made a music video remix of the original Slap Chop infomercial, dubbing it "Rap Chop". After posting it to YouTube on April 25, 2009, it quickly spread over the internet to become famous. As of November 6, 2010, it has been viewed 11,628,274 times, reached #16 as the all time Top Rated, #3 all time Top Rated in Comedy, #14 Most Viewed and #1 Top Favorite. In July 2009, in an apparent deal between Porter and Vince Offer, the "Rap Chop" was made into a real infomercial that began airing nationwide.^[5][6] Porter's original remix included footage from the movie Breakin'. However for the national infomercial, the Breakin' footage was replaced with a female dancing and someone dressed in a pink bunny rabbit costume dancing. This was because the rights to use the Breakin' film footage either couldn't be obtained or were not sought.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, the success of Porter's "Rap Chop" remix landed him a job doing remixes for FedEx.^[7]

Porter followed up his "Rap Chop" music video remix on May 15, 2009 with a music video remix of the original ShamWow! infomercial, dubbing it "Jam Wow". After a Televised Commercial was made on October 21, 2009 it was renamed the "Shamwow Jam". The Shamwow Jam commercial is currently^[when?] being aired.

Press Hop[link]

In June 2009, Steve Porter released "Press Hop". Featuring footage of Allen Iverson and his infamous 'practice' press conference, the video quickly spread virally and has gathered over 3 million hits on YouTube. It also features footage of Mike Gundy's famous 2007 rant,^[8] as well as Jim E. Mora, Joe Namath and Terrell Owens.

Press Hop 2[link]

After the overwhelming^[quantify] success of the original Press Hop, Steve Porter was asked by ESPN to create a sequel. "Press Hop 2" aired in July 2010 and featured Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, Randy Moss, and various clips from LeBron James' "Rome Wasn't Built In One Day". In addition to the actual video, Steve Porter was featured in E:60's "Behind The Scenes of Press Hop 2" that gave a sneak-peek as to how he creates his viral hits.

Other Television Work[link]

Steve Porter has also developed video remixes for a variety of television programs and networks including E!, VH1, ABC, TeenNick and more. He has also worked for a variety of brands to help create unique advertisements. Lotus, Shamwow!, Ultra Music Festival and Mighty Fine Burgers have all received treatments.

NBA Playoff Ad Campaign[link]

In Spring 2010 Steve produced the NBA's ad campaign in conjunction with the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners.^[9]

The material in the ads spans years of NBA playoff history and compiled some of the most famous names to ever play. Airing during commercial breaks throughout the playoffs, the videos were "Amazing is Unity", "Amazing is Belief", "Focus!", and "Steppin' Up!".

Other commercials at this time had titles such as "Where Clutch Happens", "Where Defense Happens", "Where Sixth Man Happens", and "Where Determination Happens".

During the 2010 NBA Finals, two new commercials were created and aired featuring footage from the previous rounds of 2010 playoff games that had been played. Both "Amazing is The Journey" and "Amazing is The Finals" were well received^{[by whom?]} viral hits and captured the excitement and emotion^{[peacock term]} of the NBA Finals.

Steve was mentioned by Howard Stern in lieu of a new mix he released featuring clips of actor Seth Rogen. The mix was played during Rogen's appearance on The Howard Stern Show on January 9, 2012.

NFL Sunday Countdown[link]

In advance of the 2010 NFL season, Steve Porter was asked to create a series of videos for the NFL Sunday Countdown program. Each video would be short in length, but would highlight storylines from the NFL season as it progressed. Early season videos featured Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, as well as Philadelphia Eagles members Andy Reid, Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb. Another video featured quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning prior to the second "Manning Bowl" game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants.

Randy Moss and "One Clap"[link]

On October 31, 2010, NFL Sunday Countdown aired Steve Porter's "One Clap" during a game between the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings. The video, which features wide-receiver Randy Moss, was an instant viral hit and quickly accumulated one million views on YouTube and was featured on variety of sports programs on ESPN and TSN in Canada. Shortly after the game and the initial airing of the video, Moss was waived by the Minnesota Vikings, thus creating additional online buzz.

Other projects[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

In addition to his work with the National Basketball Association and ESPN, Steve Porter's company Porterhouse Media is producing^[when?] various tv spots for Hockey Night In Canada.

Maxim Magazine tapped Porter to create a mashup of the "Hometown Hotties".^[when?]

Japanese game developer Konami commissioned Porter to create material for their Xbox home console releases of DanceDanceRevolution. Thus far, he has submitted 2 original songs ("Somebody in Da' House" and "Sockem"), as well as a remix of the fan-favorite Konami original song, "Put Your Faith In Me".

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2005 Homegrown
• 2006 Steve Porter Presents Porterhouse
• 2007 Steve Porter Presents Porterhouse Volume 2
• 2008 "Steve Porter presents PH Recordings" for IDJ Mag
• 2009 The Control EP
• 2009 You Play to Win The Game

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official djsteveporter on Twitter
• Official YouTube channel