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‘Atlanta’ recap: Bad basketball and Justin Bieber

Episode 5: Paper Boi and Earn try to impress — Darius tries to De-stress

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    “Nobody Beats The Biebs” –Donald Glover as Earnest Marks, Brian Tyree Henry as Alfred Miles. Guy D'Alema/FX
    By @KofieYeboah

    A pretty weird episode all across the board. Earn and Paper Boi were both trying to impress, and ended up in certain situations in the process.

    Paper Boi had me frustrated the entire episode. When he tried to get that interview with that lady, I just sat there thinking, “This isn’t how it works.” You ain’t a struggle rapper anymore, Paper Boi. You have a radio song now and you have to act like you know how this industry works. Let it be known that asking for an interview rarely works, especially when you shot someone.

    That’s just the beginning. Paper Boi: How can you say you’re still good at basketball, when in the charity game it honestly looks like you’ve never played a day in your life? First of all, he had on the classic I-have-all-the-gear-but-I’m-not-that-nice outfit. If you’re wearing shooting sleeves, you have to at least not get your ankles broken. Also, that’s totally on Paper Boi for not angling his feet and leading Justin Bieber toward the help defense.

    Don’t even get me started on the post-move footwork.

     

    Another thing. How do you let the ball get stolen from you while you’re trash-talking the dude who stole the ball for you?! How? You deserve to lose the game after that.

     

    Now we move on to Earn, who made some significant networking moves at the game. Yeah, that lady didn’t know that he wasn’t the person who she thought he was, but it was all for the better. We all know that Earn aka Mr. “Y’all got kids meals for adults?” was not going to get into that VIP section by himself. Earn almost got away with the whole scheme too. He got some contacts and new relationships out of the deal. You ever pretend to be something you aren’t and see how long you can keep up the jig? It’s nerve-wracking but also really fun at the same time; it’s like you’ve escaped and are playing a character. In this situation, Earn is playing someone who just isn’t broke.

     

    Yeah, he got threatened by the same person who led him to these opportunities, but that lady seemed to be so crazy that I really couldn’t see her ruin Earn’s … I mean Alonzo’s career.

     

    What I really didn’t expect in this episode was Darius at the gun store.

    Yes, Darius shooting at one of the most loved animals is crazy, but when he was confronted about it, he brought up something that made me stop and really think. Where he’s from, the dogs ain’t that pettable. Why do you think that “Beware of Dog” signs exist?

    When he said …

    Why would I shoot a human target?

    … that was a way more powerful statement than his calm demeanor indicated it was.

     

     

    Darius is smarter than all of us, man. Even though he comes off as someone who can’t really contribute, there’s a point in every episode where Darius says something that makes you think. What he says is usually common sense, but that vibe of innocence that he gives makes whatever he says oh so much more powerful.

    Yeah, his part in this episode was made to seem like filler, but it still was able to touch on a pretty serious topic in our society today.

    That is why Atlanta is so special.

    Kofie Yeboah asks for Sweet Tea at every restaurant and recites approximately 2.5 Spongebob lines per hour.

    This Story Tagged: Hip-Hop Atlanta Television Donald Glover FX