‘Community’: Donald Glover Rates Dean Pelton’s Hilarious PayDay Apology Rap
Among Dean Pelton’s iconic entrances on Community, many fans rate his PayDay rap as an all-time favorite. Jim Rash, who played the dean, had a limited time to play with for each entrance and it often involved a costume, but when he entered the room to rap an important announcement dressed as a PayDay candy bar he tapped into something next level. His co-star Donald Glover knows a little something about rapping, so his critique of Rash’s performance is high praise.
Dean Pelton’s PayDay rap
Dean Pelton makes the rapping candy bar appearance in a season 5 episode. He enters for a “quick announcement,” saying, “Payday is postponed until next week, so this is my freestyle rap apology.”
Well I’m a peanut bar and I’m here to say
Your checks will arrive on another day
Another day, another dime, another rhyme, another dollar
Another stuffed shirt with another white collar
Criminals, Wall Street takin’ the pie
And all the black man gets is a plate of white lies
Prisons recruitin’ em and police be shootin’ em
And rap artists lootin’ em and labels are dilutin’ em
And Barack Obama be scared of me
‘Cause I don’t swallow knowledge and I spit it for free
Lemme clear my throat, aha-ha-haaa
“I don’t know what that was, I don’t. I don’t know what that was,” the dean says, pauses a moment in fear, and then runs off.
The ‘Community’ cast had a reunion
The Community cast and creator Dan Harmon reunited in May for a table read of the episode “Cooperative Polygraphy” to support coronavirus (COVID-19) relief charities and then participated in a Q&A session. There was plenty of reminiscing about their time working together and a discussion about whether or not they’re on board for a movie.
While there are no guarantees they will make a movie, the cast was all quick to respond that yes, they would do it.
“We can’t make movies right now anyway,” Donald Glover, who played Troy, joked. Glover, who has a music career as Childish Gambino, also stars in movies and the TV series Atlanta, so he might be a bit busy.
Glover reflected on the series, sharing that, “Watching it now, I’m like, ‘Oh, this show’s really punk.’ Really subversive and like kind of punk… We had so much fun and now… ‘I want to watch this show again like it was brand new.’”
He had one particularly happy memory that made him “feel like a child,” sharing how he and co-star Danny Pudi fell asleep on set while shooting the blanket fort episode “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design.”
“I remember waking up and being like, this is my favorite feeling I’ve ever had,” Glover shared. “I was so happy, and then somebody brought us burgers. I just remember being like, I feel like a child. Getting to play around in this fort, eating burgers, and just laughing with friends. I remember being like, ‘this is special.’”
Glover rated Rash’s rap performance
Since one of the stars of Community went on to become a successful rapper, it’s only logical that Glover weighed in on Pelton’s PayDay rap. Turns out, he is a big fan and Rash certainly let the praise go to his head.
“I’m being dead serious. That’s the best rap done by anybody dressed like that,” Glover said. “When he does the, ‘let me catch my breath,’ it’s so scary and funny. It’s so satisfying because you’re like, it feels like he’s being taken over.”
Rash wanted to get that quote on his resume. “I’m just gonna update my resume, ‘Donald Glover said it’s the best rap in a peanut costume,’” he said in response.
