Childish Gambino, Clubhouse and BBL Drizzy: The Work That Made Will Hatcher AKA KingWillonius

Willonius Hatcher is an innovative storyteller and technologist. Will is leading the charge in creating social-led content that wows audiences by using AI to respond to cultural moments in real-time. He’s able to blend his storytelling and comedic background to create AI content that has a soul.

Will is a modern renaissance man unafraid to break boundaries. On Clubhouse, he took a daring leap, creating the first live serialised audio drama, the critically acclaimed soap opera, ‘The Young and The Thirsty.’ This bold endeavor was more than a creative feat; it marked a groundbreaking frontier in interactive entertainment.

Hatcher’s technological prowess and artistic flair have reached beyond the expected. He’s guided world-renowned brands like Samsung and Google, and his vibrant community on Clubhouse, the largest comedy community on the platform with over 250,000 members, stands as a testament to his ability to engage, entertain, and inspire.

His innovations have not only been celebrated on platforms like CNN and MTV but have also earned him speaker roles at Art Basel, Tedx, EthDenver, SXSW, and MIT Reality Hack. As the visionary founder of Blerd Factory, Hatcher’s disruptive approach continues to reshape conventional strategies, reflecting his commitment to creative excellence and diverse voices.

Hatcher’s story is one of continual growth and driven by a deep-seated mission to inspire others through his unique blend of humor and innovation.

LBB> The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…

Will> The Old Spice commercials were always very funny and creative. I enjoy them very much.

LBB> The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…

Will> NBA 2k. I loved the design of the games. The music was always top tier. You could just tell there was a lot of thought and intention that went into the game. I always appreciated that, and think about it a great deal when I create.

LBB> The creative work that I keep revisiting…

Will> ‘Dune 2’. It is a masterpiece. Everything from the music to the cinematography is excellent. I’ve watched the movie probably around thirty times already and it's still refreshing every time I view it. I feel inspired when I watch it. I think to myself, ‘I have to make something like this one day’. It's the greatest.

LBB> My first professional project…

Will> I made a short comedy film called ‘The Convicted Counselor.’ It was a story about a guy who had to mentor a group of absurd characters as part of his work release program. It got accepted to a few festivals and won Best Comedy Short Film at the Palm Beach Film Festival. That project gave me a lot of confidence in my production and comedic writing abilities.

LBB> The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…

Will> I don’t have a specific piece, but I don’t like comedy rooted in punching down and/or hate speech. I believe the great comedians and writers can deliver material that makes us think and challenges our assumptions but when it's lazy and mean-spirited, I don't like that and told myself I won’t make that type of material.

LBB> The piece of work that still makes me jealous…

Will> I’m not really jealous, but I love ‘This is America’ by Childish Gambino. I was blown away when I first saw it. You could tell there was a lot of thought, planning, and intention that went into that project. I aspire to that level or quality and care for the things I create.

LBB> The creative project that changed my career…

Will> I created audio dramas on Clubhouse. I had never done something like that before so it challenged me in ways I wasn’t prepared for. But the process was so much fun. I made 18 total. The two that stand out to me the most are ‘Throat Baby, The Musical’ and ‘The Young & The Thirsty.’

‘Throat Baby, The Musical’ was a parody of the dynamics of Clubhouse. It was a first-of-its-kind audio drama experience. It had all the elements - storytelling, great acting, opera singers, funny songs, and hip hop culture mixed with British accents. It was basically if Clubhouse and ‘Bridgerton’ had a baby.

‘The Young & The Thirsty’, was the first serialised, live audio drama soap opera. I wrote and produced episodes for 11 consecutive weeks. It was a parody of ‘The Young and the Restless’ but set in the clubhouse universe.

They were both really successful and I owe much of my current success to production of these projects.

LBB> The work that I’m proudest of…

Will> ‘BBL Drizzy’. It changed music history.

And some of my early YouTube content. I was still finding myself as a creative and a comedian. But I’m proud of what I was able to do and it gave me confidence in my later years to create.

LBB> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…

Will> ‘BBL Drizzy the Musical’. It's a first-of-its-kind dome experience. It's a full narrative production with actors so I’m super excited for the opportunity to innovate and tell stories in the planetarium space. I love creating immersive worlds. This is a very ambitious project, and we have an amazing team to bring it to life.