'Alfred Miles' (Brian Tyree Henry) is a new hot rapper trying to understand the line between real life and street life. 'Darius' (Lakeith Lee Stanfield) is Alfred's right-hand man and visionary. 'Van' (Zazie Beetz) is Earn's best friend and the mother of Earn's daughter.
"Sportin' Waves" is one of the few Atlanta episodes to belabor a single theme-humiliation-with each scene, though the corporate comedy interlude is bookended by much humbler story lines.
If there's a recurring theme in "Sportin' Waves", it's that everyone's being watched, and the expectation for performance is greater when you're a black American.
"Sportin' Waves" didn't have anything quite as surprising as the premiere's fast food robbery or alligator saunter, but it's one of the series' most consistent - and consistently funny - installments yet.