David Andrew Burd (born March 15, 1988), better known by his stage name Lil Dicky, is an American rapper, comedian, and actor. He came to prominence with the release of the music video for his song "Ex-Boyfriend" in 2013, which became popular with more than one million views on
YouTube in 24 hours. He released his debut album, ''
Professional Rapper'', in 2015.
In 2018, his song "
Freaky Friday", featuring
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...
, became a worldwide hit. He also gained attention for his 2019 music video "
Earth", which featured many singers and actors including
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
,
Justin Bieber,
Ed Sheeran,
Shawn Mendes,
Kevin Hart,
Wiz Khalifa,
Charlie Puth,
Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
, and
Leonardo DiCaprio. The song was made to raise awareness about the environment,
pollution, and
climate change. Burd stated that a portion of the song's proceeds are being donated to a variety of environmental charities.
In 2020, Burd and producer
Jeff Schaffer created a television comedy series based on Burd's life called ''
Dave Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
'', which premiered on
FXX in March 2020. The show's second season aired in 2021 and it has been renewed for a third season.
Early life
Burd was born in
Cheltenham Township
Cheltenham Township is a home rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cheltenham's population density ranges from over 10,000 per square mile (25,900 per square kilometer) in rowhouses and high-rise apartments along Chelte ...
on the north border of
Philadelphia and grew up in an upper-middle-class
Jewish family in the
Elkins Park neighborhood.
He was born with "a tangled
urethra" and
hypospadias, in which the urethra does not open from its usual location in the head of the penis, requiring multiple surgeries.
Burd's interest in music started when he was a child, listening to
hip hop and
alternative rock. He began rapping in the fifth grade after doing a history report on
Alexander Pushkin using rap music.
In his youth, the hip-hop and rap music artists Burd listened to most were
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air ( ...
and
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
.
Burd attended
Cheltenham High School. Speaking about his time in high school, Burd said "I was a pussy. I was really awkward looking. I wasn't getting any girls at all, but I was very class-clownish and I got good grades." After graduating from high school, Burd began attending the
University of Richmond,
where fellow 2016 ''XXL'' Freshman and rapper
Dave East also attended at the same time.
Burd graduated
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
in 2010.
After college, Burd relocated to
San Francisco,
California where he worked in account management at the advertising agency
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. After reimagining his monthly progress report as a rap video, the company brought him to work in their creative department, where he
wrote copy for ads such as the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's "BIG" campaign.
Career
Burd says he initiated his rap career "simply to get attention comedically, so
ecould write movies, write TV shows and act". However, he "fell in love with rapping" and says he's "not leaving that game until
e'sproved
ispoint".
Burd began working on his debut
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
, ''So Hard'', in 2011. The mixtape took Burd over two years to finish
because he still had his
day job at
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners during its development. Burd recorded a majority of his early material for ''So Hard'' on his
MacBook Pro and a $400 microphone; in 2013 he began releasing one song per week for five months straight. On April 23, 2013, Burd released the music video for his song "Ex-Boyfriend", the mixtape's leading single. The music video received one million views within 24 hours of being posted on
YouTube.
Burd released a new song or music video, in a series titled ''Hump Days''. Following the release of 32 songs and 15 music videos, Burd launched a
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
, stating, "I've officially run out of money... In a nutshell, you are funding phase two of my rap career." The month-long
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
period began on November 20, 2013, with the goal of raising $70,000 in order to enable Burd to create and produce more music, music videos, and go touring.
The Kickstarter well exceeded its target, raising $113,000.
Burd held his first live concert at
TLA
TLA may refer to:
Organisations
* Tennessee Library Association, a professional organization for librarians in Tennessee
* Texas Library Association, a professional organization for librarians in Texas
* Tour de las Américas, a professional gol ...
in Philadelphia on February 19, 2014. Burd signed with CMSN, which also manages
Tyga and
Chiddy Bang.
He plans on "having two concurrent careers going on, as a rapper, and as a comedian/actor/writer".
Burd released his debut album ''
Professional Rapper'' on July 31, 2015, and features artists
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
,
T-Pain,
Rich Homie Quan,
Fetty Wap,
Brendon Urie (
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...
),
RetroJace and
Hannibal Buress
Hannibal Amir Buress ( , born February 4, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper and writer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's ''The Eric Andre Show'' f ...
. Burd appeared in a 2016
Funny or Die video "Watch Yo Self" with
Mystikal and
Trinidad James. On June 13, 2016, ''
XXL Magazine'' released the 2016 Freshmen line-up. It included Burd, along with
Anderson .Paak
Brandon Paak Anderson (born February 8, 1986), better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer. He released his debut mixtape, ''O.B.E. Vol. 1,'' in 2012 and went on to rel ...
,
Kodak Black,
Lil Uzi Vert,
21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...
,
Dave East,
Denzel Curry,
Desiigner
Sidney Royel Selby III (born May 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Desiigner, is an American rapper and singer. In December 2015, his debut single "Panda" reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2019, he was released fr ...
,
G Herbo, and
Lil Yachty.
On April 12, 2017, Burd released a music video for "Pillow Talking". Its special effects made it the 49th
most expensive music video ever created. In an interview with ''XXL'' in April 2017, Burd mentioned that he was creating a new project and that he was also attempting to pitch a TV show to networks. In September 2017, Burd released an EP under his alter ego Brain, ''
I'm Brain
''I'm Brain'' is the debut EP from Brain, an alter ego of American rapper Lil Dicky. Released on 14 September 2017 by Commission Records, the comedy rap EP contains features from Lil Dicky and The Game. Background and release
Brain first appeare ...
''. On March 15, 2018, Burd released a new single, "
Freaky Friday", featuring Chris Brown, and the associated music video. By April 9, 2018, the video had reached over 100 million views and topped the charts in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. On April 2, 2018, Burd announced his first Australian tour; he previously studied abroad for two years in Melbourne.
On April 19, 2019, Burd released a single called "
Earth", featuring artists such as
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
,
Justin Bieber,
Ed Sheeran, and
Shawn Mendes. They all voice various animated organisms in the music video. The music video, which was created in partnership with the
Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, aimed at encouraging better environmental practices worldwide. Upon release Burd referred to the project as "the most important thing
e'llever do."
Burd and Jeff Schafer created a TV series called ''
Dave Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
'', which portrays a fictionalized version of Burd's life as a rapper. It stars Burd, Taylor Misiak, and
Christine Ko. The show premiered on March 4, 2020, on FXX. On May 11, 2020, ''Dave'' was renewed for a second season, which aired in 2021.
Musical style and influences
Burd's style blends the comical with the relatable. According to ''
Boston'' magazine, "Content-wise, Burd comes up with his material from everyday occurrences and everyday experiences. From there, he crafts his videos around those topics to create a visual narrative that accompanies his talent as an emcee. 'It's like a comedian. They are out in the world, and writing things down,' he said. What followed 'Ex-Boyfriend' was a series of other videos that covered similarly average everyday experiences—songs about staying in for the night, songs about being a Jewish kid—he also has a rap battle with
Adolf Hitler in one of his videos."
Burd describes his style as a response to the excessive egotistical nature of rap today: "I really wanted to embody the exact opposite of that, and I think people are appreciating it. There just hasn't been a voice for that normal dude when it comes to rap."
He added, "I think a lot of rap is just escalated to a place that many people can't relate to... My niche is that I'm relatable. I don't rap about going to the club and popping bottles."
In terms of his rapping skills, Burd is able "to manipulate words at an excessive speed, and weave rhyme patterns together in a way that's funny while also making viewers want to rewind parts of his videos".
Burd says his musical inspirations are
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
,
A$AP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...
,
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
, as well as
Childish Gambino
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...
, whom he refers to as "a guy with similar aspirations."
Discography
*''
Professional Rapper'' (2015)
Filmography
Tours
References
External links
*
* Lil Dicky o
SoundCloud* Lil Dicky o
YouTube
{{authority control
1988 births
American comedy musicians
Jewish American male comedians
American male rappers
East Coast hip hop musicians
Jewish American musicians
Jewish rappers
Living people
People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
Rappers from Philadelphia
Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area
University of Richmond alumni
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American comedians
Pop rappers
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American Jews