Lil Dicky says “All-Time Great” artists have called him a “Rapper’s Rapper”.
For the next several minutes, Burd, who performs under the stage name Lil Dicky, will attempt to delineate the difference between confidence and arrogance, an exercise that’s highly amusing in and of itself. “I’m not like, ‘Oh, I’m the fucking best rapper alive,’ or ‘I’m the funniest guy in the world,’ ” he tells me. “No, I’m more like, ‘I’m a passenger of this talent,’ and it’s funny to me that I happen to be born with these skill sets, and all I can do is be relentlessly responsible with them.”
Dicky explained that most of the criticism he’s faced has come from “elitist, hipster journalists who thought that it was their place to speak on behalf of hip-hop.” Further, he argued that he’s been “meeting the all-time great rappers and they’re telling me, like, man, I’m a rapper’s rapper.” The Hollywood Reporter noted that both Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent have publically praised Dicky, while he collaborated with Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, and Rich Homie Quan on his debut studio album, Professional Rapper.
Outside of music, Dicky also created and stars in the FX series, Dave. While popular and critically acclaimed, the series has also faced backlash for being similar to Donald Glover’s show, Atlanta. Glover, however, has said that he likes the show.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dicky reflected on working with Chris Brown on their 2018 collaboration, “Freaky Friday.” He explained that he has no regrets regarding working with the controversial artist, despite Brown facing many allegations of misconduct. Dicky explained that he knew he needed a high-profile celebrity for the music video, but didn’t have “infinite relationships back then.”
Bowling alley not far from Burd’s Venice Beach home, his venue selection for this early March evening, that soaring self-image is validated by a procession of superfans, who alternately stop, praise and gawk at him. At one point, a young guy overseeing the alley’s shoe exchange tells him that even his 80-something grandma could quote back an episode of Dave, Burd’s more-than-semi-autobiographical FX series that returned for its third season this month (until The Bear, its first season was the network’s most watched comedy). Burd stars as a neurotic narcissist named Dave, who performs as Lil Dicky and is certain that he — you guessed it — is destined to become one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
“I feel like I’m the comedic voice of my generation,” says Dave Burd before so much as our water glasses are filled.
Then he hesitates, recognizing how a declaration so seemingly hyperbolic might be interpreted. “You’ll read it and be like, ‘This guy’s out of his mind,’ ” he says, “and, really, I don’t mean it arrogantly.”
