Oh boy. When Donald Glover appeared on Vanity Fair‘s ever popular lie detector segment with Mr. And Mrs. Smith co-star Maya Erskine to promote their new show, Erskine used the opportunity to bombard him with questions about another of his shows — and possibly start a new beef in the process.
Erskine asked Glover — who has also rapped under the stage name Childish Gambino — whether he thinks he’s “more talented” than another rapper-turned-comedy-television-auteur, Lil Dicky, whose show Dave received critical comparisons to Glover’s show Atlanta. Donald’s answer? An unequivocal “yeah.” The interview went live a while ago, but has resurfaced on Twitter and is generating some buzz.
He even acknowledged that “this is gonna start beef,” but stuck to his guns, saying, “I actually like him. I think he’s a really nice guy. I’m just conceited.” Erskine wouldn’t let him off the hook, though, asking, “Were you insulted when critics compared Dave to Atlanta?”
This is something he’s addressed in the past — and I was definitely one of those critics, albeit in less of a “these things are similar” kind of way — but he didn’t shy away from giving another affirmative answer. He explained, “Not because I think that Dave is bad. I actually think that Dave is a good show. I just don’t think they have a lot in common.”
They didn’t… but they kinda did. Both dealt with aspiring rappers getting roped into some truly surreal situations with dark humor, moments of tenderness contrasted with sharp social insights, and surprisingly accurate depictions of the recording industry day-to-day. Both were made by extremely successful rappers known for the comedic nature of their rhymes. And it certainly didn’t help that they were even aired on the same network, FX.
But okay, yeah, there were a lot of differences too. Dave‘s Lil Dicky is a neurotic egomaniac who alternately champions and torpedoes his unlikely career despite or with the support of his colorful cast of friends. However, in Atlanta, Glover played the manager for Brian Tyree Henry’s Paper Boi, who seemed to view rap as more of a means to an end — getting out of the hood.
The only way to resolve this? A rap comedy roast. Have it on FX. Let Erskine, Chloe Bennet, and Vince Staples judge. It’ll be great.
Donald Glover’s been embracing his spicy side lately, admitting recently that his 2018 hit “This Is America” was a low-key Drake diss and sparking a mini-beef between the two actors-turned-rappers. But it sounds like he was just getting started.
Way back in 2015, Lil Dicky (aka Dave Burd) dropped his debut album, Professional Rapper. He hasn’t had a new full-length project since then, but he plans to change that soon: He’s working on a soundtrack album for his hit show Dave, which would be his first album in eight years.
Dicky plans to release the album by the end of this summer (“The sooner the better,” as he put it to Variety). He’s working on it with regular Dave guest star Benny Blanco and expects there to be between 15 and 20 songs included on the project.
Dicky said:
“I realized this year, as I took a step back and looked at all the different music that’s made it into the first three seasons of the show, there’s enough here, a great body of work and a project that I can put out as a soundtrack. I think this is such a better representation of Lil Dicky the musical artist than, honestly, my first album even was. People are always like, ‘When can I get that song?’ I think this will be a cool thing for fans who have watched the show. And for people who have never even seen the show, I think they’ll enjoy listening to this as like a body of music.”
He continued, “There are bits and pieces of songs you’ve been hearing for three seasons of Lil Dicky, the musical artist. Sometimes you’ll hear 20 seconds of it, but I might have a full three minute version of that song that’s unreleased. I want to get that out to the world. It’s a really strong body of work that I’m super proud of. I was surprised when I took a step back and looked at the inventory of stuff that have made it into the show — ‘Oh, my God, there’s like a great album here of work that can live on its own.’ So that’s what I’m working on now.”
Jack Harlow and Lil Dicky may have been at odds in last week’s episode of Dave but behind the camera, the two look-alike rappers had much more in common than just their similar features, sharing a slew of laughs in a series of outtakes Harlow shared on Twitter today. While their onscreen confrontation was all about Dicky’s discomfort at meeting his doppelganger — who displayed a healthy amount of contempt for his counterpart — in real life, it’s clear the two jokesters enjoyed each other’s company and riffing on Harlow’s scent-related insults.
Their reactions to the scene show there are no hard feelings between them after fans went out of their way to compare and contrast them on Twitter — likely because they are both, well, white rappers with lightspeed flows and similarly curly-topped coiffes. (For what it’s worth, they’re also both pretty decent basketball players, slotting pretty cleanly into the “fundamentally sound white hooper with a nice jumper” archetype — especially after Jack’s training for the White Men Can’t Jump remake.) They’ve both responded in their own ways to the memes — which Jack seemed to reference with his “hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters” boast on “They Don’t Love It” from Jackman — but from these easygoing outtakes, it’s clear that we’ve actually got the beginnings of a beautiful friendship on our hands (and maybe even a collab! Pretty please, guys!).
The Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers are nearing the end of their NBA Playoffs battle at the moment, with Game 6 of the series coming up tonight (May 11). Before that, though, Pennsylvania native Lil Dicky (aka Dave Burd) hopped on ESPN’s First Take today and showed just how quickly his brain can work.
During the chat, Molly Qerim asked Dicky what a Dave scene involving co-host Stephen A. Smith might look like. The rapper/actor didn’t need much time to think about it before replying:
“Off the top of my head, I don’t know… I’m thinking about the Sixers and the Celtics, I’m just imagining: What if I got into a little bit of a gambling situation with the wrong bookie, and I need the Sixers to win or my life could end? And I find myself knocking on Stephen A.’s door at like 3 a.m. and telling him that tomorrow on First Take, he’s gotta do something that really eviscerates Jayson Tatum, to the point where it’s a distraction for the team. Something like… kind of a modern day Celtic Pride.”
Smith then came up with his own idea involving Dicky kidnapping a red-hot Tatum before Smith comes to the rescue.
Elsewhere, Dicky gave a pep talk to the Sixers ahead of tonight’s game, so check out the segment above.
As the ongoing third season of Dave rolls on, Dave Burd/Lil Dicky is recruiting more and more celebrity firepower to guest-star in episodes. Rick Ross and Killer Mike popped up in last week’s show, for example. Now, Dicky is teasing what promises to be a fantastic Jack Harlow appearance.
A teaser video shared today (April 19) shows an encounter between Harlow and Dicky (who have been compared before) at what looks like the Met Gala. Harlow sniffs Dicky and tells him, “You stink a little bit: I like that.” Dicky retorts, “I see that you put on platform shoes to appear 6-foot-5.” Harlow replies while holding his crotch, “You want beef? ‘Cause I got a whole slab.”
Elsewhere, Rachel McAdams, Travis Barker, and Don Cheadle also make brief appearances in the clip.
A new episode is set to premiere tonight, so it appears we’ll get a look at Harlow (and McAdams, Barker, and Cheadle) on Dave soon.
In a recent interview with Uproxx, Dicky explained why he wouldn’t have wanted to be in Harlow’s White Men Can’t Jump remake, saying, “For me to be in a basketball movie, I would have to really dedicate my life to the game. If I’m going to be in a full-length motion picture about basketball, I would just care so much about just the footage of me, and that would require dedicating my life to the game. And I don’t think I can do that right now.”
Check out the teaser clip above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
FX’s hip-hop high comedy Dave returned this week in explosive fashion with a double-episode premiere that proved its creator and protagonist’s cringey comedic edge wasn’t dulled by the time away. The brainchild of David Burd — better known to hip-hop fans as the humorous meta-rapper Lil Dicky — Dave follows its titular aspiring rap star as he pursues fame, avoids the pitfalls of being an awkward white dude participating in a Black art form, and this season, looks for love on the road in the wake of his for-real-this-time breakup with ex-flame Ally.
The comedy in Dave derives from Burd’s heightened, hyper-anxious portrayal of a character who is, essentially, himself with, as he put it in a conversation via Zoom, less “social tact.” The Dave of the show often betrays a lack of common sense and an overabundance of ego. Yet, he’s also deeply insecure and selfish, causing him to ignore or downplay his friends’ and family’s concerns until they blow up in his face. Keeping him from being completely unlikable is the core of his needing to be liked — and generally learning his lessons by the episode’s end.
Season three finds Dave in the middle of his first-ever tour, playing undersold dive bars and shooting music videos at his parents’ house in Philadelphia. His concerns — finding a meaningful human connection amidst a parade of fame-induced one-night stands while dodging STDS, and reconnecting with his high school crush by casting her in his video about how she broke his heart — are true-to-life, because they come from the real Lil Dicky’s own stories. But he turns up both the humor and the humiliation to borderline painful levels; you won’t know whether you’ll die from laughing yourself sick or secondhand embarrassment.
It’s all in good fun, though, and the heart of the show remains Dave’s camaraderie with friends like Mike, Elz, and GaTa, while Emma gets a newly pronounced role and a slew of guest stars from across the rap world continue to make hilarious cameos of their own. Dave graciously broke down how he toes the line with his semiautobiographical comedy, incorporates his real-life music into the show to keep fans sated, and which of his guest stars was the funniest so far. Oh, and we played “f*ck, marry, kill” with a trio of his fellow white rappers. He’s a good sport.
In your previous seasons, you’ve kind of backloaded the music. This time, you sort of front-loaded the music. The first two episodes open with music videos, and then the third has an extended musical sequence, where you’re recording. Why did you want to lead off with more music?
I don’t know if that was necessarily by design. I think it just happened that way, and I wasn’t thinking, “We’re going to front-load this thing with music.” I think there’s just, in general, more new music, even as it goes on. By the end of the season, there’s even more music. I think I just happen to be in a position where I record a lot of music in between seasons. Some of it was recorded without thinking, “Will this go in the show?” But then when it’s time for the show to need something, I think, “Well, what do I have that I’ve recorded that could work?” And sometimes, I will record things just for the show.
But I just know that my fans are starving for music. I’m well aware of that. And the show takes up so much of my time that I didn’t want people to think that I’m just an actor playing a rapper now. I just want to remind people that I do make music. And I love music, and I think it’s really cool and unique to the show. And I don’t think any other show could do that.
The music does a lot of the heavy lifting, especially the music video in episode two. It was that perfect cringey level of like, “Okay, he’s riding the line.” Where do you find that line between making Dave relatable and just making him look like a jerk in that episode two climax?
I never want to be on my high horse being like, “Poor me.” I had romantic trauma in the past, and I’m just the ultimate victim all episode. And I think that life is complex, and there are times when there are certain things… I really was supposed to go to a dance with a girl, and then the guy showed up. And then I was the 33rd person there. That really happened to me.
I wanted to make a song that felt nostalgic of a period for a lot of people my age — with AIM [AOL Instant Messenger] and high school and that type of journey. And I also wanted to show a different side, which is the fast-forward 15 years, and this guy’s become a famous rapper. He’s trying to create something out of it, but he is still grappling with all the deep-seated emotions that occur.
I wanted the audience to think, “Oh, Dave’s in the right. Dave’s in the right. She’s in the wrong. She’s in wrong,” and then realize, “Wait, there’s more to it.” And there’s varied perspectives in life. And to just be locked into one perspective, you might miss something. And I think that’s a beautiful part of humanity and a beautiful part of the show.
Do you think this heightened version of Lil Dicky, who exists on the show, would’ve been able to achieve the same level of success as the real Lil Dicky with the way that he responds to things and the crazy stuff that happens to him?
No. I think I’m, in reality, at the right level that a human being should be. Because I still have all the confidence that the character has in the show. I just think I, very much, adhere to social tact, whereas the character in the show, for the sake of comedy most of the time, will take it to a degree well beyond what I would ever do in real life. So I think if I went into record label meetings or whatever saying the same stuff that the character does in the show, I don’t think that the meetings would’ve gone as well.
And also, good for you, you didn’t break Kareem’s leg. Because I know you’re a big hoop fan. I’ve seen you at the celebrity games out here in LA. Would you have wanted to be in the White Men Can’t Jump remake?
Well, I wouldn’t have had time to… And no. Yeah, I just was making my show, and no. For me to be in a basketball movie, I would have to really dedicate my life to the game. If I’m going to be in a full-length motion picture about basketball, I would just care so much about just the footage of me, and that would require dedicating my life to the game. And I don’t think I can do that right now.
Probably fuck G-Eazy, marry Macklemore, and kill Harlow.
Speaking of rappers who’ve been on the show, who is the funniest rapper you’ve had on the show to date?
Man, Rick Ross is pretty funny. I’m thinking. I’m thinking. There’s been so many. There’s people that aren’t even named that are coming this season that are so funny. Let’s say, Rick Ross. He was making a lot of jokes up from off the top of his head in our scenes.
I know you do a lot of interviews. I do a lot of interviews. We get sick and tired of hearing the same questions over and over again, both of us. If you were doing the interview, what’s the one question you would want to ask yourself that you would want to talk about?
I’m thinking. I don’t know. “Do you think GaTa deserves every award on the planet?” And I would say, “Yeah.”
I actually got to do an interview with GaTa before, a couple years ago, and he’s just the nicest guy in the world… You guys deserve the success you’ve earned. Last question: What is the one thing you hope people learn from this season? If there’s a thesis statement of the season, what would it be?
Honestly, I have an answer to that question, but it’s the type of answer that I would want to give after people have seen all 10 episodes. Answering that question now kind of gives away but just know we’re headed somewhere. And I think people will be surprised where it goes.
Just days before the upcoming third season premiere of his semi-autobiographical sitcom Dave, rapper and actor Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd paid a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
During his visit, Lil Dicky dished on what we can expect from season 3, which shows the semi-fictional version of Lil Dicky going on tour across the country. Over the course of the season, viewers will see several guest stars, including Killer Mike, Rick Ross, and Usher.
Lil Dicky revealed to Kimmel that he remembers seeing Usher in concert when he was younger.
“I see this man on stage, and I remember weeping watching him,” he said, “as he would strip down into his underwear. And honestly, I now, strip down to my underwear when I get shows, because of Usher.”
Dicky also shared that he revealed this to Usher when he was on set for his cameo.
“How did he react to that?,” asked Kimmel.
“He thought it was cool,” said Dicky.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dicky teased even more surprises ahead of the upcoming season.
Check out the full interview above.
Season 3 of Dave premieres 4/5 on FXX at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes will air weekly and be available for streaming the following day on Hulu.
The third season of Dave is coming right up, with the premiere set for April 5 on FX and the next day on Hulu. So, Dave Burd (aka Lil Dicky) is making the promotional rounds and he stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! yesterday (March 27). There, he told Kimmel about his first time meeting Larry David, an encounter that went just about how you’d expect it to.
Towards the end of the conversation, Kimmel mentioned that Jeff Schaffer, who co-created Dave with Burd, worked with Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm (and previously on Seinfeld, too). Kimmel then pointed out how he has noticed that Burd and David seem to have similar dispositions and approaches to life.
Dicky noted that he “idolizes” David and shared the story of the first time they met:
“I go into [Schaffer’s] office thinking I’m just, you know, about to meet up with Jeff to work on the show, and I just walk in and it’s just Larry, by himself in the kitchen, holding a granola bar. And he’s looking at it, and this is my first time… I don’t think I idolize anyone more than Larry David, so I walk in: immediately shell-shocked.
And he’s looking at this granola bar, he looks up at me, and he says, ‘You know, it says it expired two months ago.’ And I said, ‘Oh.’ And he said, ‘You think these are real, these expiration dates?’ I said, ‘I have no idea. I’m the last guy to ask about anything expiration date-related.’ He said, ‘Eh, I don’t think it’s a real thing.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I don’t know.’ And he said, ‘Do you want it?’
And I looked at it because I’m… honestly, I’m taking every moment of this in, you know, and it was pecan-based, it was a nut-based thing. I said, ‘I don’t like pecans,’ and he said, ‘OK,’ and that was the end of the conversation.”
You have to wonder if David’s conversation-ending “OK” was preceded by one of his classic Curb stare-downs.
This summer will mark the seven-year anniversary of Lil Dicky’s debut (and so far only) album, 2015’s Professional Rapper. Dicky (aka Dave Burd) hasn’t just been doing nothing since then, though, as most notably, he’s starred in his FX series Dave. Now, he’s trying his best to get back into album mode and on The Late Late Show last night, he described his recording process and how work on his second album is coming along.
In an interview alongside Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul‘s Giancarlo Esposito, Dicky said of how his studio days go, “It’s incredibly anticlimactic. I wake up around 9 a.m.; That’s when I do my best rapping, like 9 to like 11 a.m. It really is a coin flip: If I have too stuffed of a nose on any given day, then I have to address the stuffiness. I have, like, different sprays.” Then, gesturing to Esposito, he added, “By the way, I could use you on a song,” which got an enthusiastic response from both Esposito and James Corden.
As for when the album is set to come out, Dicky said, “Honestly, I can’t even answer that question. It’s just not done yet, and at this point, I might as well really make it ideal, because it’s been, like, truly seven years. And I’m sorry to all my fans. I’m working as hard as I can every day. It might seem like I’m not working hard on it, but I really am. It’s just hard to multitask with the show. Every day, if I’m working 16 hours on the show, it’s hard to come home… you have eight hours of sleep and somehow figure out how to write a song.”
He added, “I’m really excited, I’ve been doing my best work the last six months and I feel really good right now.”
Watch clips from Dicky’s Corden interview above and below.
Last week, Lil Dicky teased some sort of endeavor seemingly connected with the upcoming Super Bowl, tweeting, “I’ve always wanted to perform at the halftime show. This year, I’ll be taking matters into my own hands.” Now, we know what Dicky’s cooking up: He’s teaming up with delivery company Gopuff for the “Quartertime Show.”
I’ve always wanted to perform at the halftime show. This year, I’ll be taking matters into my own hands
He made the reveal with a video today, in which he introduces the idea and explains, “It’s a show that exists between the first and second quarter. Interesting, innovative, I know! I know. Now, there’s not the same amount of time in between the first and second quarter as there is at halftime, so I’m going to have to put on the fastest show anyone’s ever put on.”
The countdown is on for the #QuartertimeShow. It’s going to be better, faster, and more Quartertime-y than anything ever, all thanks to me…and @Gopuff. Tune in here on Sunday directly after the first quarter of the big game. #adpic.twitter.com/aVEavDm9EQ
He then teased another celebrity joining him in this endeavor and hopped on a video call with Cardi B, who was dispensing some of her vodka-infused Whipshots into her hand. Dicky asked if she’d perform with him and she surprised him by shooting down the idea with a laugh.
The “Quartertime Show” is set to go down on February 13 early on during the Super Bowl and will be broadcast on Dicky’s Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook profiles.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
