Written by Ben Murchison
In the first episode of Lil Dicky’s (Dave Burd) new show Dave, where he plays himself, he’s told by his friend Elz (Travis ‘Taco’ Bennett, Loiter Squad) that he needs to know his audience. From the opening scene where he is describing his unusual penis to his doctor, he absolutely does. As a self-described satirical rapper, he has made a name for himself both for the purposes of the episodic show and in his music career by being witty and often self-deprecating. His humor allows him, as an upper-middle-class member of the Jewish community, to infiltrate the rap game with which he seemingly would have nothing in common.
Burd has talked about how he got into rap music to gain attention comedically in order to begin a writing and acting career, before falling in love with it. As is very quickly made evident by the show, he has a clear knack for all three. Even if you have no prior knowledge of him, you will find yourself rooting for the mostly soft-spoken and unintentionally hilarious Lil Dicky to fulfill his destiny of becoming one of the greatest rappers of all time. There are frequent laugh-out-loud moments, and even more if you understand some context.
On the series, he has a team of timid but loyal supporters including his girlfriend Ally (Taylor Misiak, American Vandal), friends Mike (Andrew Santino, The Disaster Artists), and Emma (Christine Ko, Tigertail), and then Elz, his sound engineer friend at the studio. The interactions between everyone in this group are often hysterical, blending the absurd with really subtle dry humor. The tone and dialogue of Dave, with him often saying the wrong thing, gives you shades of Curb Your Enthusiasm mixed with Superbad, and that’s for good reason.
Executive Producers on the show consist of names like Scooter Braun and Kevin Hart, along with Lil Dicky himself and co-creator Jeff Schaffer who has written, produced and directed for Curb. Its team also includes Greg Mottola, who directed Superbad and also directs the first two episodes of Dave. That talented group among others gives this show all the tools it needs to be consistently good, along with credibility to bring in noteworthy guest stars and cameos to make it authentically feel like a part of the rap world.
The first such appearance comes in “The Gander,” from rapper YG, whom Dicky bumps into at the studio. After being recognized by GaTa, an aspiring rapper himself trying to hustle his way to a career, he is put in touch with YG’s manager who asks for $10K in exchange for YG doing a verse on Lil Dicky’s new song “Girth.” It’s going to take every bit of his bar mitzvah money to make the deal, but he believes it’s the only way to be seen as anything other than a YouTube rapper.
That premiere episode introduces most of the essential cast, without feeling rushed or forced despite it running just over half an hour. It showcases his very legitimate skills as a rapper when he is asked to freestyle for YG’s Instagram. While his music is present throughout, the show doesn’t make the mistake of settling for being an elaborate music video with story as the background. In the episode to follow, “Dave’s First,” he’s asked to write an original song about a recently deceased young fan and then perform it live at his memorial. The daunting task has him questioning himself and brings his insecurities to the stage, literally.
While there is a focus to each episode, the often-unrelated side conversations are hilarious and offer everything from commentary on surprisingly deep topics, to insight into the culture, or showcase how badly he wants to be accepted by the predominantly black rap community. It’s apparent through a
running joke of how he likes to have Elz around, or GaTa for validity. There are no wasted characters, and everyone offers something, but early on his relationship with Ally, and the banter back and forth with Elz are standouts.
Dave seems to be everything his fans would have hoped for in a series early on, and it should appeal to anyone that enjoys wit and sarcasm that isn’t afraid to be a little obscene from time to time. While Lil Dicky still has a long way to go on in his journey to become one of the best rappers alive, Dave Burd has already proven he has the talent and the team to put together one of the best new comedies on television.
