(FXX is the network’s comedy-focused channel.) The series is also executive produced by the comedian Kevin Hart and the “Superbad” director Greg Mottola, who credits Burd with having “more to say than his nom de plume would imply.” (Mottola decided to direct several episodes himself because of “the questions of race and gender that the show grapples with,” he said.) Schaffer said several networks were interested in “Dave,” but he had a strong relationship with FX Networks and the programming executive Nick Grad, who happened to be a big Lil Dicky fan. Dave Burd, ad agency employee, had become Lil Dicky, rap’s hottest newcomer. He was wrong: the video was watched more than 1 million times in just 24 hours. “I’ve always been very self-believing and felt I was destined for stardom,” he said, with his trademark bluntness about what he calls “my almost foolish level of confidence.”īurd hoped “Ex-Boyfriend,” which like most of his songs, has its share of sexual references but leans more heavily on self-deprecating wit, would launch his career by garnering perhaps 100,000 views within a year. He was also surprisingly certain about what he’d achieve. I felt real satisfaction having given it my all.”
“I had been so focused on the task at hand that I hadn’t stepped back to reflect until I was there looking in the mirror,” Burd said of that day. It was 2013, and after working by himself on his music for 18 months - not even sharing songs with friends or family - the aspiring rapper finally was ready to post his first video, for a song called “Ex-Boyfriend,” on YouTube. Dave Burd was brushing his teeth when he started crying.