I have never really been a big fan of rap for the majority of my life, but in recent years, I have been more open to the genre. For the most part, I’ll listen to just about anything that comes on the radio, but when I hear an artist that I like, I latch onto them and don’t let go.
That’s how I felt when “Freaky Friday” by Lil Dicky came out in 2018.
At the behest of a friend who had been a long time Lil Dicky fan, I listened to his entire debut album and fell in love with his off color, humorous style. This unique style was noticed by not only myself, but also by much of America and the world.
This level of increasing fame led Lil Dicky, whose real name is Dave Burd, to get picked up by FX to do a semi-autobiographical show about his life. That show became “Dave,” the smash hit comedy, whose first season is available in its entirety on Hulu.
“Dave” follows a semi-fictitious version of Burd as he tries to make it as a real rapper. The show covers the almost rags-to-riches story of a white rapper who had to use his bat mitzvah money to get his first single off the ground throughout the various stages of becoming a successful musical artist.
Each one of Burd’s trials and tribulations is encapsulated into each episode.
Whether he is dealing with his first gig, going viral or being in the public eye more than he would like, the viewer gets to see the entire story unfold in a nice 22-minute nugget. This is a refreshing change of pace to most shows lately that run around 40 minutes and are much more of a time commitment.
These shorter episodes make it real easy to just watch one as a study break or before bed. The flipside of that is this show is endlessly addicting, and will make you want to binge watch the whole series as soon as you can.
If I wasn’t watching one episode of “Dave” a night with my girlfriend, I would most definitely be done with the series by now. It is that good.
Burd and his lovable gang of misfits are all very relatable and likeable characters. While most of the characters have their quirks, none of them are so unlikeable that it makes the show a chore to watch.
There is also a level of realism that the characters bring to the series that not many other comedy shows have.
The fact that many of the events that take place are loosely based on what actually happened to Burd in his life, there are many situations that feel very grounded and engaging.
While I have mentioned the comedic elements of the show, over the course of the season, there are many heartfelt and even dramatic moments.
In one episode, Burd’s hype-man, Gata, battles with his bipolar disorder right before they have a gig together.
The two have to talk about what is going on in their lives, and through a series of flashbacks, we get to see what brought Gata to this point in his life.
The fact that the showrunners were able to bring a fully fleshed-out story about mental illness in the modern world to the small screen in less than a half hour is an impressive feat on its own, but couple that with the fact that the episode is still hilarious without being disrespectful, and you can see why so many people are raving about “Dave.”
Even if you don’t like rap music or Lil Dicky, “Dave” must be on the top of your watchlist.
It has longtime and new fans excited for the next episode, and I cannot remember a time I was more excited for a new season of a show to come out since “Game of Thrones.”
I can see this show going far, and if you want to understand what I’m talking about, I urge you to at least watch the first episode. You won’t be disappointed.

BENJAMIN HAYLETT
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