♪
[gull calling]
[waves crashing in distance]
Is this the right place?
♪
Hello?
Hello?
Anybody home?
[sighs deeply]
[inhales]
[exhales]
[crinkling]
[whistles, exhales]
[crunching]
Oh. Hello.
Hello.
Uh, I'm here to see Rick Rubin.
To work on my album.
I'm Benny Blanco's friend,
Lil Dicky.
The rapper.
I'm Orhan, the painter.
Orhan the painter--
that's got a ring to it.
That's better than my rap name.
Are you an artist
or are you kind of
just in the physical space?
Yes.
Multilayered white.
That'd be a good album title
for me.
When a new artist arrives,
we repaint.
It is important
to create a pure environment,
free of distraction,
to allow the muse to speak.
I hear that.
I need a muse, man.
[brushing continues]
♪
Is that...
Oh, wow.
Is that him out there?
That's Rick.
I'm gonna go talk to...
Rick, okay?
Be right back.
♪
[gulls calling]
[shutter clicks]
♪
[cracking]
Hey, Rick.
I'm sorry to disturb you.
I'm just a huge fan,
and I'm so honored to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Excited to work.
I'm not Rick.
I'm Biff Wiff.
Oh.
Biff Wiff?
That's right.
Did you just take my picture?
Uh-huh.
I wear a watch that tells me
when somebody's taking
my photograph.
[laughs]
I'm just kidding you, man.
-[laughing]
-Oh!
Wow. That really took my heart
for a...
So you're a musician, right?
-Yeah! I'm a rapper.
-Yeah.
Rapper? Really?
-Yeah.
-Wow.
You must be pretty good to be
out here working with Rick.
-I... Yeah.
-Look,
if you ever need an actor
for a music video or whatever,
uh, Biff Wiff.
Oh. You're an actor?
Yeah. Look me up on IMDb.
I'm a real guy.
Lil Dicky.
We've been expecting you.
Welcome to Shangri-La.
-Hi!
-Hi.
Thanks, Biff.
Good to meet you, man.
-You, too.
-Atoms.
Adams, I'm Dave.
Nice to meet you.
-No. Atoms.
-Atoms.
-Mm-hmm.
-Oh.
[gull calling]
DAVE: And, you know, there'd be
a large group of us, and...
the rabbi would say, "Tekiah!"
And you'd hear...
[mimics shofar blowing]
And he'd blow the ram's horn...
I didn't mean
your religious background,
just your general background.
Why are you here?
What brought you here?
Oh. Uh, well, I don't know
what Benny has told you guys,
but I have been working
on my album for months
-and months and months, and...
-Mm-hmm.
I'm having a lot of difficulty
-with any output
whatsoever, and...
-Mm.
You know, I'll be honest.
I'm, like, desperate.
Like, I have no idea
how to solve this problem.
-Mm-hmm.
-And, uh, I am at a true
-personal and creative
low point.
-Mm.
Do you read?
I do. I... Or I can.
-I know how to.
-[laughing]
That's a great answer.
-Very good.
-Thank you. Uh...
But, tell me, what-what
is Rick's process...
So, Rick's process
is your process.
And it's not the process that's
brought you to this place,
but, really, it's the process
that you'll find together.
You'll see. Rick has no real
skill beyond his intuition.
[exhales] Well, I think that's
just you being a little humble.
-The guy... is a f*cking legend.
-Mm-hmm.
" Problems."
All the Kanye stuff.
-Mm-hmm.
-Chili Peppers. Beastie Boys.
It's, like, unbelievable,
what he's done.
Hey, is it true that Flea calls
himself Flea because of Rick?
'Cause I love Flea.
Rick has a way
of deconstructing the artist
to the truest sense of his self,
and it's my job
to get you ready for him.
-Huh.
-So, tell me, Dave,
where are we?
I have a feeling
you don't mean literally.
I do mean literally.
Well, we are
on the leftmost part of America.
I don't really have
the strongest inner compass,
if I'm being honest with you.
No, I mean where are we
in the creative process?
Where are you?
Oh, so you don't mean literally.
That's a thing
that I keep seeing people do--
they-they say "literally"
and they actually mean
the exact opposite
-of "literally."
-Okay, tell me what you want.
Uh, so, I'm working
on my debut album,
and it feels like I've been
doing that for my whole life,
'cause it's, like, my debut.
And, uh, you know,
I'm kind of, like,
a rare situation,
where I occupy
this hyperspecific niche
in the musical archival.
So I kind of have to, like,
inject comedic elements into it.
But I also feel like I'm as real
as it possibly can get.
Um, but I am
a "d*ck and fart joke" man
at the end of the day,
no doubt about it.
My struggle is I kind of
always feel like I'm saying
way too much yet nothing at all
at the exact same time,
and, uh...
I don't know, man.
I feel like there's, like,
a deeper level of artistry
that I can tap into if I...
You have a loathing
for where you come from
but a fear
that it's all you have.
Yeah.
I'm gonna write that down
and tell Rick that.
-That's a graceful underpinning.
-That's Rick's diagnosis.
He knows a lot about you.
YouTube?
Dave?
Yeah?
-Wake up!
-Oh, my God!
I'm awake, man.
Well, I think
we've made great progress.
I think tomorrow is the day.
I'll let Rick know.
Tomorrow? What do you mean?
We're not...
doing anything more today?
[fire crackling]
[sighs]
Hello.
Je-sus!
Rick would like you
to do an exercise
in advance
of tomorrow's session.
Please write down
all your greatest fears
and bury the list somewhere
on the property.
Greatest fears?
Is this-is that serious?
-Mm-hmm.
-And do what to the list?
Just bury it anywhere?
Anywhere.
Well, how is this guy
gonna even know that I did it?
He won't.
Mm.
That's rich.
Hey. Before you go,
wh-what's the Wi-Fi password
here?
Um, "GoInward," all one word.
Okay.
It's not working.
It's the full N-word?
"Inward."
I-N.
-"Inward"!
-Yeah.
'Cause I was gonna say,
that-that'd be so aggressive.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
[line ringing]
Hey, Chuck. How's it going?
You make any smashes
with Mr. Rubin yet?
I wish. I still haven't even
met this f*cking guy.
This is the weirdest place...
ever.
[breaking up]:
Chuck, that man's a genius.
...makes... higher existence...
-What?
-...on the bottom of a pool
with weight str...
-...his body, written in Shar...
-Chuck, I can't...
You have bad service.
-Please go to a fixer f...
-...goat breast milk.
[beeping]
[sighs]
Okay.
Fears.
My fears.
What are my biggest fears?
My parents dying.
What else? What else? Oh.
Accutane causing
permanent dry eyes.
That would suck.
Not being able to play Willy
Wonka in a major motion picture.
No.
Failure.
[sighs]
♪
"Spiders"?
-"Flea"?
-[rustling]
♪
Uh...
[grunts]
I got to tell you, I woke up
totally ready to get to work
and record music-- I'm in a
great space for that right now.
-Mm-hmm.
-Uh, I'm down to,
like, experiment vocally.
-Mm.
-Uh, did-did my manager
reach out about a humidifier?
For my throat, because it can
get pretty scratchy.
-Mm-hmm.
-If it's not... Oh, my God.
Wow.
Ah... how should I,
like, refer to him?
-What's he like to go by?
-As Biff.
-Biff Wiff.
-Oh.
What is this, like, a trick
or something? I don't...
I have just the thing
for your throat.
I'm not a trick.
I'm... Yeah.
I'm sorry.
Homemade Kambo.
By Lavar.
Uh, what is this?
What does that mean,
"homemade Kambo from Lavar"?
What does that mean?
-Who's Lavar?
-Just try it.
-This is good for my throat?
-Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Oh, Lavar!
-Mm-hmm.
-It actually feels kind of like,
uh, queso from Qdoba.
-Mm.
-You guys ever go to Qdoba?
Does this have dairy in it,
though? Because if I have dairy,
I do get bloated
and then I can't record at all.
-So...
-Oh, well, you're not
recording today.
-So that's okay.
-What does that mean,
I'm not recording today?
That's the entire reason
I'm here.
Of course I'm recording today.
You said today was the day.
Today isthe day.
This is a floatation t*nk.
We'd like you
to disrobe and submerge,
and this should get you
in the right headspace.
-Okay, where is Rick Rubin?
-Mm-hmm.
You know what I mean? Because
I feel like I came here to work
with him and all of this feels
like a borderline waste of time,
unless I'm making music, so...
It would be a waste of time
if you were to record
before you were fully ready.
-A waste of Rick's time.
-DAVE: Okay,
what is-what is this thing?
What am I supposed
to do in this thing?
Well, creativity
is best when the sense of "self"
falls away and reveals
-what is deeper.
-[sighs]
But some artists have an ego
that is making so much noise.
Demanding so much attention.
I should tell you guys right now
I am not at all into,
like, anything spiritual
or, like, "of the spirit"
adjacent landscape.
You might be barking up
the wrong tree with all this,
you know,
mumbular, jumbular type of sh*t.
-Okay, well, thank you
for letting me know.
-Sure.
But that is
what the t*nk is for.
To destroy your ego.
-Well, I just...
-Well,
your first instinct
is to make jokes.
In your life.
In your work.
Everywhere you go, no?
-Uh, yeah, okay...
-Rick thinks
that you follow
this instinct blindly.
-Blindly?
-What's past that--
how can you know?
You can't stand more than
ten seconds of silence.
Oh, f*ck it.
I was trying to fart.
I know you think
that would've proven your point,
but I'm certain it would've
proven mine... you both would've
been on the ground, like, belly
laughing, smacking the floor.
This is a crutch.
This is pain.
This is fear.
This is your ego...
trying to protect itself.
-Huh.
-But great work...
Thank you.
...great work requires something
-more vulnerable.
-Oh.
Isn't that why you came?
Rick thinks you're capable
of being one of the greatest
disruptors of your generation.
-Love that.
-But you need to quiet your ego
for that artistry to emerge.
Trust us.
Kanye West was the same way.
Kanye did this whole thing?
-Mm-hmm.
-f*ck it.
ADAMS:
Thank you, Biff.
DAVE:
All right.
-So just disrobe and...
-Mm-hmm.
Can I piss in this thing?
We'd rather you didn't.
Oh...
We'd like you to wear
these shorts, please.
-What?
-Can you please wear
these shorts?
Oh, yeah, sorry about that.
Very well.
-Bonne chance.
-What?
-Bonne chance.
-All right, man.
♪ I am Kanye West♪
♪ I am
Kanye West♪
I am Kanye Left.
-Music. Music, music.
-I am soaked.
Left, right.
Is west always left?
I wonder if they changed
the water since Kanye.
-How, how, how, how?
-This is so boring.
f*ck this sh*t.
♪
Hello?
♪
What do you want?
♪
Here?
Rick?
Why?
-Can we just make music?
-[motor humming]
[groans]
Stop!
No! No!
[car thuds]
[wheel squeaking]
♪
Dave!
Dan?
Dan, what are you...
What are you doing here?
Hey.
I'm...
I'm so sorry
about everything.
I tried.
You tried what?
I tried eating it.
But thank God I had all those
ketchup packets, am I right?
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Oh, my God!
I pissed myself.
You think that's funny, right?
You don't seem good.
Let me get you water.
Hold on, wait.
DAN:
Yeah! You like that!
[Dan cackling]
[flies buzzing]
Oh!
[indistinct chatter]
-What the...
-GATA: LD!
Down here. Come here, bro.
Hurry up.
-Gata?
-Yeah, come on, LD.
Come on, hurry up!
Gata, what the f*ck is this?
Bro, you're already behind.
Come on, LD.
Where... What-what...
Bro, you know we got to cook.
You got to cook this sh*t up.
-What do you mean?
-Just sprinkle the sauce
like I taught you.
-Like this?
-Yeah.
Isn't salt
a little expected, though?
-And kind of first thought?
-Of course, bro.
Everybody loves salt.
It's from the ocean.
And everybody love the ocean.
-That's true.
-Hey!
What the f*ck is going on
with the food here, man?
I needed this sh*t,
like, yesterday.
-Is it ready, Dave?
-I'm working on it!
GATA:
He got it, man, come on, relax!
-He's taking care of it.
-I just...
-You're this close to getting
fired. This close.
-What?
I'm going as fast as...
GATA: I thought
he worked for you, bro.
There's nothing.
ELZ:
Yo.
You know what
you're cooking, right?
No.
Will you help me?
I'm clearly working
on my own sh*t.
Cool, thanks.
[cooks clamoring]
[chanting]:
Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook!
Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook!
Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook...
There's nothing to cook!
There's nothing to cook!
-[laughing]
-There's nothing to cook.
I don't know what to do.
I don't know what to do.
I don't know
what the f*ck is happening.
f*ck it.
Cook me.
-What?
-Cook me, bro.
You can put me in this oven
right here, bake me,
you know what I'm saying?
A little Easy-Bake Oven gander.
You can throw me over here
in the stir fry and chop me up,
Benihana-style--
-what you want to do, bro?
-I'm not gonna cook you, Gata.
-You're my f*cking friend.
-Here, take this.
Just take a slice of my arm.
You don't have no other options,
man. You behind.
-I'm not doing it, no.
No, I'm not doing it, no.
-Come on, let's go!
-You playin'. Just do it, bro!
What are you doing?!
-I'm not doing it.
-What's the problem with you?!
-All right.
-Come on, you don't have
no other options!
-Okay,
-fine, man, fine! Fine!
-Do it! Cut my arm!
I'm-a cut smooth as butter.
Fine. All right.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
-Aah! Aah!
-What the f*ck, man?!
You said it was just bu-butter!
-Okay, should I stop?
-Keep going.
All right!
[retches]
-Does it hurt?
-Of course it hurts!
-You're cutting
my f*cking arm off! [groans]
-Almost there.
Am I good?
Am I good, though?
-You're incredible.
-Oh!
[sizzling]
♪
[Dave grunting, panting]
All right...
Hot plate coming in.
MAN [laughing]:
Oh!
Okay, this is so funny.
Classic Lil Dicky.
Mmm, this is like Kodak Black
with a hint of...
-Young Dolph.
-ALL: Mmm.
It's actually, uh...
Gata.
GATA:
Hey!
Are y'all f*cking
with me, though?
Oh, my God.
You're letting them eat Gata?
Gata said to do that.
And they were hungry.
I don't know.
Stop filming, please.
I'm doing it.
You're not stopping me.
-No. Stop filming.
-WHITE GUYS: More!
More!
More! More!
Shh! Shh!
Shh, shh, shh.
♪
I...
miss you.
I know.
-And I love you.
I love you so much.
-Dave.
I can't.
I wish things could have been
different, but I know now
that we're just
not right for each other.
And it had to end sometime.
No.
It didn't.
♪
♪
Excuse me?
Excuse me?
David Andrew Burd!
I've been expecting you.
Do you like it?
Who...
What, the music?
It's good, right?
Who the f*ck are you, man?
I like it, too.
I've prepared it for you.
You want to hear more?
Yeah, okay.
♪ I had a ménage,
I'd rather get a fiancée♪
♪ My Mom up my ass
like a prostate♪
♪ She thinking forward
like blockchain♪
♪ But I'm sitting thinking
about the fourth grade♪
♪ I was hitting
on the Macarena♪
♪ Visualizing
all the packed arenas♪
♪ I didn't have sh*t on my hands
except Cheetos♪
♪ That was the top,
back when Dwayne was The Rock♪
♪ Back when jerking off used
to be the motivation♪
♪ I would come home racing,
trying to b*at my Mama♪
♪ To my crib, get naked
and I'll go♪
♪ On Maxim.com for the
pictures, put the shower on♪
♪ While I'm sticking the
printouts to the shower wall♪
♪ Using steam,
then I put the showerhead up♪
♪ On the massage setting♪
♪ What the f*ck was that?
♪ How was I...♪
And you know where it goes
from there, but...
-do you like it?
-Uh...
I am obsessed with it.
Can I have that?
Can you send me those files?
There's no need.
I am you.
By the way, I got
the surgery that clogged
the second pee hole.
You got to do it.
Oh, this is a te...
You're my ego.
And I'm supposed to k*ll you.
And I don't know how to...
-Do we choose weapons or...
-What'd you say?
That you're gonna k*ll me?
Oh...
So, so... so come here.
The way in which
I would b*at you to a pulp--
it would be spellbinding.
But I'm not gonna do that today.
Why do you think that? Why do
-you think you should k*ll me?
Where's that coming from?
-Well, it's coming from
everything that
I just f*cking saw.
I don't know, man.
I don't know
what's f*cking going on.
So I had these visions
and it seems as though
they're portraying
a selfish man,
and I need to be a better person
to have balance in life,
and then once I do that, I will
be a more prosperous artist.
[spits]
You're a fool.
But I know that about you,
because we had to travel
through your idiot mind
to even get to this level.
You literally ate a Black man.
You ate Gata.
How overt can you get?
Overt?
I don't-I don't even get it.
-Ugh, I can't...
-Appropriation?
I really can't explain
everything to you.
I can, but I don't want to.
-But I could.
-I'm just, like,
not well-equipped to understand
this type of, uh, uh, sh*t.
You know?
I didn't even understand
Men in Blackthe first time.
I get it now, and it's
actually a very simple...
Aren't you here
to make better music?
I came to Rick Rubin's
to make better music,
and now I-I...
What realm is thi...
I mean, I don't know.
Are you Rick Rubin?
[gasps]
There he is!
Come here,
my sweet little metaphor.
What the f*ck is that?
That's Double A, the anteater.
You wouldn't know it, but
the suck power on his snout--
tremendo.
Double A? But wouldn't it be
"AE" for anteater?
That's a typo.
Shut up!
All right, sorry.
Listen to me.
I'm here to help you.
This could solve everything.
Look at this-- look at
everything that I could be.
Look, it's kind of hard to take
any of this seriously,
to be honest with you.
Uh, your f*cking outfit's
insane, there's an anteater,
you're talking
about suck power, it's like...
All this is very humorous.
And I feel like, you know,
they were saying
that that's a crutch.
And that I rely
on my humor and...
What do you mean,
humor as a crutch?
What are you talking about?
You're a humorous guy.
You like making jokes.
What's wrong with that?
I've seen you be serious.
I know you have
the capability of being serious.
You made a song
about your ex-girlfriend,
how much you love her.
Wasn't that true, real, serious?
You also made a song
about your d*ck sucking.
Funny, but true, real serious.
Don't change who you are.
Who the f*ck are these people
telling you to do that?
Stop worrying
about being highbrow
or lowbrow.
Just be...
no brow.
Huh, okay.
I hear that.
But...
Wait, so you're saying
that your main message here
is more or less
for me to "be myself"?
Because that is so basic,
and going through
all that for that...
-You're basic.
-But I guess me acknowledging
that basicness
is-is far from basic.
If I'm, like,
so aware of that basicity,
and I guess that's what's
happening right now,
even my innermost thing is,
like, uh, so...
-maybe this is actually
incredibly poignant. Um...
-I'm sorry, everybody.
This guy's over here arguing
with himself, I know.
-We should have better...
-And you know what?
I should be a better person.
I don't want to gloss over that.
I saw all of those things
for a reason, and if my, like,
innermost thoughts are telling
me that it doesn't matter...
Oh, my God, yes.
Be a better person, of course.
You really need to come here
to realize that?
Duh, be a good person.
But... how on earth
is that gonna help you
make better music?
I don't... see the parallel.
You want to know
what your real crutch is?
Overanalyzing.
I'm looking at it right now--
you turn over
stone after stone,
you got to get data,
takes, variation--
it's just endless.
You wonder why
you don't get anywhere.
So... they tell you
don't be funny?
[grunting]
♪
♪ That's a joke,
that's a joke♪
♪ Ha, ha, ha,
they getting roast♪
♪ Ha, ha, ha, that's a joke,
that's a joke♪
♪ Ha, ha, ha, what a joke♪
♪ Ha, ha, ha,
oh, yeah, yeah, yeah...♪
You know what I mean? Like,
that's a hook right there, boom.
Stop overthinking it,
and just...
-harness.
-That...
is truly the best thing
that I could ev...
I need that.
That's, like,
everything that I love.
Please, can I have that?
[exhales]
[sniffles]
You already have it.
I am you.
I've been down here
this whole time.
Waiting.
Oh.
So I've been holding me down.
Exactly.
And you should be
holding me down.
Whoa, wow, what...
I'm sorry.
I thought there was something...
And I get it.
But do you?
Because if...
[retching]
Hey, are you a...
[retching]
Double A! The plan! Now!
Do it, Double A!
We'll switch!
Double A...
[retching]
Oh, f*ck! Oh, f*ck!
How long has he been in here?!
I thought you were
getting him out.
ADAMS:
His mouth is full of water,
he swallowed his tongue,
-f*ck, f*ck!
-BIFF: Oh, Jesus!
-How long did you
have him in here?!
-I thought you were
-supposed to get him out!
-No, man! You were
f*cking supposed to be here!
See what I mean?!
Rick's got me juggling
four guys!
You're okay, you're okay, buddy.
-You're okay.
-Am I in the t*nk?
Yeah, yeah, uh-huh, you're, uh,
-still in there, all right.
You are, yeah.
-[Dave groans]
-I had-I had...
There was an anteater!
-Shh, shh.
-You're okay.
-That's a joke, that's a joke,
that's a joke, that's a joke.
-Just relax...
-Okay, Biff is coming.
-Oh, no, I have to record!
-Wait, wait, wait..
-Wait, wait...
-Ha, ha, ha!
-No, I have it,
I have to record!
-He's like a greased pig!
Ha! Ha, ha, ha, that's a joke.
That's a joke!
[panting]
That's a joke, that's a joke,
that's a joke.
That's a joke, that's a joke.
Ha, ha.
[panting]
Hey, hey.
Record, right now, please.
-Go, any b*at, go.
-[hip-hop b*at playing]
♪ Hey, hey, hey♪
♪ That's a joke, uh,
that's a joke, hey♪
♪ Ha, ha, ha,
they getting roast, hey♪
♪ Hey, these m*therf*ckers,
they done lost me♪
♪ Everything I'm doing lofty,
I'm kind of wearing on 'em♪
♪ Like a softy I got it ground
up like coffee I had...♪
♪ ' 'round about,
wildin' out, back in ' ♪
♪ I was talking about graduating
now I'm all winding down♪
♪ Time has changed, got
a little grayness in my hair♪
♪ I don't care, I got to face it
I ain't never knowing how♪
♪ The money payment working,
there's a person couple♪
♪ Probably I don't even bother
picking up for my father♪
♪ He was so responsible
and so logical♪
♪ What am I even doing?
Why am I rapping like this?♪
♪ I'm such a loser, I hate when
rappers try to rap fast♪
♪ Make the kids dance,
women lick my anus♪
♪ Think pieces on me,
New York Times, I made it♪
♪ I'm f*cking like a fable
doggy-style watching cable♪
♪ Then we eat a couple bagels
with the lox, word to Jada♪
♪ Gata told me I'm the best♪
-♪ And guess what♪
-♪ What?♪
♪ I'm the it guy for America♪
♪ Don't mind me I'm over here♪
♪ Just redefining
that alpha male♪
♪ Don't mind me I'm over here
just getting all the ops♪
♪ All the ops♪
♪ How they rappin',
I've been working on my craft♪
♪ Making it happen,
work, work♪
♪ We should make
a bracket don't forget♪
♪ That I'm the cut medium but
I'm better than the rappers?♪
02x09 - Enlightened Dave
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Series stars a fictionalized version of Lil Dicky, a suburban neurotic man in his late twenties who has convinced himself that he's destined to be one of the best rappers of all time.
Series stars a fictionalized version of Lil Dicky, a suburban neurotic man in his late twenties who has convinced himself that he's destined to be one of the best rappers of all time.