Is ‘Dave’ a True Story?

A little over ten years ago, on April 23, 2013, Dave Burd released his first video on YouTube, producing the video using money he saved from his Bar Mitzvah. In the early days of Instagram and the days before the existence of TikTok, the concept of going viral was still relatively novel, but Burd did just that. Burd’s video, “Ex-Boyfriend,” gained over a million views in a day in what Burd still calls “the best day of [his] life,” taking a man who was an ad executive to an underground Internet rapper. A viral underground Internet rapper. Under the rap name “Lil Dicky,” Burd made ripples in the hip-hop game.

Does this story sound familiar? It must. In 2020, Burd, a.k.a Lil Dicky, a.k.a. LD made his story into the hit FX television show self-titled Dave, produced by entertainment monoliths Kevin Hart and Scooter Braun. Dave chronicles Burd’s story in a series that’s so raw that watching it is sometimes painful. Dave follows the rapper as he goes from viral rapper to “Professional Rapper,” and offers a look at the triumphant moments he has along the way and the awkward mistakes. Complete with cameos that could only be presented by a phenomenal rapper and dialogue that only a comedian with good chops could only write, Dave gives its audience a candid view of the bumpy road that accompanies a rapper that experienced overnight success. In the process, the protagonist’s insecurities come to the surface as his dreams become realized.

Yes, without going further, the central storyline behind Dave is unequivocally a true story, and discussing every true topic of the show would require more space than we have. Still, we can highlight several accurate subjects and beg the question: How much of the story is true, and how much is the product of excellent fictional writing by Burd and Curb Your Enthusiasm veteran Jeff Schaffer?

RELATED: This is Really What ‘Dave’ Season 3 Is All About

Season 1: Lil Ole D*** & I’m Back In This B****

In what could be television’s most bizarre monologue, Dave describes his penis to a urologist before allowing him to see it: “When I was born, I came out of the womb with a tangled urethra. So immediately, they had to go and do all types of surgery to it. As a result, there’s so much scarring down there,” Dave explains. The doctor, who somehow manages not to laugh as Dave goes into his rant about the skin on his, um, member, looks on shocked.

This dialogue makes for great television, and part of why it does is because it’s true. For those who have listened to Lil Dicky’s music for years, this is no surprise. Dave clarifies Burd’s insecurities, but his lyrics have given way to his self-consciousness for a long time, although there has been some speculation as to why. With a rap name that is literally a D* joke, and lyrics like “How his dick staying perched up on his balls like that,” it’s clear that Burd’s penis has been a topic of creativity for some time.

In an interview with The Ringer, Burd put it bluntly, “It’s the biggest truth of my life that I’m revealing. And it should be taken seriously, because it’s the thing that’s always weighed on me my whole life. It’s the reason I am who I am, is my dick. I know that sounds crazy. It’s the reason my name’s Lil Dicky,” Burd said. It may sound crass, but discussing Dave’s accuracy without touching on the topic is nearly impossible. Also, considering it may be a vital source in Burd’s creative genesis, it seems unjust not to bring it up.

Season 2: Professional Rapper

Burd is a University of Richmond graduate who majored in Business Marketing, and it shows. Aside from the cost-cutting strategies Burd employed in making the music video for “$AVE Dat Money,” Dave explores the true story of how Burd used his position at an ad agency to market his rapping talent literally in Season 2. In Dave, Burd created a rap to pitch his talent to Mountain Dew under the guise of a marketing pitch. The story was slightly different in real life, but not by much.

While working with Goodby Silverstein & Partners in account management, Burd was tasked with reporting on the firm’s services’ impact on sales for their client, Doritos. Burd found the assignment boring but saw it as an opportunity to display his talent to the entire firm’s partners. Although Dave presented this moment as a performance, the historical presentation was actually just an MP3 over Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.”

The presentation did not lead to Burd’s discovery as a rapper or comedian, but it went well with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. In fact, it led to a meeting with the firm’s head of creative and a position as a copywriter. For the record, Burd was not just any copywriter but the “main guy writing 10 NBA commercials” at only 22 years old.

Seasons 1, 2, & 3: The Looking for Love Tour

As far as we can tell, most of Dave Season 3 focuses on Dicky’s Looking for Love Tour. Now some of this may be speculation, but it appears as though the name of the tour and the tone of the season may have to do with Dave, still reeling over his breakup with Ally (Taylor Misiak) and subsequent rejection from Doja Cat, may have a lot to do with real-life.

This part of the story breaks down into several pieces to discuss the reality of Dicky’s personal and professional background. Still, it’s safe to say we can go back to 2015 when Lil Dicky actually did go on his first tour, which was genuinely named The Looking for Love Tour. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that name was because Burd wanted to settle down with someone. He would schedule a date a week to achieve that goal; truthfully looking for love.

To take it back to earlier seasons (and this is where speculation steps in), the Dave viewer and the Lil Dicky music fan must wonder how much truth lies in the Ally storyline. If we go back to 2016, when Burd released the ballad “Molly,” about an ex-girlfriend with whom a relationship ended over Burd’s professional ambitions, there are some striking similarities. Particularly a line in which Burd raps, “Listenin’ to your autotune in my mike-phone making us laugh.” This image is eerily similar to a scene in Dave in which Ally and Dave play with auto-tune on his computer.

It might be speculation; it might not. Hard to say. But, one thing is certain: Dave has no shortage of truth that goes far beyond what was listed here. For those that may be interested in taking it a step further, they should check out Lil Dicky’s real-life freestyle performance on Sway in the Morning. For those who aren’t fans of rap, but want to check out Dave, the show is currently streaming on Hulu.