David Andrew Burd, born on March 15, 1988, is an American rapper, comedian, and actor known by his stage name Lil Dicky.
He gained significant attention when the music video for his 2013 song “Ex-Boyfriend” went viral, amassing over one million views on YouTube within just 24 hours.
Early life and Education
David Andrew Burd, better known by his stage name Lil Dicky, was born in Cheltenham Township, north of Philadelphia, and raised in the Elkins Park neighborhood in an upper-middle-class Jewish family. He was born with a “tangled urethra” and hypospadias, a condition where the urethra is not located at the tip of the penis, requiring multiple surgeries.
Burd developed an interest in music as a child, enjoying hip hop and alternative rock. He began rapping in fifth grade by creating a rap-based history report on Alexander Pushkin. His favorite rappers during his youth included Nas and Jay-Z.
He attended Cheltenham High School, where he described himself as awkward and not successful with girls but noted for his class-clown persona and good grades. Burd went on to study at the University of Richmond, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2010, coincidentally at the same time as fellow rapper Dave East.
After college, Burd moved to San Francisco, California, and worked in account management at the advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. His creative approach to a monthly progress report, which he reimagined as a rap video, led to a position in the company’s creative department, where he contributed to campaigns like the NBA’s “BIG” campaign.
Career
David Andrew Burd, professionally known as Lil Dicky, initially started his rap career to gain comedic attention for a career in writing and acting, but soon fell in love with rapping and committed to proving his prowess in the field. In 2011, he began working on his debut mixtape, “So Hard,” a project that took over two years to complete due to his day job at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Using a MacBook Pro and a $400 microphone, Burd recorded most of his early material. In 2013, he released one song per week for five months, culminating in the viral success of the music video for “Ex-Boyfriend,” which garnered one million views within 24 hours on YouTube.
Following this success, Burd launched the “Hump Days” series, releasing 32 songs and 15 music videos. To fund the next phase of his career, he started a Kickstarter campaign on November 20, 2013, which surpassed its $70,000 goal by raising $113,000. Burd’s first live concert was held at TLA in Philadelphia on February 19, 2014, and later that year, he signed with CMSN for management, intending to pursue dual careers as a rapper and a comedian/actor/writer.
His debut album, “Professional Rapper,” was released on July 31, 2015, featuring artists like Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, and Fetty Wap. In 2016, he appeared in the Funny or Die video “Watch Yo Self” and was included in the XXL Freshmen line-up alongside artists like Anderson .Paak and Lil Uzi Vert. Burd’s 2017 music video for “Pillow Talking” was notable for its high production costs, ranking as the 49th most expensive music video ever made.
Burd released an EP under his alter ego Brain in September 2017 and the single “Freaky Friday” featuring Chris Brown in March 2018, which achieved over 100 million views on YouTube. His “Earth” single in April 2019, which featured stars like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, aimed to promote environmental awareness but received mixed reviews, with some critics panning the song.
Burd co-created the TV series “Dave,” a semi-autobiographical comedy about his life as a rapper, which premiered on FXX on March 4, 2020. The show stars Burd, Taylor Misiak, and GaTa among others and was renewed for a second season in 2021. On June 20, 2023, Burd announced the release of a soundtrack album for “Dave.”
Net Worth
Estimated to be over 8 million dollars