Dicky (whose real name is David Burd and who goes by many nicknames including Mr. Leftward-Sloping Penis, L-D, and Young Dick) made his name with a repertoire of well-produced, viral music videos, and a persona that’s not so much a character as an exaggerated version of his own reality: a white, upper middle-class, Jewish, unkempt guy who raps about being white, getting too high, and the insecurities of meeting a new girl’s ex-boyfriend. He markets himself as a sort of “everyman,” which, of course, is only true if you share the same descriptors.
While Professional Rapper remains joke-heavy, the beats, the flow, and the featured talent—Fetty Wap, Rich Homie Quan, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg—are not the least bit laughable. The album hit No. 1 on Billboard’s top rap charts, and doesn’t so much ask as it does demand you accept that even though the words might be funny, the idea of Lil Dicky as a rapper is not.
