I wanted to explain that just because I'm rapping in this funny way doesn't mean that I'm not worthy of actually being evaluated as a rapper.
— Lil Dicky
Working at the ad agency showed me just how possible things were from a production standpoint.
The way you respect hip-hop is by being true to yourself.
People see a 'South Park' episode, and there's racially insensitive jokes - nobody bats an eye because they're expecting that in that context. In hip-hop, they don't expect that kind of thing because it's a white person in a predominantly black world.
I'm a relatively cheap person who, to me, it's not cool to overspend; it's cool to get a great deal.
In my heart, I believe I'm a top flight comedian and a top flight rapper.
I have never been more physically tired than after that first song of my first concert.
I knew I could rap a little bit, which is not the most unique way for being funny. The more I did it, the better I got at rapping, and then I fell in love with the craft of it, and the possibility that I was a good rapper was very intriguing.
'Ex-Boyfriend' is a really funny story that is that much funnier when you have visuals attached to it as opposed to just hearing it. I couldn't let a song like that go un-videoed.
Deep down, I want to be a big rapper. I want people to love what I'm doing.
Rapping works like a sport... the more you do it, the better you get at it.
You hear a lot of rap songs about spending money. I thought, wouldn't it be funny to make a song about saving money because it's ironic, but beyond irony, I genuinely have pride in saving money.
I feel like the Philadelphia sports teams are really good at having my back.
I remember, in fifth grade, doing a report on the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin as a rap. It was just an easy way to get an A back then because everyone was turning in boring stuff.
Sometimes I want to be completely outlandish and funny, but sometimes I feel the need to prove myself as a rapper.
I don't necessarily think that when I graduated college, I had a plan to work at an ad agency. I had a plan in terms of getting the best job I could, like, just whatever normal job.
By putting this music out, I think I genuinely eliminated 80 percent of the previous jobs I was qualified for.
Deep down, I always had a belief I would get on the charts.
I always dreamed of being an entertainer. So, my whole life to some extent, or from the age that I can remember onwards, I knew I was going to have to make some sort of attempt at being noticed for being funny.
I don't think any artist has really relied on music videos the way I do. It's almost like my radio.
Finally, the day came where I put stuff online for the first time ever. The Lil Dicky video got a million views the first day. It was one of the best days of my life. It was the day I learned I was who I thought I was. It was a fantastic I-told-you-so moment.
