Lil Dicky saves that money - all the way to the bank

When listening to the music of Dave Burd - a.k.a. Lil Dicky - you never know whether he's laughing with you, at you, or at himself.

It may very well may be a clever mixture of all three.

The 27-year-old rapper and Cheltenham native's comic music video "$ave Dat Money," featuring Fetty Wap and Rich Homie Quan, has gone viral.

Though most rap videos flaunt the art of the splurge, in "$ave Dat Money," Burd flexes the swag of the save.

"If any song I ever made made it on the radio, it's this song," said Burd, currently on a 21-city "Looking for Love" tour. "I knew I had to be fairly aggressive with the video."

But he spends absolutely no money in it. In the video, he goes door to door in Beverly Hills and Hancock Park in Los Angeles, asking people to use their mansions, boats, and restaurants as locations for the making of an "epic rap video." After some resistance and rejection, he finally wears down a few people who say yes.

"It kind of restored my faith in humanity," said Burd.

At one point, Lil Dicky shows up at a T-Pain music video shoot - and ends up using T-Pain's stage set, cars, and dancers for his own cut-rate video. He even persuades a Lamborghini dealer to let him use a Lambo for 15 minutes.

"I didn't just make the song for irony's sake," said Burd. "I genuinely do have pride in the way in which I save money."

He raps:

I wear the same pair of jeans every day

Free sandwiches, homie, two stamps away

Book flight December but I leave in May

Drugs are generic but still work the same

I get log-ins for Netflix from my cousin Greg

With 10 million views in just five weeks of existence, the video for which Lil Dicky paid so little has paid off.

He isn't new to viral fame. His hilarious and popular videos for songs like "Ex-Boyfriend" and "Lemme Freak" showcase his flow, his storytelling, and his self-deprecating humor.

Growing up as a Jewish kid in Cheltenham, he ranked Nas and Jay Z high on his list of favorite rappers, and he remembers rapping his middle school history report on Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. But he never thought he'd pursue a career in music.

"It started off as a comedic thing," he said. "But as I kept doing it, I just got better and better."

Before pursuing music, Burd says, "I felt my life centered around building my resumé."

Just two and a half years ago, after attending the University of Richmond and majoring in business, Lil Dicky was working as a copywriter at an ad agency in San Francisco. He was making music on the side, releasing his mixtape So Hard and the video for "Ex-Boyfriend," both in 2013. That video's success, Burd said, "was the moment I realized I was really on to something."

When it came to his job, he says, "Mentally, I had already quit."

"We really tried to talk him out of it," said his mother, Jeanne Burd. "We thought he had a wonderful job in advertising and he was going to ruin his career." She says she's never been happier about being wrong.

Now, she and her husband, Stu, go to his shows, she says. "One moment we're at dinner and he's David, and an hour later he's Lil Dicky." He came up with the name early in his career, and he stuck with it because it suited his self-deprecating shtick.

Joseph Ferree, talent buyer at Live Nation, booked Burd's first gig at the TLA in 2014. He was familiar with Burd's videos and knew he'd be a local act that would bring in a big crowd. Ferree expected a half-full house, but Lil Dicky sold it out.

"I had never even rapped in front of more than five people before that," said Burd. "It was one of the most stressful days of my life."

Ferree isn't surprised by Burd's success: "Dude is hilarious! People like laughing, and Lil D cracks people up without being too over the top."

Lil Dicky just released his debut album, Professional Rapper, which features Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Fetty Wap, Rich Homie Quan, and comedian Hannibal Buress. The rap and comedy worlds have embraced him.

His videos are a huge part of building his reputation. In "Lemme Freak," Burd chronicles the sometimes lifelong challenges of trying to get your partner to sleep with you. In "Ex-Boyfriend," he's envious of how endowed his girlfriend's ex is, and in "White Dude," he satirically showcases the privileges of being both white and male.

Listening to and watching Lil Dicky, you won't know whether to laugh or be offended. But for Burd, that's the beauty of it. "The best comedy straddles," he said. "When you listen to rap you don't necessarily expect it, so it can catch people off guard."

Burd says he never expected to want to rap forever, but he's prepping to put out more music and videos.

"I'm not just a comedian, but a rapper and a comedian," said Burd. "In five years, I want you to know Dave Burd the on-screen talent just as much as Lil Dicky the rapper."

As of right now, he says, "I'm so far away from finding out my peak form as a rapper."

Dicky wants to be not only a professional rapper but also a great one.

On Professional Rapper, tracks switch from funny and frivolous to pointed and aggressive.

"I'm being funny," he said, "but you should take me seriously."

sballin@phillynews.com

215-854-5054@sofiyaballin

StartText

Lil Dicky, with Alex Wiley

7 p.m. Sunday at Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St.

Tickets: Sold out.

Information: undergroundarts.orgEndText