Original subtitles

♪ ♪

(gull calling)

(waves crashing in distance)

Is this the right place?

♪ ♪

Hello?

Hello?

Anybody home?

(sighs deeply)

(inhales)

(exhales)

(crinkling)

(whistles, exhales)

(crunching)

Oh. Hello.

Hello.

Uh, I'm here to see Rick Rubin.

To work on my album.

I'm Benny Blanco's friend, Lil Dicky.

The rapper.

I'm Orhan, the painter.

Orhan the painter‐‐ that's got a ring to it.

That's better than my rap name.

Are you an artist or are you kind of

just in the physical space?

Yes.

Multilayered white.

That'd be a good album title for me.

When a new artist arrives, we repaint.

It is important to create a pure environment,

free of distraction,

to allow the muse to speak.

I hear that. I need a muse, man.

(brushing continues)

♪ ♪

Is that...

Oh, wow. Is that him out there?

That's Rick.

I'm gonna go talk to... Rick, okay?

Be right back.

♪ ♪

(gulls calling)

(shutter clicks)

♪ ♪

(cracking)

Hey, Rick.

I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm just a huge fan,

and I'm so honored to be here.

Thank you for having me. Excited to work.

I'm not Rick.

I'm Biff Wiff.

Oh.

Biff Wiff?

That's right.

Did you just take my picture?

Uh‐huh.

I wear a watch that tells me

when somebody's taking my photograph.

(laughs)

I'm just kidding you, man.

‐(laughing) ‐Oh!

Wow. That really took my heart for a...

So you're a musician, right?

‐Yeah! I'm a rapper. ‐Yeah.

Rapper? Really?

‐Yeah. ‐Wow.

You must be pretty good to be out here working with Rick.

‐I... Yeah. ‐Look,

if you ever need an actor for a music video or whatever,

uh, Biff Wiff.

Oh. You're an actor?

Yeah. Look me up on IMDb.

I'm a real guy.

Lil Dicky.

We've been expecting you.

Welcome to Shangri‐La.

‐Hi! ‐Hi.

Thanks, Biff. Good to meet you, man.

‐You, too. ‐Atoms.

Adams, I'm Dave. Nice to meet you.

‐No. Atoms. ‐Atoms.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐Oh.

(gull calling)

DAVE: And, you know, there'd be a large group of us, and...

the rabbi would say, "Tekiah!"

And you'd hear... (mimics shofar blowing)

And he'd blow the ram's horn...

I didn't mean your religious background,

just your general background.

Why are you here? What brought you here?

Oh. Uh, well, I don't know what Benny has told you guys,

but I have been working on my album for months

‐and months and months, and... ‐Mm‐hmm.

I'm having a lot of difficulty

‐with any output whatsoever, and... ‐Mm.

You know, I'll be honest. I'm, like, desperate.

Like, I have no idea how to solve this problem.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐And, uh, I am at a true

‐personal and creative low point. ‐Mm.

Do you read?

I do. I... Or I can.

‐I know how to. ‐(laughing)

That's a great answer.

‐Very good. ‐Thank you. Uh...

But, tell me, what‐what is Rick's process...

So, Rick's process is your process.

And it's not the process that's brought you to this place,

but, really, it's the process that you'll find together.

You'll see. Rick has no real skill beyond his intuition.

(exhales) Well, I think that's just you being a little humble.

‐The guy... is a fucking legend. ‐Mm‐hmm.

"99 Problems." All the Kanye stuff.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐Chili Peppers. Beastie Boys.

It's, like, unbelievable, what he's done.

Hey, is it true that Flea calls himself Flea because of Rick?

'Cause I love Flea.

Rick has a way of deconstructing the artist

to the truest sense of his self,

and it's my job to get you ready for him.

‐Huh. ‐So, tell me, Dave,

where are we?

I have a feeling you don't mean literally.

I do mean literally.

Well, we are on the leftmost part of America.

I don't really have the strongest inner compass,

if I'm being honest with you.

No, I mean where are we in the creative process?

Where are you?

Oh, so you don't mean literally.

That's a thing that I keep seeing people do‐‐

they‐they say "literally"

and they actually mean the exact opposite

‐of "literally." ‐Okay, tell me what you want.

Uh, so, I'm working on my debut album,

and it feels like I've been doing that for my whole life,

'cause it's, like, my debut. And, uh, you know,

I'm kind of, like, a rare situation,

where I occupy this hyperspecific niche

in the musical archival.

So I kind of have to, like, inject comedic elements into it.

But I also feel like I'm as real as it possibly can get.

Um, but I am a "dick and fart joke" man

at the end of the day, no doubt about it.

My struggle is I kind of always feel like I'm saying

way too much yet nothing at all

at the exact same time, and, uh...

I don't know, man. I feel like there's, like,

a deeper level of artistry that I can tap into if I...

You have a loathing for where you come from

but a fear that it's all you have.

Yeah.

I'm gonna write that down and tell Rick that.

‐That's a graceful underpinning. ‐That's Rick's diagnosis.

He knows a lot about you.

YouTube?

Dave?

Yeah?

‐Wake up! ‐Oh, my God!

I'm awake, man.

Well, I think we've made great progress.

I think tomorrow is the day.

I'll let Rick know.

Tomorrow? What do you mean?

We're not... doing anything more today?

(fire crackling)

(sighs)

Hello.

Je‐sus!

Rick would like you to do an exercise

in advance of tomorrow's session.

Please write down all your greatest fears

and bury the list somewhere on the property.

Greatest fears?

Is this‐is that serious?

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐And do what to the list?

Just bury it anywhere?

Anywhere.

Well, how is this guy gonna even know that I did it?

He won't.

Mm.

That's rich.

Hey. Before you go,

wh‐what's the Wi‐Fi password here?

Um, "GoInward," all one word.

Okay.

It's not working.

It's the full N‐word?

"Inward."

I‐N.

‐"Inward"! ‐Yeah.

'Cause I was gonna say, that‐that'd be so aggressive.

‐Thank you. ‐Thank you.

(line ringing)

Hey, Chuck. How's it going?

You make any smashes with Mr. Rubin yet?

I wish. I still haven't even met this fucking guy.

This is the weirdest place... ever.

(breaking up): Chuck, that man's a genius.

...makes... higher existence...

‐What? ‐...on the bottom of a pool with weight str...

‐...his body, written in Shar... ‐Chuck, I can't... You have bad service.

‐Please go to a fixer f... ‐...goat breast milk.

(beeping)

(sighs)

Okay.

Fears.

My fears.

What are my biggest fears?

My parents dying.

What else? What else? Oh.

Accutane causing permanent dry eyes.

That would suck.

Not being able to play Willy Wonka in a major motion picture.

No.

Failure.

(sighs)

♪ ♪

"Spiders"?

‐"Flea"? ‐(rustling)

♪ ♪

Uh... (grunts)

I got to tell you, I woke up totally ready to get to work

and record music‐‐ I'm in a great space for that right now.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐Uh, I'm down to, like, experiment vocally.

‐Mm. ‐Uh, did‐did my manager reach out about a humidifier?

For my throat, because it can get pretty scratchy.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐If it's not... Oh, my God.

Wow.

Ah... how should I, like, refer to him?

‐What's he like to go by? ‐As Biff.

‐Biff Wiff. ‐Oh.

What is this, like, a trick or something? I don't...

I have just the thing for your throat.

I'm not a trick.

I'm... Yeah.

I'm sorry.

Homemade Kambo. By Lavar.

Uh, what is this?

What does that mean, "homemade Kambo from Lavar"?

What does that mean?

‐Who's Lavar? ‐Just try it.

‐This is good for my throat? ‐Mm‐hmm.

Okay.

Oh, Lavar!

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐It actually feels kind of like, uh, queso from Qdoba.

‐Mm. ‐You guys ever go to Qdoba?

Does this have dairy in it, though? Because if I have dairy,

I do get bloated and then I can't record at all.

‐So... ‐Oh, well, you're not recording today.

‐So that's okay. ‐What does that mean, I'm not recording today?

That's the entire reason I'm here.

Of course I'm recording today. You said today was the day.

Today is the day.

This is a floatation tank.

We'd like you to disrobe and submerge,

and this should get you in the right headspace.

‐Okay, where is Rick Rubin? ‐Mm‐hmm.

You know what I mean? Because I feel like I came here to work

with him and all of this feels like a borderline waste of time,

unless I'm making music, so...

It would be a waste of time if you were to record

before you were fully ready.

‐A waste of Rick's time. ‐DAVE: Okay,

what is‐what is this thing?

What am I supposed to do in this thing?

Well, creativity

is best when the sense of "self"

falls away and reveals

‐what is deeper. ‐(sighs)

But some artists have an ego

that is making so much noise.

Demanding so much attention.

I should tell you guys right now

I am not at all into, like, anything spiritual

or, like, "of the spirit" adjacent landscape.

You might be barking up the wrong tree with all this,

you know, mumbular, jumbular type of shit.

‐Okay, well, thank you for letting me know. ‐Sure.

But that is what the tank is for.

To destroy your ego.

‐Well, I just... ‐Well,

your first instinct is to make jokes.

In your life.

In your work. Everywhere you go, no?

‐Uh, yeah, okay... ‐Rick thinks

that you follow this instinct blindly.

‐Blindly? ‐What's past that‐‐

how can you know?

You can't stand more than ten seconds of silence.

Oh, fuck it. I was trying to fart.

I know you think that would've proven your point,

but I'm certain it would've proven mine... you both would've

been on the ground, like, belly laughing, smacking the floor.

This is a crutch.

This is pain.

This is fear.

This is your ego...

trying to protect itself.

‐Huh. ‐But great work...

Thank you.

...great work requires something

‐more vulnerable. ‐Oh.

Isn't that why you came?

Rick thinks you're capable

of being one of the greatest disruptors of your generation.

‐Love that. ‐But you need to quiet your ego

for that artistry to emerge.

Trust us.

Kanye West was the same way.

Kanye did this whole thing?

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐Fuck it.

ADAMS: Thank you, Biff.

DAVE: All right.

‐So just disrobe and... ‐Mm‐hmm.

Can I piss in this thing?

We'd rather you didn't.

Oh...

We'd like you to wear these shorts, please.

‐What? ‐Can you please wear these shorts?

Oh, yeah, sorry about that.

Very well.

‐Bonne chance. ‐What?

‐Bonne chance. ‐All right, man.

♪ I am Kanye West ♪

♪ I am Kanye West ♪

I am Kanye Left.

‐Music. Music, music. ‐I am soaked.

Left, right. Is west always left?

I wonder if they changed the water since Kanye.

‐How, how, how, how? ‐This is so boring.

Fuck this shit.

♪ ♪

Hello?

♪ ♪

What do you want?

♪ ♪

Here?

Rick?

Why?

‐Can we just make music? ‐(motor humming)

(groans)

Stop!

No! No!

(car thuds)

(wheel squeaking)

♪ ♪

Dave!

Dan?

Dan, what are you...

What are you doing here?

Hey.

I'm...

I'm so sorry

about everything.

I tried.

You tried what?

I tried eating it.

But thank God I had all those ketchup packets, am I right?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Oh, my God!

I pissed myself.

You think that's funny, right?

You don't seem good.

Let me get you water. Hold on, wait.

DAN: Yeah! You like that!

(Dan cackling)

(flies buzzing)

Oh!

(indistinct chatter)

‐What the... ‐GATA: LD!

Down here. Come here, bro. Hurry up.

‐Gata? ‐Yeah, come on, LD.

Come on, hurry up!

Gata, what the fuck is this?

Bro, you're already behind. Come on, LD.

Where... What‐what...

Bro, you know we got to cook.

You got to cook this shit up.

‐What do you mean? ‐Just sprinkle the sauce

like I taught you.

‐Like this? ‐Yeah.

Isn't salt a little expected, though?

‐And kind of first thought? ‐Of course, bro.

Everybody loves salt. It's from the ocean.

And everybody love the ocean.

‐That's true. ‐Hey!

What the fuck is going on with the food here, man?

I needed this shit, like, yesterday.

‐Is it ready, Dave? ‐I'm working on it!

GATA: He got it, man, come on, relax!

‐He's taking care of it. ‐I just...

‐You're this close to getting fired. This close. ‐What?

I'm going as fast as...

GATA: I thought he worked for you, bro.

There's nothing.

ELZ: Yo.

You know what you're cooking, right?

No. Will you help me?

I'm clearly working on my own shit.

Cool, thanks.

(cooks clamoring)

(chanting): Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook!

Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook...

There's nothing to cook! There's nothing to cook!

‐(laughing) ‐There's nothing to cook.

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

I don't know what the fuck is happening.

Fuck it. Cook me.

‐What? ‐Cook me, bro. You can put me in this oven

right here, bake me, you know what I'm saying?

A little Easy‐Bake Oven gander. You can throw me over here

in the stir fry and chop me up, Benihana‐style‐‐

‐what you want to do, bro? ‐I'm not gonna cook you, Gata.

‐You're my fucking friend. ‐Here, take this.

Just take a slice of my arm.

You don't have no other options, man. You behind.

‐I'm not doing it, no. No, I'm not doing it, no. ‐Come on, let's go!

‐You playin'. Just do it, bro! What are you doing?! ‐I'm not doing it.

‐What's the problem with you?! ‐All right.

‐Come on, you don't have no other options! ‐Okay,

‐fine, man, fine! Fine! ‐Do it! Cut my arm!

I'm‐a cut smooth as butter.

Fine. All right.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

‐Aah! Aah! ‐What the fuck, man?!

You said it was just bu‐butter!

‐Okay, should I stop? ‐Keep going.

All right! (retches)

‐Does it hurt? ‐Of course it hurts!

‐You're cutting my fucking arm off! (groans) ‐Almost there.

Am I good?

Am I good, though?

‐You're incredible. ‐Oh!

(sizzling)

♪ ♪

(Dave grunting, panting)

All right...

Hot plate coming in.

MAN (laughing): Oh!

Okay, this is so funny.

Classic Lil Dicky.

Mmm, this is like Kodak Black

with a hint of...

‐Young Dolph. ‐ALL: Mmm.

It's actually, uh...

Gata.

GATA: Hey!

Are y'all fucking with me, though?

Oh, my God.

You're letting them eat Gata?

Gata said to do that.

And they were hungry. I don't know.

Stop filming, please.

I'm doing it. You're not stopping me.

‐No. Stop filming. ‐WHITE GUYS: More!

More!

More! More!

Shh! Shh!

Shh, shh, shh.

♪ ♪

I...

miss you.

I know.

‐And I love you. I love you so much. ‐Dave.

I can't.

I wish things could have been different, but I know now

that we're just not right for each other.

And it had to end sometime.

No.

It didn't.

♪ ♪

♪

Excuse me?

Excuse me?

David Andrew Burd!

I've been expecting you.

Do you like it?

Who... What, the music?

It's good, right?

Who the fuck are you, man?

I like it, too.

I've prepared it for you. You want to hear more?

Yeah, okay.

♪ I had a ménage, I'd rather get a fiancée ♪

♪ My Mom up my ass like a prostate ♪

♪ She thinking forward like blockchain ♪

♪ But I'm sitting thinking about the fourth grade ♪

♪ I was hitting on the Macarena ♪

♪ Visualizing all the packed arenas ♪

♪ I didn't have shit on my hands except Cheetos ♪

♪ That was the top, back when Dwayne was The Rock ♪

♪ Back when jerking off used to be the motivation ♪

♪ I would come home racing, trying to beat my Mama ♪

♪ To my crib, get naked and I'll go ♪

♪ On Maxim.com for the pictures, put the shower on ♪

♪ While I'm sticking the printouts to the shower wall ♪

♪ Using steam, then I put the showerhead up ♪

♪ On the massage setting ♪

♪ What the fuck was that?

♪ How was I... ♪

And you know where it goes from there, but...

‐do you like it? ‐Uh...

I am obsessed with it.

Can I have that? Can you send me those files?

There's no need. I am you.

By the way, I got

the surgery that clogged the second pee hole.

You got to do it.

Oh, this is a te... You're my ego.

And I'm supposed to kill you.

And I don't know how to...

‐Do we choose weapons or... ‐What'd you say?

That you're gonna kill me?

Oh...

So, so... so come here.

The way in which I would beat you to a pulp‐‐

it would be spellbinding.

But I'm not gonna do that today. Why do you think that? Why do

‐you think you should kill me? Where's that coming from? ‐Well, it's coming from

everything that I just fucking saw.

I don't know, man.

I don't know what's fucking going on.

So I had these visions and it seems as though

they're portraying a selfish man,

and I need to be a better person to have balance in life,

and then once I do that, I will be a more prosperous artist.

(spits) You're a fool.

But I know that about you, because we had to travel

through your idiot mind to even get to this level.

You literally ate a Black man.

You ate Gata.

How overt can you get?

Overt? I don't‐I don't even get it.

‐Ugh, I can't... ‐Appropriation?

I really can't explain everything to you.

I can, but I don't want to.

‐But I could. ‐I'm just, like,

not well‐equipped to understand

this type of, uh, uh, shit. You know?

I didn't even understand Men in Black the first time.

I get it now, and it's actually a very simple...

Aren't you here to make better music?

I came to Rick Rubin's to make better music,

and now I‐I... What realm is thi...

I mean, I don't know. Are you Rick Rubin?

(gasps)

There he is!

Come here, my sweet little metaphor.

What the fuck is that?

That's Double A, the anteater.

You wouldn't know it, but the suck power on his snout‐‐

tremendo.

Double A? But wouldn't it be "AE" for anteater?

That's a typo.

Shut up!

All right, sorry.

Listen to me. I'm here to help you.

This could solve everything.

Look at this‐‐ look at everything that I could be.

Look, it's kind of hard to take any of this seriously,

to be honest with you. Uh, your fucking outfit's

insane, there's an anteater, you're talking

about suck power, it's like... All this is very humorous.

And I feel like, you know, they were saying

that that's a crutch.

And that I rely on my humor and...

What do you mean, humor as a crutch?

What are you talking about?

You're a humorous guy. You like making jokes.

What's wrong with that? I've seen you be serious.

I know you have the capability of being serious.

You made a song about your ex‐girlfriend,

how much you love her.

Wasn't that true, real, serious?

You also made a song about your dick sucking.

Funny, but true, real serious.

Don't change who you are.

Who the fuck are these people telling you to do that?

Stop worrying about being highbrow

or lowbrow.

Just be...

no brow.

Huh, okay.

I hear that.

But...

Wait, so you're saying

that your main message here

is more or less for me to "be myself"?

Because that is so basic,

and going through all that for that...

‐You're basic. ‐But I guess me acknowledging

that basicness is‐is far from basic.

If I'm, like, so aware of that basicity,

and I guess that's what's happening right now,

even my innermost thing is, like, uh, so...

‐maybe this is actually incredibly poignant. Um... ‐I'm sorry, everybody.

This guy's over here arguing with himself, I know.

‐We should have better... ‐And you know what? I should be a better person.

I don't want to gloss over that.

I saw all of those things for a reason, and if my, like,

innermost thoughts are telling me that it doesn't matter...

Oh, my God, yes.

Be a better person, of course.

You really need to come here to realize that?

Duh, be a good person.

But... how on earth

is that gonna help you make better music?

I don't... see the parallel.

You want to know what your real crutch is?

Overanalyzing.

I'm looking at it right now‐‐ you turn over

stone after stone, you got to get data,

takes, variation‐‐ it's just endless.

You wonder why you don't get anywhere.

So... they tell you

don't be funny?

(grunting)

♪ ♪

♪ That's a joke, that's a joke ♪

♪ Ha, ha, ha, they getting roast ♪

♪ Ha, ha, ha, that's a joke, that's a joke ♪

♪ Ha, ha, ha, what a joke ♪

♪ Ha, ha, ha, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah... ♪

You know what I mean? Like, that's a hook right there, boom.

Stop overthinking it,

and just...

‐harness. ‐That...

is truly the best thing

that I could ev... I need that.

That's, like, everything that I love.

Please, can I have that?

(exhales)

(sniffles)

You already have it.

I am you.

I've been down here this whole time.

Waiting.

Oh.

So I've been holding me down.

Exactly.

And you should be

holding me down.

Whoa, wow, what...

I'm sorry.

I thought there was something...

And I get it. But do you?

Because if... (retching)

Hey, are you a...

(retching)

Double A! The plan! Now! Do it, Double A!

We'll switch!

Double A... (retching)

Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! How long has he been in here?!

I thought you were getting him out.

ADAMS: His mouth is full of water, he swallowed his tongue,

‐fuck, fuck! ‐BIFF: Oh, Jesus!

‐How long did you have him in here?! ‐I thought you were

‐supposed to get him out! ‐No, man! You were

fucking supposed to be here! See what I mean?!

Rick's got me juggling four guys!

You're okay, you're okay, buddy.

‐You're okay. ‐Am I in the tank?

Yeah, yeah, uh‐huh, you're, uh,

‐still in there, all right. You are, yeah. ‐(Dave groans)

‐I had‐I had... There was an anteater! ‐Shh, shh.

‐You're okay. ‐That's a joke, that's a joke, that's a joke, that's a joke.

‐Just relax... ‐Okay, Biff is coming. ‐Oh, no, I have to record!

‐Wait, wait, wait.. ‐Wait, wait... ‐Ha, ha, ha!

‐No, I have it, I have to record! ‐He's like a greased pig!

Ha! Ha, ha, ha, that's a joke.

That's a joke!

(panting)

That's a joke, that's a joke, that's a joke.

That's a joke, that's a joke.

Ha, ha.

(panting)

Hey, hey. Record, right now, please.

‐Go, any beat, go. ‐(hip‐hop beat playing)

♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪

♪ That's a joke, uh, that's a joke, hey ♪

♪ Ha, ha, ha, they getting roast, hey ♪

♪ Hey, these motherfuckers, they done lost me ♪

♪ Everything I'm doing lofty, I'm kind of wearing on 'em ♪

♪ Like a softy I got it ground up like coffee I had... ♪

♪ '06 'round about, wildin' out, back in '06 ♪

♪ I was talking about graduating now I'm all winding down ♪

♪ Time has changed, got a little grayness in my hair ♪

♪ I don't care, I got to face it I ain't never knowing how ♪

♪ The money payment working, there's a person couple ♪

♪ Probably I don't even bother picking up for my father ♪

♪ He was so responsible and so logical ♪

♪ What am I even doing? Why am I rapping like this? ♪

♪ I'm such a loser, I hate when rappers try to rap fast ♪

♪ Make the kids dance, women lick my anus ♪

♪ Think pieces on me, New York Times, I made it ♪

♪ I'm fucking like a fable doggy‐style watching cable ♪

♪ Then we eat a couple bagels with the lox, word to Jada ♪

♪ Gata told me I'm the best ♪

‐♪ And guess what ♪ ‐♪ What? ♪

♪ I'm the it guy for America ♪

♪ Don't mind me I'm over here ♪

♪ Just redefining that alpha male ♪

♪ Don't mind me I'm over here just getting all the ops ♪

♪ All the ops ♪

♪ How they rappin', I've been working on my craft ♪

♪ Making it happen, work, work ♪

♪ We should make a bracket don't forget ♪

♪ That I'm the cut medium but I'm better than the rappers? ♪

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org