Lil Dicky shoots his shot at being “Mr. McAdams” on a charismatic, funny and fiery ode to actress Rachel McAdams – and taking wild chances on your dreams. It’s the first single off his sophomore album ‘PENITH,’ the long-awaited soundtrack to his FXX series, DAVE.
Stream: “Mr. McAdams” – Lil Dicky
It’s the middle of December, and we’re knee-deep in the holiday season; case in point, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hit #1 on the Billboard singles chart last week – notably for the first time ever – and the song held on to the top spot for a second week as of this past Friday.
At this point advent calendars (mine’s tea-based!) are more the halfway done, and I’ve had at least three or four conversations with friends about “why so-and-so artist probably shouldn’t be releasing new music right now.” The reasoning is simple: Just look at the charts! 6 out of the Billboard’s and Spotify’s Global Top 10 Songs are Christmas tracks released decades ago; the most “recent” on Billboard, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” came out in 1994. Nothing about radio or streaming charts – two reliable indicators of listener behavior – skews “new” after Thanksgiving, and while I’m not in A&R, my advice to most artists, no matter how much of a following you have, would be to hold off on releasing your singles, EPs, or albums until the first or second week in January. Even if you’re not concerned with streams or charts, your music has a better chance of living a longer “life” if you put it out at the top of the new year, when everyone’s eager to embrace the “new.”
Leave it to Lil Dicky to challenge convention anyway. There’s nothing necessarily December-ish, holiday-themed, or wintry about “Mr. McAdams,” but none of that matters: With barely any other artists putting out new music this week, the rapper surprised fans and took the music world by surprise this week with his first release in years, and we couldn’t be happier to have him back in our lives.
Rachel, let me be your Mr. McAdams
Rachel, they gon’ call me Mr. McAdams
I’ll take your name girl, facts
It’s insanely farfetched
I ain’t playing, why you think I’ve been rapping?
To be Mr. McAdams, say yes
Released December 15 via Dirty Burd (his own label), Lil Dicky’s serenade to Rachel McAdams – a salient theme in the third season of his FXX show, DAVE – is charming, smooth, over-the-top, and fun; in other words, it’s quintessential Lil Dicky. Dave Burd is in his element as he seamlessly combines rap and comedy into one smile-inducing ode to (married) Canadian actress, Rachel McAdams:
Don’t lie to me, don’t lie to me, don’t lie
You think I’m f*ing sick
You think I lost my shit
You think I’m weird AF
But that endearing freckle upon your chin is too much
I got a freckle on my face too
I know you’ve dated Taylor Kitsch (Huh)
And I know you’ve seen Ryan Gosling’s dick (Skrrt)
Oh, girl, I don’t know it all, girl
I just wanna take you to a ball, have a ball girl
Valet will call me Mr. McAdams
Rachel, they gon’ call me Mr. McAdams
I’ll take your name girl, facts
It’s insanely farfetched
I ain’t playing, why you think I’ve been rapping?
To be Mr. McAdams, say yes (Hey-hey-hey)
“This song is a tongue-in-cheek ‘shoot your shot’ at even your dream girl kind of jam,” Lil Dicky shares. “It’s for all the dreamers out there! Everyone has a dream. Never has a song represented a manifestation to me more than this one, as eventually, I would be on the set of my TV show shooting the music video for it with Rachel McAdams and Brad Pitt. As surreal as life gets. These are my idols. True icons.”
Produced by Benny Blanco, chillpill, and Motiv, “Mr. McAdams” is the lead single off Lil Dicky’s long-awaited sophomore album PENITH (The DAVE Soundtrack), out January 19, 2024. The follow-up to his 2015 debut album Professional Rapper promises to combine songs and ideas previously heard on DAVE the show with at least a few surprises – all delivered, of course, with that charismatic, classic Burdian humor, sharp wit, and top-notch flow.
Are you a blonde or brunette?
You pull ’em both off like socks in a bed (Hey)
Notebook even had a little bit of red (True)
I don’t why I’m telling you about your hair (No)
You would know best, you was there, it’s your hair (Stupid)
Girl, I confess that I s*ck d*ck (Ayy)
Not s*ck d*ck like gave head (Nah)
I’m just bad at doing this sh*t (Ayy)
Girl, just let me prove that I’m him (Please)
Heard you’re 5’4″, I bet you ain’t
even know that’s my ideal height (Ayy)
I’m 6″ (Ay), eh 5’11”, I’m 5’10” (Oh)
Friends say I’m funny (Yeah)
And I got fans too
so I can relate to this being off-putting (Sorry)
But I just know you’d like what I could give (Swerve)
Imagine guac without no chips (Ooh)
Imagine me up at your door (Ayy)
Out of nowhere, what would you say?
What would we do? (Ayy) Probably be weird
Too much buildup (Uh), too much presh
Or maybe we would f*** like rabbits
Maybe I’m your Brad Pitt
F*** Brad Pitt, don’t think about him
PENITH (The DAVE Soundtrack) is described as “more than just a compilation from the series,” representing what Dicky describes as “a complete and cherished body of work” – one that is several years in the making, and not only represents his long awaited musical comeback, but also is just the beginning of all that’s to come, with “more original music on the horizon.”
Fans of LD, stay tuned: 2024 is going to be a good year, an if “Mr. McAdams” is any indication of what awaits us in PENITH, January 19th couldn’t truly couldn’t come quick enough.
And thank you to Lil Dicky – and to Dave Burd – for not waiting ’til January to release this wonderful gem.
I’m Mr. McAdams
Rachel, they gon’ call me Mr. McAdams
I’ll take your name girl, facts
It’s insanely farfetched
I ain’t playing, why you think I’ve been rapping?
To be Mr. McAdams, say yes
You don’t even care about me
Tell me why I care about you
This ain’t the movies, but I think that you’re the one
Rachel, let me be your Mr. McAdams
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:: stream/purchase PENITH here ::
:: connect with Lil Dicky here ::
Stream: “Mr. McAdams” – Lil Dicky
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© Austin Hargrave / AUGUST
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