"Professional Rapper" is a song by American rapper

Lil Dicky David Andrew Burd (born March 15, 1988), better known by his stage name Lil Dicky, is an American rapper, singer, comedian, and actor. He first received recognition after the music video for his 2013 song, "Ex-Boyfriend" became a viral video, v ...

from his debut studio album of the same name. It was released on July 31, 2015 as the album's fourth single and title track. It was produced by Stan Lane and features a

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

artist

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

Commercial performance

"Professional Rapper" debuted at number-one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Comedy Digital Tracks chart dated August 22, 2015.

Background

The song is presented as Lil Dicky interviewing for a job as a professional rapper with

. In the interview, Snoop Dogg asks Lil Dicky about his background as well as what he likes about rap. Lil Dicky says one of his favorite things is autographing women's breasts. He also states he wants to approach rapping different because he feels it's been done the same way for too long, to which Snoop Dogg replies that it traditionally works. Lil Dicky proceeds to say one of his goals is to become one of the greats. At the end, Snoop Dogg says he has the job, if he can put together a hook for "this" song, in a self-aware meta sense referring to Professional Rapper. Lil Dicky puts together a hook, which is called "garbage" by Snoop Dogg.

Music video

The music video is animated. The video plays out the lyrics to the song as part of the fictional interview portrayed in the lyrics. During the line “ Well, I don't care about the money/Like, it's the respect that I'm wanting/Honestly, I just want to be one of the greats/Where they gotta bring your boy up every debate” Snoop Dogg and Lil Dicky are standing in front of pictures of rap legends including

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, The Notorious B.I.G., and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Chart performance

Certifications

References

{{Snoop Dogg singles, state=collapsed 2015 songs 2015 singles Lil Dicky songs Snoop Dogg songs Songs written by Snoop Dogg Animated music videos