In L.A., Desus and Mero and Dave's GaTa stick Dave Burd with their legal weed bill

FX’s surprise hit comedy series Dave nimbly walks the line between continuing the over-hyped rise of viral YouTube rap sensation Lil Dicky (Dave Burd) and deconstructing the way that catching an online wave of overnight popularity can raise some very unlikely people into the national consciousness. On Thursday’s Desus & Mero, Burd, alongside his co-star, friend, and collaborator GaTa (Davionte Ganter), sat down with the road-tripping Bronx hosts to talk about Dave’s unexpectedly heartfelt and funny (and, sure, filthy) examination of the whole, potentially tired “unassuming white guy making it in the rap world” idea. Right after Desus, Mero, and GaTa bailed out of the friendly neighborhood weed emporium and left the perpetually put-upon Burd to pay for their expensive vaporizer.

It the sort of bit that Dave’s Lil Dicky might find himself in on the average episode, Burd’s bashfully ambitious would-be rap star half in and half out of the cool guys’ club. But there seemed to be no hard feelings, as the quartet went for some authentic (and suddenly necessary) Mexican food and talked over Dave’s ability to combine vulnerability with self-aware filthy songs about, say, Lil Dicky’s infamously misshapen penis. As GaTa told the hosts concerning his character’s own autobiographical storyline about his struggles with his mental health, “In our community, we do not talk about mental health.” As Mero joked/not joked about how the relatively relaxed temporary sojourn to L.A. from New York has seen him go two full days without his Xanax, GaTa was earnest in saying, “It’s okay not to be okay,” and praised Dave for making room amidst the undeniable wackiness and incessant dick jokes for, “me with the mental health, him with his insecurities and stuff.”

As on Dave, it’s the seemingly mismatched friendship between the two stars that came through most appealingly throughout. Burd, while taking Desus and Mero up on their signature neon sign offer to do some basketball trash talking, was also up front about his utter inability to embrace the hedonistic excesses his (and his character’s) rap and internet fame throws at him. (And the truly surprising number of actual rap stars willing to collaborate with his nerdy would-be superstar.) While GaTa confessed to an appreciative Desus and Mero his experience with Dave groupies on the road (it’s up to you to know what “double toppy” means), Burd, further blurring the line between character and reality, could only admit to thinking, “Who raised you? You don’t even know me at all!,” to any women inexplicably moved to proposition him after he comes offstage.

Dave’s second season is currently airing on FX.