Dave Episode 5: “Hype Man”: Thank You, Gata.
Fx’s “Dave” follows the rise of comedian turned rapper, Dave Bird or more affectionally known by his fans, “Lil Dicky”. The show focuses on Dave’s insecurities and what it takes to make it in the music industry; specifically from a perspective from someone who’s outside of the participating culture. Dave is constantly finding out ways in which he doesn’t necessarily fit within the “Rap Game”. What seemingly propels Dave is his confidence in his rapping ability, feeling as though everybody else is just out of the loop. What Dave learns is that to make it, is to be more than just a “good rapper.” Along for the ride is his girlfriend, studio engineer, his friend turned manager and Gata, a man he met at a studio session with YG.
The show is centered on Dave’s character but the show itself is more concerned with the relationships that are made during the arduous process to become a rap superstar. I completely understand peoples want to compare this show to Donald Glover’s ‘Atlanta’ due to them both dealing with the music industry, more specifically the rap scene. Dave seems to take itself less seriously as the problems the characters face are silly or “less important” but episode five focuses on a very serious issue, mental health. The show introduces us to Gata, an aspiring rapper doing his best to make connections in the industry. He is the first person to notice Dave as his Lil Dicky moniker and praise his work. This, in turn, encourages Dave to become friends with Gata and eventually make him his hype man.
At the beginning of the episode, Dave and crew are at a MadeinTYO concert to see how his stage performance is and how integral it is to the experience of a live show. After the show, Dave is concerned about making his shows as entertaining as possible but still being taken seriously as a rapper. This leads Gata to improvise a moment where he pretends to be Dave’s hypeman and Dave loves it, he asks Gata to be his hypeman from now on. We are then shown a flashback of Gata on a tour bus with OT da Genesis and Pacman da Gunman. They’re celebrating the show they just had and Gata is shown to be enjoying himself a little too much. He makes his way to where the rappers are and insist they “make moves” with Lil Wayne to start another leg of touring. The group respectfully tells Gata to relax until he’s eventually thrown off the bus for not listening.
Gata’s personality is soaked in so much confidence that Dave uses to help his melancholy mood. Gata provides Dave with the balls to keep doing what he’s doing. We’re treated to another flashback where Gata is at the shoe store with his mother where he is confronted by a man about the money he’s owed. He yells at Gata about spending money on shoes and not paying him back, Gata’s mother tries to pay the man to which he respectfully declines. Gata goes back to the counter to return the shoes and gives the man his money. Soon after, Gata becomes agitated and starts ranting about the respect he’s due. His mother intervenes, telling him to calm down, in which Gata reacts even more violently prompting the mall security to come and arrest him. We then see Gata in the hospital, handcuffed to the bedframe. The officers are explaining to his mother that once he’s released, he’s going to need to go on medication. Gata breaks down to his mother.
We now see Gata picking up his medication before he goes to rehearse with Dave. At rehearsal, Gata is lethargic and sluggish. After bumping into Dave, he’s then berated about his commitment to being a hypeman. After playing all of the situations back in his head, Gata finally reveals that he’s Bi-Polar. He explains that he needs to take medicine to keep his mood under control and it’s something he’s embarrassed about. He vehemently apologizes, saying he would never sabotage everything they’ve worked on. It’s an incredibly vulnerable scene and so far, this season’s most dramatic. Gata, who’s never acted in his life, does an outstanding job in this dramatic scene.
Gata is actually Lil Dicky’s hypeman and he’s really Bipolar. After the release of episode 5, an incredible outpour of support came in for Gata’s performance. He replied by making a video stating that the episode was meant to shine a light on the very real challenges he faces every day. I’m very happy for Gata to be comfortable enough to tell his story with the mental illness and portray it realistically instead of making fun of the symptoms. It’s a truly poignant episode of acceptance and vulnerability.
This is my favorite episode so far and I honestly can’t imagine an episode topping it. Finding characters that correctly represent the trails that I relate to is rare and I had no idea I would find that in a show about a rapper named Lil Dicky.
DAVE is exclusively on HULU every Wednesday.
