Longstreth attended Yale University and majored in music shortly before dropping out halfway through his second year.

"[4] After dropping out, he moved in with his brother in Portland, Oregon and worked on his first album The Graceful Fallen Mango, which he released in 2002.

[4] Shortly after completing the album, Longstreth returned to Yale to finish his degree and began making music under the Dirty Projectors title.

[6] He also contributed to the orchestral arrangement for the song "Time, As a Symptom" on the album Divers by American musician Joanna Newsom.

[7] In 2016, he produced the album Azel by Nigerien musician Bombino and collaborated on the Solange release, A Seat at the Table.