A strong lyricist adept at telling gritty street narratives, Harlem-based MC
Dave East has a style heavily reminiscent of '90s New York hardcore rap while sounding fresh enough to compete with the contemporary hip-hop landscape. After building a buzz with several independent mixtapes during the early 2010s,
East caught the attention of his favorite rapper,
Nas, who signed him to Mass Appeal. Several Billboard-charting releases followed, including 2016's
Kairi Chanel, 2017's
Paranoia: A True Story, and 2020's Top 40 hit
Karma 3.
East also branched out into acting and portrayed
Method Man on the Hulu series Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga. The iconic rapper guested on
East's 2022 release
HDIGH.
Born David Brewster, Jr. in 1988, he started releasing mixtapes as
Dave East in 2010, beginning with Change of Plans. Several more arrived throughout the next few years, including 2013's Gemini. After signing to
Nas' Mass Appeal label in 2014, he released
Black Rose, and Straight Outta Harlem arrived near the end of the year.
Hate Me Now, featuring guests such as
Pusha T and
Jadakiss, followed in 2015.
In 2016, XXL magazine featured
East as part of their annual Freshman Class, and the
Kairi Chanel tape followed on Mass Appeal later in the year with guest verses from
2 Chainz,
Fabolous, and
Cam'ron, among others. Issued just after
East publicized his deal with
Def Jam, it debuted in the Top Five of Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart and scraped the Top 40 of the all-genre Billboard 200.
In 2017,
East issued the single "Perfect" with
Chris Brown. The song appeared on
Paranoia: A True Story,
East's
Def Jam debut, which also featured appearances from
Wiz Khalifa, Jeezy, and
Nas, and reached the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. Following the late-2017 release
Karma, Paranoia 2 arrived in early 2018; guests included
T.I.,
Lloyd Banks, and
Marsha Ambrosius. The independently released mixtape
Karma 2 appeared later that summer, just as the emcee was touring with
Lauryn Hill.
East wrapped up his prolific year with a hard-hitting collaboration with
the Lox's
Styles P on
Beloved, which debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200. The following year saw
East issue the singles "Everyday" with
Gunna and "Wanna Be a G" with
Max B. Both tracks appeared on his 2019 official studio effort
Survival, which debuted on the Billboard 200 just outside the Top Ten. The star-studded set also featured appearances by
DJ Premier,
Nas,
Teyana Taylor,
Rick Ross,
the-Dream,
Fabolous,
Jacquees,
Mozzy,
E-40, and many more. He also experienced a breakthough in his fledgeling acting career, appearing first in the Netflix series Beats, then taking on the role of rapper
Method Man on Hulu's Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga.
In 2020,
East returned with the third installment in his mixtape series,
Karma 3. The effort entered the Top 40 and featured guests
Mary J. Blige,
Popcaan,
A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and many more. 2021 saw the release of Hoffa, a collaborative project with
Harry Fraud that also featured Currensy,
G Herbo, and
French Montana. 2022's
HDIGH ("How Did I Get Here?") featured guest appearances by
Method Man,
Benny the Butcher,
Musiq Soulchild, and others. ~ David Jeffries