Dave East
Praised for his lyricism and raw storytelling, and blessed with a loyal New York following, Dave East is one of the most promising rappers on the scene today. Born and raised in Harlem, he was inspired by older generation East Coast rappers ranging from Notorious B.I.G. to Styles P, Jadakiss, Cam’ron, and Big Pun. After a college basket­ball stint, Dave’s attention gravitated full time to music. Starting in 2010, he released an array of critically acclaimed mixtapes that earned him widespread recognition in the hip-hop community. His 7th mixtape, 2014’s Black Rose caught Nas by surprise, and resulted in Dave’s signing to Nas’ Mass Appeal imprint. Subsequent mixtapes Hate Me Now (2015) and Kairi Chanel (2016, named for Dave’s daughter), boasted a collective guest list topped by Nas, Styles P, Pusha T, Jadakiss, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Rico Love, and The Game, to name just a few. Kairi Chanel led off with the storytelling visual for "Keisha" followed by "Type Of Time", with over 12 million combined YouTube views to date. After nabbing a spot on the notorious XXL Freshman Class in 2016, he jumped onto the Def Jam roster late that year. He was first heard on “Gold Digger” featuring A-Boogie, from Def Jam’s Direct Deposit Vol. 2 compilation (February 2017). Paranoia: A True Story marked Dave’s official Def Jam debut EP in August 2017 (with “Perfect” featuring Chris Brown; and “The Hated”). The Paranoia 2 mixtape followed in January 2018.