Dave East has become a HotNewHipHop favorite for his gritty tales of his days as a hustler in the treacherous streets of East Harlem. East makes motivation music, and he puts out one project per year.
On Friday, East released his debut album Kairi Chanel, named after his daughter. None of the following ten songs appear on Kairi Chanel -- this list is intended as primer to help you get acquainted to East's style before you dive into the album.
Click through the gallery to listen to Dave East's 10 essential tracks.
"Waste My Time"
Alchemist-produced "Waste My Time" appeared on East's 2012 mixtape No Regrets. We include this song not because it is one of Dave East's 10 best songs, but rather to offer perspective on his development as an artist. East sounds a bit like Ja Rule. Shoutout Ja Rule.
"Gangstas"
On his 2013 track "Gangstas," East reveals the end-game to his hustling ways: to "get fat and move to Miami," to find him a lovely Cuban wife and drink beers and eat ceviche on the sparking South Beach waters.
"The Offering"
East had sharpened his lyrical knives by the time his Black Rose mixtape came out in 2014. On the leadoff track "The Offering," his throwaway bars delivered in the opening seconds are more fearsome than your favorite rapper's most malicious 16. Throughout the song he makes clear his paranoia, focus, and willingness to go against the grade. He admits that he's (gasp!!) not into the new Kanye: "Just couldn’t relate, ain’t never listened to Yeezus."
"Let It Go"
East inexplicably let go "Let It Go" when it came time to pare down 15-track Black Rose and repackage it as a 7-track EP. He raps, "need M's when that deal come." His deal would come a little over two years after the release of Black Rose; he announced that he had signed to Def Jam three days ago.
"Cut It (Freestyle)"
Though no "Cut It' remix will ever top the original, Dave East's rework of the OT Genasis hit probably comes the closest.
"Deposits"
Perhaps the best of East's extensive "EastMix" series, "Deposits" is a three-and-a-half minute meditation on money, women, and the good life, and he throws in a few quality food metaphors mixed in along the way. "Crib out in the Poconos, pockets full of provolone." East is eating!!!
"KD"
Dave East is the same age as Kevin Durant and they grew up playing each other on the AAU circuit. East used to record at Kevin Durant's studio back in his college days at the University of Towson. The song is thus an homage to KD and warning to fuccbois -- he's a shooter! -- as well as an assertion of his enduring New York-bred toughness. "Same nigga, caught-the-train nigga."
"Momma Workin"
On Hate Me Now standout "Momma Workin," Dave East raps with an incredible urgency, as if danger lurks around every corner. This quality shows up in a lot of East's music and is a key component of what makes him such a good storyteller. (Cue segue to "Keisha.")
"Numb"
East's frequent allusions to his emotional numbness are his only real admissions of weakness. "Numb" contains by far his best hook:
"I'm numb
I don't feel nothing no more
No shine, no rain, no crying, no pain, no love, no hate
I don't feel it, no feelings, let me just live
Numb to the world, I don't know what this feeling is
I'm numb"
"Forbes List" feat. Nas
Dave East has enjoyed mentorship from Nas over the past few years due in part to his connection to Mass Appeal and his family connections to Queensbridge. They are a natural pairing, for Nas embodies East's visions of future grandeur. In Nas he seems himself.