Page 2 of 3 - Certified Fresh: Dave East – Fated Greatness - Hip

They say numbers don’t lie, but there’s room to argue that they don’t necessarily tell the truth either. In this case, New York up and comer Dave East is the guy who lends example to how even great talent can go unnoticed (or overlooked rather). A bona fide street MC whose catalog of gritty music is regularly featured on Hot 97, Power 105 and Shade 45, Dave has got the chops to be on heavy rotation, yet he’s still a well kept secret.

East Harlem’s own, however, has steadily amassed cosigns from the likes of Wyclef Jean and DJ Khaled, both of whom –– after listening to his latest body of work –– were prompted to promote his newly released introductory tape, Black Rose. Coupled with an already solid fan base made up of record executives and music insiders, he might be on to something. But there’s no gimmick to Dave, which perhaps best explains why he’s doing his own thing independently. “If I can’t get somebody that can see my vision and still let me keep my creative process, than I don’t really want to [sign],” explains the 26-year-old.

Starkly opposite of today’s rapper, Dave sets the much-debated “ruler of Hip-Hop” question straight, provided that “ruler” is King and “Hip-Hop” is New York. “Who you stab, who you shot, who you fought ni**a/ Frank White was the only King of New York ni**a,” spits Dave with fierceness in “Gift of God,” a tough tune laden with flowing piano and smooth drums.

To quote Styles P (or KRS): “Kings lose crowns, teachers stay intelligent.” Dave isn’t playing crab in a barrel trying to reach the top for a crown of thorns (ahem, Kanye). He’s first and foremost a student of the game, and to him, there’s room for a Jay Z and Nas. In other words, if Hip-Hop is a comedy show, Dave East doesn’t argue about who’s funnier, he just makes us laugh.

Who: Dave East is an emerging rapper from East Harlem and quickly becoming a New York staple in new school Hip-Hop. His proper entrance into the game comes by way of Black Rose, his recently debuted EP, filled with feel-good, New York nostalgia.

Credentials: He’s received cosigns from top industry vets, including DJ Khaled, Wyclef Jean and Shaheem Reid.

Fun Fact: Dave East’s parents have been married for over 30 years and his father was heavily involved in the Harlem Renaissance.

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Photos: Dave East

Hip-Hop Wired: Your Twitter account was verified not too long ago. Who is Dave East today, compared to say 5 years ago?

Dave East: A totally different person. I’m just more mature. Five years ago, I was a basketball player, on a college program in school, playing ball. I was a totally different person.

Hip-Hop Wired: Oh, word.

Dave East: Yea, just in the last five years, I’ve been through so much leading up to this point, it’s been like a movie. I’m the same, but I’ve grown so much.

Hip-Hop Wired: Who were you playing ball for?

Dave East: I went to the University of Richmond in Virginia for a year, then I came back to New York and transferred to Calstone in Baltimore.

Hip-Hop Wired: Ah, that explains the twang.

Dave East: Yea, yea [laughs].

Hip-Hop Wired: Are you signed to a major label?

Dave East: Nope.

Hip-Hop Wired: Do you want to be signed to a major label?

Dave East: Honestly, if it makes sense for me, then yea. If they see my vision, what my team is trying to do, what I’m actually trying to portray and put out, then I’m all for it. The machine wouldn’t hurt. But, if I can’t get somebody that can see my vision and still let me keep my creative process, than I don’t really want to do that.

Hip-Hop Wired: The Black Rose listening was thoroughly solid. You were so passionate about the music. Which song on the tape means the most to you and why?

Dave East: “Around Here,” produced by Sunny Dukes and “Free Charlie,” produced by Marvino Beats. Those two records really hit home. I had two of my closest family members, both incarcerated in the same month this year. One was sentence to seven years, while the other to five. And these were people I was around everyday, did everything with. We slept in the same place, shared clothes, all of that. Those two records really hit home with me. I wouldn’t have been able to put out Black Rose if those two individuals hadn’t been with me throughout so much of it. They were heavily involved. They’re not rappers, but they do what they do in the streets. And, unfortunately, they got caught up right before the tape came out. But I keep in touch, we talk a lot. I’ve been able to tell them about the tape and how the streets is receiving it, the feedback and cosigns I’m getting from it.

Hip-Hop Wired: That’s awesome, man… What’s the concept behind the title Black Rose?

Dave East: The name came from where I’m from. Coming from East Harlem, that’s the hood over there. That’s not 42nd Street. It’s different over there. I feel like I’m a rose coming from within a dark environment, a black cloud if you will.

Every city, every state, there’s a hood. The street games, the dope, the shootouts, the fights, the murders, that friend going to jail –– that’s not just a East Harlem story, that’s a worldwide, something everyone can relate to type thing. Even kids just trying to get out the hood and go to college, get away from things that the average kid in suburban, America don’t got to go through. That’s what inspired the title.

Hip-Hop Wired: What does it mean to be from Harlem? Do you feel like you’re carrying the torch for the native MCs who came before you?

Dave East: Definitely. It’s a honor to come from the same streets that Malcolm X walked on. During that whole Black, Harlem Renaissance, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday era –– not even getting into the rap artists we’re used to. But those people walked the same streets, they came through them same blocks. That energy itself is crazy. But to say that I can carry on the torch for Big L, Cam’ron or Jim Jones –– what they did for Harlem, I hold near and dear to my heart. I definitely feel honored for you to even have that as a question for me.

It’s super dope that I can touch on it. I got family members that were involved with some of those people in the Renaissance. My father was going to meetings involved. All of that is already embedded in me, so it’s just dope that people can finally check out what I have to say.

Hip-Hop Wired: What was your upbringing like? And how did music play a role in your adolescence?

Dave East: My upbringing was cool. I had both of my parents around me. That’s a definite plus. My parents have been married for over 30 years. That was rare.

And musically, those two have been playing music forever. My father was always playing Earth, Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes when I was a kid. I have an old soul. I’m 26-years-old, but I like that old feel. That’s what I came up listening to before rap.

The first rap that I heard was by Snoop. And that was before I even got into New York rap, ya know, before I got put onto Biggie and all that. My cousins, were listening to The Chronic and Tupac, they were into it heavy. I’ve been around music since I came out my mother’s womb. It’s just a part of who I am.

Hip-Hop Wired: Who would you say is the King of New York today?

Dave East: Ain’t no King of New York today. I said that in my record, “Gift of God.” The only King of New York is Frank White. It was either Biggie or Christopher Walker in the movie. Ain’t no King of New York. You have people that will always have they’re spot with what they’re doing –– the Jay Zs, the Nases. What they did, you can never do nothing with that. No one will ever be able to do it like Jay did it. Nobody will ever be able to do it like Nas did it.

Nas just did a tour off an album he put out 20 years ago. Who else is doing that? People can’t do that. So no, I don’t think there’s a King of New York. There’s no one person that I would put the crown on they ass. Nah. Definitely not none of these new cats [laughs].

Hip-Hop Wired: Childish Gambino dissed Drake, Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q. He said at one of his recent concerts that he was a way better rapper/singer. How do you feel about that? What are your thoughts on beef in Hip-Hop?

Dave East: I’m in the streets everyday. You can come to my block and actually see me. I feel like beef in the rap industry is like wrestling. It’s all entertainment. Childish Gambino is probably going to sit right in the same room and still kick it with Kendrick and all of that. Laugh and giggle and not say nothing bad to anyone at all. Then [he’ll] go have a show somewhere else, and might be feeling himself with the crowd, and whatever his energy is, he’ll speak on that. But he won’t go say whatever he’s saying around people.

Hip-Hop Wired: What’s a dream project, who would you love to collaborate with today?

Dave East: I would need some Erykah Badu and some Nas on that. I would definitely need Dr. Dre, even if he’s not rapping on it, just his touch would suffice. I would definitely want whatever he can contribute to it. I’m a huge fan of Dr. Dre and his musical genius. And Styles P.

For my style, honestly, I want to work with different singers, like Jill Scott and Marsha from Floetry. I want to work with people that’ll take the record somewhere else.

Hip-Hop Wired: Whose work in the rap game have you studied?

Dave East: Jay Z, I studied Hov for a while man. I studied Biggie and Nas –– It Was Written, Stillmatic. I really broke those records down, had them on repeat. Life After Death, Mase and Harlem World. Cam’ron and Confessions of Fire. The Lox and Money, Power, Respect. Those I sat down with and broke down for real.