Dave East. The messiah to those hip-hop heads who are cringing at the perpetuated degeneration of the culture through the means of mumble rappers, was born David Brewster Jr. June 3rd, 1988, in East Harlem, NY. He attended a couple of high schools and two colleges prior to becoming known as Dave East, including University of Richmond with fellow XXL Freshman Lil Dicky.  During his academic career, East committed his energy toward dreams of playing in The NBA (practicing with the likes of Kevin Durant and other future-NBA stars at AAU).

          However, 2010 marked a turning point for East once released from jail. He decided that his efforts were better suited elsewhere, and dropped a steady stream of mixtapes that inevitably landed him a deal with his New York native Idol, Nas -- and signed to his label Mass Appeal Records. It was his 2014 tape, Black Rose that finally got him the attention needed to push his career forward...well, that and his established friendship with Nas's little brother, Jungle .

          Post his indoctrination into Mass Appeal Records, East released his final mixtape Gemini , and followed it up with his Nas and Pusha T featured album, Hate Me Now. The likes of which had his debut-hit-singles like "Forbes List" and "KD" on it. This was his shining moment, in my eyes, equal to that of J.Cole and Nas's reunion and track conversations back in his early career, but that's a little subjective I guess. Regardless, with the momentum put in place over his 6-year grind, Dave landed himself on the cover of the XXLFreshman 2016 and as the accepted, sole representation of the current state of Harlem. 

          In comparison to some of his fellow XXL Freshman, Dave East doesn't seem to be working his magazine exposure as vigorously as the others. He has done a handful of interviews for the Breakfast Club and Power that are beautiful exposes on who he is as a person and his intentions as far as the progression of his career is concerned (very similar to ASAP Rocky's desire to fill all fields of celebrity-ism in a more wholistic manner), but isn't touring to the same degree or releasing tracks at the same pace.

          Where Lil Uzi has released: 1 album, 2 complete mixtapes, and countless singles since being named a Freshman (even has a 3rd ready to drop), Dave has released 1 album. And while that album may have more lyrics in a single song than an entire mixtape of Uzi or Yachty , it doesn't do his talent justice when the internet era of rap is about consistency rather than infrequent dense quality.

          His most recent release, Kairi Chanel , named after his newborn daughter, is a near masterpiece. The beats are hard, his imagery is second to none, and his voice is one of the most appealing I have ever heard in my 21 years of rap exposure. Deep, crisp, aggressive, but also controlled to a degree that he is very much telling you, the listener, a poised story. I know this man. Between the skits ending and opening each track on Chanel, to the lingering walk through his hood that is Hate Me Now, to his shift in life goals on Changes of Plan , Dave East has made his story and progression through time quite clear to follow, and man is it something to take note of. 

          Somehow, during a time when the greater public wants nothing but bangers wrapped in synths and topped with the same 8 words repeated for 4 minutes, East has established a hope for the revival of lyricism in 2016.