Most folk who know me, know I don't rock with too many new school MC's like that. So whenever somebody cosigns somebody new who's "supposed" to be dope I always take 'em with a grain of salt. So when my homegirl told me 4 years ago that her ex rhymed and was nice I was like "you used to mess with dude, of course you're gonna say he's nice." But she was like "nah for real...he's dope." I'm like aiight I'll bite. What's dude's name? She said Dave East. I'm like "Dave East...like Jesse West?!?!? Nah...I'm good." But she pulled him up online and made me listen and guess what? She was right. Dude was nasty! So fast forward a couple of years (remember this was 2013 when she put me on to him) and after a rack of mixtapes and with a Nas cosign dude is a now a household name. And with his Def Jam debut "Paranoia" on tap, ya'll don't even have to ask if this jawn is brodying (Philly word for bullying) it's way past everything that was in line to get into my rotation right?
The Nonstop produced "Paranoia" featuring Jezzy is BONKERS and sets the album off
perfect and damn near stayed on repeat for a couple of hours before I could even get to the next song. East goes in on this jawn too "I cannot wait til this pack is done, these niggas fuckin the package up/that bullshit they kickin' ain't adding up, plus they don't get no pussy like Magic's son." "The Hated" has East showing his storytelling skills about two friends Ant Live & Corey growing up in the hood and is dope but my only beef with it is it say "featuring Nas" so I'm thinking Nas is gonna jump on & spit a verse but he's just talking on the intro and outro smdh. The Reazy Renegade produced "Phone Jumpin" feat. Wiz Khalifa uses the same Psycho sample made famous by Busta's "Give Em Some More" and is so dope that I actually like Wiz spittin' on this and I've NEVER liked anything from Wiz. The strip club anthem "Perfect" featuring Chris Brown has East speaking on a new shorty he's feeling and "Found A Way" is dope and has East breaking down how he came up out these streets, "run up on me must be out your brain, you and I we are not the same/ain't say a word when the cops came, money comin' shit you gotta change/hardest young nigga out the game, watch my aim got a hundred clip, watch my aim got a hundred clip/movin like I'm on the wanted list, I'm on a yacht with a hundred crips/I ain't bitchin shit I wanted this, jump out in louis vuitton, white tee black leather like I'm cool with the Fonz/fuck the ring kiss the shoe of a don, hundred p's I could move 'em tomorrow."
The Harry Fraud "Manuever" feat. French Montana is CRAZY and "My Dirty Little Secret" has East speaking on this shorty that he's smashing on the low "like it's written in chinese it's hard to read her, I poured an 8th in a liter knockin Aaliyah/it's funny I fell in love with her instagram, I'm picturing how I'ma fuck it I get to meet her/I don't get to nap what you do for a living, shit my business rap, I'm outta town all the time let me know if you can get with that." "Wanna Be Me" has East speaking on just wanting to fall back and enjoy the game, "I just wanna smoke a blunt and watch Goodfellas, I just want that foreign shit yo make your hood jealous/I just wanna take Kairi to Dubai, pop the xanny on the flight to help me sleep through the sky/I just wanna wake up and go to the gucci store, thinking back when I was broke I ain't know who to call/did six months glad the judge ain't give me that two to four, can't describe the pain I felt when people told me you should ball" and the JoJo Beats produced "Have you Ever" ends the album on a dope note and has East speaking on what he's seen, "I never follow orders put that on my daughter, back and forth to Florida hide the coke in goya/pistol on my dresser bitch I'm from the border, Reef Buck my brother Big Bay my brother/Billy know I got him, Druggy know I really love him, Artie forever love Nick survived the headshot/this crip I was never blood I'm just speaking fact, papi throw me work knowing that I'm gonna bring it back/codeine gives me cold sweats, I had to tell my pops that he ain't owe yet, percocets get in me I got no stress/dancing with the devil bitch I'm milly rocking, Freaky down in Philly it's crazy now I got Philly rocking."
I've always said that Big & Puff constructed the perfect blueprint for making that heat for the streets but still making bangers for the shorty's and the radio. And over the years a lot of folk have tried their damndest to do the same and failed. Welp, we can add Dave East's name to the short list of folk who are able to do it cause Dave always seems to finds a way (no pun intended) to keep the hood good, the shorty's happy, keep strippers getting paid, getting some spins on the radio all while bridging the gap between keeping it boom bap for us old heads but still keeping the young buls who love the trap happy too. Now, do me this justice and reread that last sentence cause being able to keep that many folk good, especially nowadays ain't an easy task. Cause keep in mind a lot of MC's have come and gone trying to use that same blueprint and failed miserably! I'll say it like this "Paranoia" has a little something for everybody on it but if you're open minded enough to open up your ears just a 'lil wider you'll have an album in front of you that won't only brody it's way into your rotation for a quick spin but mos def has the staying power to stay there for a minute.
4 outta 5 mics
Not really feeling dude like that.
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