Dave East is officially in album mode.
Its been two years since the release of his last project, Paranoia 2, and he’s finally ready to tell his story.
He hosted a two-part private in-studio session in Mass Appeal’s recording studio for Survival on Monday evening. I sat in during the 6:00pm session in a room of about 10-15 other journalists and reporters.
“Y’all got somewhere to go or y’all chillin’ for a minute? Dave asked prompting that we were going to be there for a while so get comfortable.
The 18-track project features new and seasoned Hip Hop and R&B acts, and the production is the most standout feature.
The Harlem rapper said he has been working on this album for the past year, and he listened to the debut albums of Nas, JAY-Z, Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, and more to get him in the zone.
Dave broke the ice by having everyone in the room introduce themselves. Then he played an episode from his YouTube Survival Series, which is basically a vlog following the day-to-day process of making the album.
He then broke down every record track by track and even played one of the three bonus records.
Survival kicks off with an audio clip from his late cousin, Freaky, who he says influenced him to rap. The intro kicks off the tone of the story and takes you on a journey through Dave’s life before the fame.
He details his 6th floor apartment in Queens that overlooked the projects, smoking weed for the first time at 17 years old, fatherhood, and a different array of topics that make up his survival story.
Dave East released the lead single featuring Jacquees, “Alone” and there are a few other love ballads for the ladies to get in tuned with.
The East Coast representative certainly showcased his versatility along with his lyrical prowess on this project. When it releases on November 8th, Funk Flex will be dropping bombs and saying “this is what New York sounds like.”
