The north remembers, that’s a quote from a famous show, IYKYK. So here’s how it applies here. A brief exchange involving Dave East set socials buzzing on January 5, after a clip surfaced showing him declining a request to contribute a free verse for a producer’s emerging artist. What made the moment resonate was not the refusal itself, but the calm clarity behind it.
Check out the clip. It’s pretty, well, real …
In the video, East responds directly to the producer, making it clear the decision was rooted in experience rather than emotion. “I don’t care about your artist,” he said plainly. “I be seeing you and I still show you love.” The tone was firm but controlled, signaling that the issue ran deeper than a single request.
Get this, East then explained the history, informing his stance. “We not doing nothing because when I had no name that’s how you was acting with me,” he said. “That’s a fact.” The comment highlighted a familiar reality in the music business, where early dismissals often come back into focus once success arrives.
The rapper, who has since built a career spanning music and acting, addressed the producer directly to underline that the memory was specific, not vague. “Your name Skitzo, right? I know who you are,” he said.
What’s more, he even recalled a precise moment from his early grind. “When I asked you for a beat that time… Nahhhhh,” East added, shaking his head. The recollection underscored that the past had not been forgotten, even if it had been set aside.
Despite the refusal, East closed the exchange without hostility. “I don’t want to do nothing,” he said, before adding, “But, it’s love, when I see you, it’s love. I’m good.”
The clip has spread because it captures an unspoken rule in hip-hop. How people are treated before success matters. Dave East’s response was not about payback. It was about boundaries, memory, and respect carried forward on his own terms.