David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1992),
In 2016, Dave was chosen as part of the XXL s Annual Freshman Class. His tenth mixtape, Kairi Chanel , was released in September of that year and peaked at number 38 on the Billboard 200. His eleventh mixtape, ' (2017) peaked at number nine on the chart. His debut studio album, Survival (2019) peaked at number 11 and his fifteenth mixtape, Karma 3 (2020) peaked at number 36. His second studio album, Fortune Favors the Bold'' (2023) failed to chart.[
]
East began an acting career in 2017, when he was cast as himself in Being Mary Jane and The Breaks. He also had a supporting role in the Netflix film Beats (2019) as "Mister Ford". His breakthrough acting role came in the Hulu series (2019), where he portrays Method Man.
Early life
David Lawrence Brewster Jr. was born in New York City and spent his life between
East Harlem where his mother resided, and Ravenswood where he lived with his aunt in his late adolescent life. The rapper is of
Barbadians,
Louisiana Creole and Dominican
descent. He played basketball, and football at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, MD near Washington, D.C.
Additionally, he played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) with then-future NBA players
Ty Lawson,
Greivis Vasquez and developed a close friendship with current all-star
Kevin Durant.
College basketball career
After Springbrook High School, East attended the University of Richmond, then transferred to Towson University where he played basketball.
While attending Towson, East had ongoing issues with coaching staff which ultimately led to his decision to leave the university. Shortly afterward, he started running into legal trouble in Baltimore, Maryland.
Career statistics
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07
| style="text-align:left;"| Richmond
| 13 ||
5 ||
16.7 ||
.365 ||
.389 || .583 ||
1.7 || .4 ||
.7 ||
.3 || 4.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08
| style="text-align:left;"| Towson
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"| Redshirt
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09
| style="text-align:left;"| Towson
|
22 ||
5 || 15.8 || .306 || .220 ||
.657 || 1.7 ||
.7 || .5 || .2 || 4.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
| style="text-align:left;"| Towson
| 10 || 4 || 16.3 || .347 || .300 || .625 ||
2.5 || .2 || .4 || .2 ||
4.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 45 || 14 || 16.2 || .330 || .293 || .636 || 1.9 || .5 || .5 || .2 || 4.6
Career
2010–2013: Beginnings
In 2010, he released his first mixtape
Change of Plans which gained him minor local recognition.
He later released the mixtapes
Insomnia,
American Greed,
Don't Sleep and
No Regrets, solidifying his commitment to music.
In 2013, East periodically sold drugs throughout Harlem to support himself and his music.
He then released his sixth mixtape,
Gemini in April of that year.
2014–2016: Mass Appeal signing and Kairi Chanel
In 2014, his music caught the attention of prominent hometown native
Nas, who soon looked for ways to contact East. Unbeknownst to Nas, East was close friends with Nas' younger brother and fellow rapper Jungle, who quickly introduced the two.
By mid-2014, East was signed to Nas through his newfound record label, Mass Appeal Records.
In July 2014, he released his seventh mixtape,
Black Rose for the label, which received favorable critical reception.
In 2015, he released his eighth mixtape
Hate Me Now, which gained further recognition and high-profile guest appearances from label boss Nas, as well as
Pusha T, and two-thirds of
The Lox;
Jadakiss and
Styles P.
In June 2016, XXL magazine revealed their annual Freshman Class for 2016, which included East, along with G Herbo, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Desiigner, Lil Dicky, Denzel Curry, and Anderson Paak.
2017–2018: Acting debut and Paranoia 2
In January 2017, East made his acting debut, starring in
BET's
Being Mary Jane series.
He later appeared in Puma's Tsugi Shinsei commercial and starred in rapper,
Trina's "It Ain't Me" music video.
In August 2017, East released his the EP,
, supported by the singles "Perfect" featuring singer
Chris Brown, "Paranoia" along with
Jeezy, and "Phone Jumpin" with
Wiz Khalifa. The EP peaked at number nine on the
Billboard 200.
Later in the year East then released his eleventh mixtape,
Karma which was hosted by DJ Holiday. This was the beginning of the
Karma series. This tape featured tracks such as "Militant" with Bronx rapper, Don Q.
Chris Brown also reappeared on "Bentley Truck" track which was also featured on the Karma tape. In September 2017, East hosted the first annual Goldie Awards, a DJ and producer battle set taking place in New York City.
East began the new year by releasing his twelfth mixtape Paranoia 2.
2019–2021: Survival and Karma 3
East made his movie debut in the Netflix film
Beats (2019) in which he had a supporting role as "Mister Ford". His breakthrough acting role came in the Hulu series
(2019) where he portrays
Method Man as a series regular. In September 2019, it was confirmed that East would have a supporting role in the film
Boogie (2021).
After a night in Las Vegas gone wrong, East was pulled from the film. The role of "Monk" was recast and eventually played by
Pop Smoke.
In 2019, he was featured on the single "Is U Down" by Pvrx and appeared as a guest vocalist on the single "Taxin" by DJ Shadow.
On March 8, 2020, East announced that he was working on the third installment in the Karma series of mixtapes. The mixtape cover featured background images of East with the now late rappers Nipsey Hussle and Pop Smoke, and East stated that he and Nipsey were making plans to create a collaborative project prior to his death. The album was initially set to be titled Thoughts of a Menace, however it was changed to simply Karma 3. Like his previous album, it was released via Def Jam and Mass Appeal.
On July 30, 2021, East and producer Harry Fraud released a collaborative album titled Hoffa. That same year, he purchased a storefront in his hometown, and plans to open additional businesses.
2022/2023: Upcoming releases
In a January 2022 interview with
Vibe, East revealed he had been working on various projects, which he intends to release in the year, the first of which will be
Beloved 2, a sequel to his 2018 joint-album with
Styles P. He also said his next solo project with Def Jam/Mass Appeal will likely be released in February or March. He also confirmed a follow-up to
Survival.
And he has Book of David 2 with Buddha and Grandz, HDIGH 2 with Mike and Keyz, Cool and Dre Collab tape, young chris EP 6 PACC, Pablo and Blanco 2 with Millyz and Arrabmuzik collab tape all in the works.
Artistry
East is known for his raw lyricism and dark storytelling about street life.
He is influenced by,
Styles P,
Jadakiss,
Eminem, Cam'ron,
Big Pun,
Nas, The Notorious B.I.G.,
Raekwon, DMX,
Tupac Shakur,
Snoop Dogg and
The Diplomats.
Personal life
East as a teen joined the Rollin' 30s Harlem Crips, a subset of the larger
Crips gang. East started serving a prison sentence, and during this time he converted to
Islam and considered himself a Muslim.
Commenting on his conversion, East stated; "Islam really brought a discipline to my life that I didn't really have before... My old mindset was if they ain't helping me, I ain't helping them, but you can't live life that way."
East has two daughters with Milagrito "Millie" Colon, Kairi Chanel Brewster born in 2016 and Kobi Chanai Brewster born in 2020.
Discography
-
Survival (2019)
-
Fortune Favors the Bold (2023)
Filmography
| + Television series |
|
| Episode: "Getting Nekkid" |
| Episode: "Under Pressure" |
| Series Regular |
| Ridiculousness | Himself | Season 16, Episode 5 |
| Dave | Himself | Season 2, Episode 7 |
Awards and nominations
|
|
| 2017 | BMI Awards | Social Star | Himself | |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) (as a featured artist) | |
|
External links
