Dave East appeared on My Expert Opinion where he recalled receiving a co-sign from Nas live on New York Radio.
Coming up in his early days, Dave East was building momentum as he prepared himself to be one of the hottest artists coming out of New York. At one point East would’ve had to pay a fee to get heard on the radio, but that all changed for the ‘How We Livin‘ rapper when he got that one co-sign from a hip hop legend.
“I’m in the woods chilling, smoking. I come back to the block. N***** is like, Nas just said your name on the radio,” said Dave East who at the time was not believing what he was being told. But it was indeed true. Nas appearing on Power 105.1 was interviewed by Angie Martinez, where the hip hop legend spoke about taking over Mass Appeal. Running down the list of new artists who would be featured on the new revamped label, Nas mentioned Dave East. “Shoutout to my man Dave East. That’s a real new one. I can’t really talk about that one yet,” said Nas.
Nas initially became aware of the New York rapper through a business partner. “I see similarities between me and Dave, because he comes from the curb. He gives me that, kind of nostalgic to the 90s era,” Nas explained during an interview.
“And Nas helped me have something. After that, you gotta talk to me a little differently. That changed everything,” explained Dave East on My Expert Opinion. “So from there on it was up.” Nas and Dave East would go to collaborate on various songs such as the 2017 hit “The Hated,” produced by Brooklyn producer Joe Joe Beats.
Prior to the Nas shoutout, Dave East was only played on the radio in the late nights thanks to DJ Kay Slay. “So after him, n***** start feeling themselves,” recalled Dave East. “So by the time Clue got it, Flex got it and all these other Dj’s got it, I was very appreciative of it, but it wasn’t the same exact excitement as I caught… Slay was the first n****. I was running around screaming.”
Dubbed as the outlet for the hood, DJ Kay Slay became aware of East thanks to DJ Radio. From there on Kay Slay as he did with so many artists, kept his loyalty and kept Dave East’s music on rotation. Sadly, Kay Slay passed away at the age of 55 after months of battling COVID-19. The beloved DJ passed away on April 17th.