Harlem rap phenomenon, model, actor, and storyteller Dave East returns with an infectious new single and music video entitled “Rich Problems” out now via Def Jam Recordings.
The track entangles bright piano with orchestral samples, building a bold backdrop. Over this soundscape, Dave ponders the duality of success, the game, and life itself. He confesses, “Think I’m always in a good mood, you see me smiling, little devil on my shoulder and he wildin’,” before lamenting, “Bank account great, my homies dying.”
Amidst this lyrical push-and-pull, he lives up to the prescient promise, “F__k ‘viral’, this flow a virus.” The accompanying visual finds him in Abu Dhabi. He pulls up in a baby blue McClaren and raps his truth to the camera in between sweeping vistas of the city’s beauty surrounding him.
Last we checked in with Dave East, he had unveiled the video for his Mary J. Blige-assisted track, “Know How I Feel.”
The track comes from East’s 2020 Karma 3 mixtape, a sequel to Karma (2017) and Karma 2 (2018). The 15-track Karma 3 and its successor, the 23-track Karma 3 Deluxe marked the 10th anniversary of Change Of Plans (2010), the mixtape that many point to as the beginning of East’s ascent.
The intimate video finds East in an introspective mood, relaxing on a couch with a joint and a bottle of whiskey. He enters a therapy session and talks through his issues, effortlessly spelling out his philosophy on the human condition.
Lines like, “Why the fake live a long time and the real die?/They ain’t got no morals/They ain’t got nothin’ they live by,” proves why East is widely considered one of the best rappers to emerge out of New York in the past decade. Blige adds beautiful harmonies to East’s enthralling verses, and in the video, they occasionally come together and perform in a jazz club-inspired room.
Buy or stream “Rich Problems.”