One of New York’s most exciting rap stars, Dave East, has dropped 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.
Karma 3 Deluxe culminated a run for East that saw him move from regional star to nationwide talent. 2019 was a landmark breakthrough year for the MC, with the November release of his first full-length album, Survival (including “Alone” featuring Jacquees; and “Godfather 4” featuring Nas); his starring dramatic portrayal of Method Man in the 10-episode fictionalized HULU mini-series Wu-Tang: An American Saga; the launch of his D2C Store; and the Survival Tour Part 1 in November-December, with sold-out dates in the US, UK, and Europe.
This string of life-changing events for East followed his 2016, which found him joining Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nas, and Aloe Blacc for “Wrote My Way Out” on the critically acclaimed The Hamilton Mixtape. Dave was next heard on “Gold Digger” featuring A-Boogie, from Def Jam’s Direct Deposit Vol. 2 compilation from February of 2017. Wast has continued this epic journey with Karma 3 Deluxe and the album’s breakthrough track, “Know How I Feel.”
