Dave East

David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), known professionally as Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 for his eighth mixtape, Black Rose. Its release caught the attention of fellow New York rapper Nas, who signed East to a recording contract with his label Mass Appeal Records in 2014, which entered a joint venture with Def Jam Recordings two years later. 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, Paranoia: A True Story (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 and served as his final release with Def Jam. 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 Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019), where he portrays Method Man.