Dave East follows up on last year’s Kairi Chanel mixtape with Paranoia: A True Story, his first project on Def Jam.
The Harlem rapper calls on several famous friends including Chris Brown (“Perfect”), Jeezy (“Paranoia”), Wiz Khalifa (“Phone Jumping”), and French Montana (“Maneuver”) for the 11 tracks. Dave’s mentor Nas also lends a hand on “They Hated.”
According to East, the project is meant to explain what he’s been going through lately. “It’s my first release with Def Jam,” he told Power 105. “It’s not my debut album. It’s just really bringing people up to date, from me being signed with Mass Appeal, Nas’ label, to me doing the partnership with Def Jam.”
Paranoia also showcases his experimentation and evolution as an MC. “I feel like I’ve been really just exploring me and different sounds,” he told Billboard. “I’ve worked with different producers that I hadn’t worked with before. So it was really just me like just growing in life and you know, my music is gon’ grow with me.”
Stream Paranoia: A True Story below.