Is it just me or is there is something very "off" about Dave East's flow

[Pier7]

I was just bumping that Fab mixtape (lol here come the jokes), and he was featured on the last joint, and it dawned on me. Something is very unauthentic and jagged about Dave's flow. Its almost as if, he aint really grow up in NY or something. He doesnt have the natural smooth NY cadence that most NYC mc's posses.

I remember him saying he spent alot of his formative years in Baltimore, so that may be it. Sometimes when he raps it comes off like he is trying to force a NY flow rather than actually possessing it. Overall he has the complete package, but If you compare him to his contemporaries you can see what im talking about.

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Even Troy Ave got a colder flow

 

[McSpacey]

Naw it's just u

 

[mson]

First time I've heard anyone say that.

 

[Pier7]

First time I've heard anyone say that.

Maybe its cause I listened to alot of east coast MCs growing up and I got a predisposed reflex memory to what im hearing. But East flow sounds jarring to me.

Sounds like he is trying to rap like Styles P but not as smoothly.

 

[wingstop]

dave east is average as fukk. he is just another troy ave

 

[L&HH]

He moved from NY in his early teens and was in Bmore/md until his early 20s (played ball at Towson for. Year or two) so that could be it

 

[EASTATLJERU]

i like dave and troy ave. But i do know nothing about either of those guys are spectacular in the least bit. Flows abd lyrics all basic.

 

[MJ Truth]

I don't know about him being inauthentic but I don't think there's anything special about him.

 

[NV-ME]

he turned the corner w/ hate me now. before he just sounded like another ny rapper, which isnt necc a bad thing, but now he sounds like an artist. his flow is a lil different, but thats a good thing. hate to always compare him to vado, but vado's flow is one that i can point to and as something i could never get behind.

 

[Pier7]

Ya kno what, I think I know what it is with him. Rapwise its like sometimes he goes in and sometime he doesnt. Its like he aint going 100% at all times. So that type of flow doesnt translate well on busy beats, but shines on more empty type instrumentals.

For instance you can hear the east coast flow in him on here.

 

[Soundbwoy]

dave east is average as fukk. he is just another troy ave

naw I see him blowing up a la Fab

 

[boskey]

He moved from NY in his early teens and was in Bmore/md until his early 20s (played ball at Towson for. Year or two) so that could be it

Low key a Silver Spring artist...just like Logic lol.

But I fukk with his mixtape

 

[LOOPY]

Ya kno what, I think I know what it is with him. Rapwise its like sometimes he goes in and sometime he doesnt. Its like he aint going 100% at all times.

This is really it. I was just talking to my NY homies bout this the other day. Dave east is gonna blow big.

But not cause of his raps. It's cause he has all the other intangibles of a star (looks, height, cosign, background,story etc. ).

So in turn he doesn't really rely on his technical skills as much. He ain't going at 100 cuz he doesn't have to

For instance compare these two remixes with him and Armani.

They both went in on the same beat, but you can see the vast difference in flow, lyrics n delivery. One is trying while the other is floating.

 

[SirBiatch]

Dave East is

 

[TheRtist]

he fell off eventually on this one but the first half was Godly