Dave East has credited J. Cole for improving his recording process for his upcoming album.
Speaking to HipHopDX at the 2023 Grammy Awards, the New York rapper recalled the time Cole pulled up to his video shoot and how he helped him out in the studio when it comes to using his vocals.
“I took a lot from that,” he said. “Just his whole energy, you know what I mean? For him to be who he is at the level he’s at and give me that game like that, give me that little bit of advice just to help my own shit out.”
He added: “I definitely apply it to what I got going on. My new album, you definitely going to hear some of that in there. But yeah, big shout out to J. Cole.”
J. Cole showed up at Dave East’s video shoot in Los Angeles in 2020, with DMX also making a separate appearance. In a previous interview with Apple Music‘s Ebro Darden, East explained how Cole made a point about his rap voice.
“I got a chance to lock in with J. Cole, just me and him in the studio with the engineer,” he said. “And he asked that same question, like, ‘Bro, I’m a fan of what you do, I really respect your pen, but you rap with one tone.’ And I really sat and listened to myself, and a lot of my shit is one tone.
“Me and him in the studio testing tones. He’s just really seeing how high I can take my voice, how low I can take it, and then he just was like, ‘Apply that to your music. Watch the difference.’
“That’s just something I gotta keep working at, keep working at. I think it will be something dope to add to my music.”
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During his conversation with HipHopDX, Dave East also revealed his top three mixtapes of all time, listing off Styles P‘s Ghost in the Machine, Jadakiss‘ The Champ Is Here and any one of Lil Wayne‘s tapes.
He also said Nas‘ “You Won’t See Me Tonight” featuring Aaliyah was the first verse he learned off by heart, and recited it flawlessly off by heart.
Dave East released his debut album Survival on Nas’ Mass Appeal Records and Def Jam Recordings in 2019 with features from Rick Ross, Lil Baby, Gunna, Fabolous, DJ Premier and more.
