Dave East Flawlessly Raps Nas Verse He Memorized Growing Up

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Dave East has flawlessly recited one of his favorite Nas verses that he learned growing up in New York City.

During an interview with HipHopDX on the Grammys red carpet at the 2023 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, East was asked about the first rap verse he ever memorized that wasn’t his own, to which the Harlem rapper picked Nas’ 1999 track “You Won’t See Me Tonight” featuring the late Aaliyah.

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When he was then asked to rap the aforementioned verse in its entirety, Dave East didn’t hesitate to drop the bars.

“Caramel kisses of Jezebel’s sister/ I feel no guilt when I twist ya/ Turn the other cheek when I see the next freak witcha/ You got your name on his lease, copy his keys/ That’s your lil’ spot where you rest your wig piece/ Go ‘head and live baby, I know you his lady/ You page me, when you got the day free/ But I be out with my peeps in them system Jeeps/ You wanna lay up in the sheets of presidential suites,” he rapped.

He continued: “Like I’ll massage you while you massage me, mami /But can you hang with a young man who’s doing his thang?/ Speak up, I wanna know if you can keep up/ Timberland boots for girls, with the tree stump/ Baggy sweatsuits, mystery what’s underneath them/ They for my eyes only, you call me when you lonely/ But I like to make the baddest girls wait, I got G baby.”

“You Won’t See Me Tonight,” which was produced by Timbaland, appeared on Nas’ third album I Am… and would mark the only time the King’s Disease legend would get the chance to work with Aaliyah, who died in a tragic plane crash in 2001.

Dave East’s relationship with Nas is well-documented at this point. The pair initially linked up early on in the former’s career due to his close relationship with Nas’ brother Jungle, which led to Esco signing East to Mass Appeal Records in 2014.

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“We just was cool on that shit,” East previously told DX. “And [Jungle] caught wind because the hood was like, ‘Yo, he’s just fire,’ just off the little tapes I was putting out. Once he caught wind of it, he like, ‘Nah, son, I didn’t even know you was on it like that.’ He put Nas on and the rest is history. I’ve been doing me since then.”

On the music side of things, Dave East dropped off his Gangsta Grillz mixtape Book of David last November, while Nas is reportedly already hard at work on King’s Disease 4, despite having just released the series’ third installment last November as well.

Nas’ own decorated catalog came into the conversation in January when fans began debating who had the best verse on his 2002 “Made You Look” remix, which also featured Jadakiss and Ludacris. Luda laid claim to the honor by reciting his bars word for word in an effort to remind fans just how powerful his lyrics were.

“Man, I picked up my phone today and saw that the Luda fans chose violence and I’m loving every minute of it. So let’s add to the debate online about the ‘Made You Look’ song, the remix, the verses just in case they missed a line or something,” he said in an Instagram video before diving into his verse.

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Irv Gotti is among those who still treasure the original “Made You Look,” which appeared on Nas’ sixth album God’s Son. During a recent appearance on the Earn Your Leisure podcast, the Murder Inc. founder crowned it the “best Hip Hop record” of all time.

“‘Made You Look’ may be the best Hip Hop record. He has the best Hip Hop album and the best Hip Hop single. The best Hip Hop record might be ‘Made You Look,’” Gotti declared.

Revisit Nas and Aaliyah’s “You Won’t See Me Tonight” below: