This is the 5th studio LP from Harlem emcee Dave East. Breaking out in 2014 off his 8th mixtape Black Rose, this resulted in the man signing a joint deal with Def Jam Recordings & even Nas’ independently owned Mass Appeal Records as well as a spot in the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class. However, his full-length debut Survival wouldn’t come out until 3 years later & was very disappointing in the sense that he tried appealing to a more mainstream audience that just didn’t exist. The Harry Fraud produced sophomore effort Hoffa proved to be better as did his final Def Jam offering Fortune Favors the Bold & APT 6E produced by Mike & Keys marked a return to his independent roots, so hearing would be Living Proof fully laced by araabMUZIK gave me a feeling it would be one of the most essential listening experiences of Dave’s career.
“Percocet” is the synthesizer driven boom bap intro talking about there not being any better feeling re-uppin’ whereas “Bet My Life” shifts towards a cloudy trap direction instrumentally flexing that he’s on his 2nd-wind. “Solid N****z” featuring Cruch Calhoun gives off a bit of a victorious flare to the beat as they tell the difference between the real & the cowards. I also owe Cruch an apology for what I said in regards to his verse on “The Win” when Hoffa dropped, I was wrong & I own up to that.
Fabolous joins Dave for the orchestrally hardcore “Buss Down” to discuss all that they ever wanted was a Rollie so they got some prior to “Walk wit Me” working in a bit of a jazz rap vibe for the instrumental advising y’all to take a walk with him real quick. “Lift ‘Em Up” featuring Benny the Butcher returns to a symphonic edge talking about having better patience & only broke people think money can solve problems, but then “Roll Up” pulls influence from jazz music once again not knowing too many living the life he does.
“Joe Jackson” featuring O.T. the Real starts the other half of Living Proof with both of them cautioning that rappers acting like something they’re not is what leads to them getting shot while “All I Know” heads back for a trap direction putting on for shit that he could die for. “Same Shit” featuring Giggs finds the 2 boasting they’re still with exact same group of homies they came up with while “Everything for Sale” featuring Ransom samples “To the Other Man” by Luther Ingram admitting they’ve done bad & grew better.
Starting the final leg of the LP on a psychedelic note, “The Love Fake” tackles themes of envy and no smut being put on his legacy once he’s gone while the luxurious trap flavored “Run Down” featuring Millyz talks going through it in the midst of everyone else not understanding it whatsoever. “The Other Side” pushes towards the final moments exuberantly warning that money ain’t a thing since you can’t take it with ya & “Barbara” ends by telling the titular person that he misses her.
Highlighting the shared vision & chemistry of both collaborators, Living Proof delivers one of the year’s standout releases & of course amongst the most important high points in the 2016 XXL Freshman’s career. araabMUZIK’s signature production throughout is a lot more consistent that it was on APT 6E pulling from boom bap to trap, chipmunk soul & jazz rap making more than enough room for Dave East to go harder lyrically than he did during the summer.
Score: 8/10
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