The New York hip hop scene has been stale for a while but it seems like the year of 2015 has been a metaphorical rebirth in the big apple. More well known artists like Jadakiss & Fabolous have been hitting us with heat every Friday, while others like Troy Ave, ASAP Rocky, Styles P, Joey Badass, plus a host of other guys trying to establish themselves have been dropping fire as well. One of those newer names is Dave East and if you aren’t familiar, well you need to pay attention.

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Besides getting major co-signs from New York heavyweights Nas and the Lox, especially after he laid a crazy freestyle over a few of the Lox’s older beats, Dave has been on the grind going back a few years now.

In a recent interview with HHS1987 Dave talked about working with Kevin Durant in his earlier days.

Many may not know Dave East was a basketball star at a young age and that he played for the Richmond Spiders during his college years. During that time, Dave East became good friends with former NBA MVP Kevin Durant. Dave East spoke with us on Durant’s love for music and that one of his projects he worked on during the beginning of his rap career were over Kevin Durant beats. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a Kevin Durant track on Dave East upcoming project.

There are a few rappers out there who think they are the best ball players but the fact Dave played at Richmond and knowing how they always go hard, I would have to doubt anyone could mess with Dave on the court if he still plays.

As for his focus though, he is only concerned about shutting down opponents in the booth. Check out the full interview.