Dave East is back with his much anticipated third installment to his Karma series, fifteen tracks on Karma 3. An artist whose discography seems limitless. This mixtape is diverse, a mixture of trap beats as on, “Said What I Said” Feat. Doe Boy, 90’s inspired oldskool beats on “Know How I feel” Feat. Mary J Blige, to the more surprising dancehall inspired one on “Unruly” feat. Popcaan. Each lyric on this album is delivered with sincere authenticity, for which was respect East, he says it how it is, he doesn’t glorify violence, he highlights its pitfalls.

“The City” Feat. Trey Songz incorporates the samples used by Jay-Z on his own track, “Heart of The City (Aint No Love)” originally by Bobby Bland. East breaks down the lack of love he has received for becoming successful, “now everyday I wake up someone got a problem with Dave, cause I’m livin’ a little better”. No matter what you do, people will always be less supportive, a theme which is strong throughout this mixtape.

On “Handsome” East addresses how he became more attractive as his fame rocketed, but he is not naive enough to be distracted by the facades. He’s been in the game long enough to know how to keep focused and he knows where he wants to be, and we believe he will get there.

“Envy” is a tale of East’s coming up from nothing and being mindful of the jealous haters around him now, “I came up from nothing, I really did it off the block, shoot for the stars I just pray I don’t get shot. I know they envy me”. He’s letting us know he hasn’t left the streets behind as he raps, “now when I pose for pictures still got my jail pose”. The line “First class flight to London I was drunk walking through Heathrow” resonated with me, seeing East tipsy at his London show, this line reminded me of Nas’s “stumble through customs” on his track “White Label” as a juxtaposition of artists who have come so far refusing to conform to expectations on how to behave, but not letting it affect their artistry.

Collaborating with the queen of soul, Mary J Blige on “Know How I feel” East brings back those 90’s New York vibes in the modern day and I’m here for it. East goes deep as he references his feelings over the death of Nipsey Hustle,  “Streets tricky, the way they did Nipsey, shit shocked me for real”. East poses rhetorical questions about the tribulations of life over a piano loop, “Why the fake live a long time and the real die? They ain't got no morals, they ain't got nothin' they live by (Nothin')”.

Karma 3 showcases Dave East as a consistent storyteller, sharing memories and stories of resilience and determination to succeed. We also see the more vulnerable side to East, having lost Nipsey Hustle not so long ago and more recently his best friend Kiing Shooter, there is a lot of pain on this album in him processing his loss. It’s personal and it’s gritty. We know he has been through a lot, but that is only going to make him work harder and never forget where he came from the streets of Harlem and those who came up with him, as the photo of him and his friends on the album cover depicts.

Words - Faizah Haider