Dave East Drops Debut Studio Album 'Survival' Ft. Nas, Rick Ross & Teyana Taylor

Photo Credit: YouTube

The New York rapper shared that Nipsey Hussle's death earlier this year stopped him from recording.

Dave East has dropped his debut studio album Survival which follows the release of his impressive catalog of three EPs and 14 mixtapes. Equipped with features by Nas, DJ Premier and Ty Dolla $ign to name a few, the album is a reflective project on East's current head space.

In a recent interview with Revolt, the Harlem bred rapper shared that Nipsey Hussle's death stopped him from recording. He didn't become fully content with the album until August after he recorded his tribute to Hussle "The Marathon Continues."

When speaking of stepping back from recording he shared:

"I was fucked up. I didn’t want to record. I had music that I already had done. But, a lot of people don’t understand. They ask, ‘Why did you push Survival back so long?’ [Nipsey’s death] fucked me up, bro. I didn’t want to drop any new music. My boy had so much shit he was going to put out. I’m glad the acting shit came when it came because it took me out of that space. I didn’t want to put out any music. But, now, it’s time. That n***a said, ‘You tripping, cuz. Put that shit out.’ So, I finally got the label in tune and everyone on the same page."

Survival is executive produced by Nas, according to Complex. Prior to its release, a YouTube documentary series was rolled out highlighting the journey it took to create the album. The project also comes with features by Lil Baby, Rick Ross, The-Dream, Teyana Taylor and more.

Stream Survival below.