Paranoia is real.
Nearly a year after releasing Kairi Chanel to the masses, Dave East is back in action with the highly-anticipated follow-up, Paranoia: A True Story.
An appetizer to his official debut album, the project finds East diving into the pits of his newfound fame and battling his demons head-on throughout nine tracks (packaged with four skits) with help from Nas, Jeezy, Wiz Khalifa, French Montana and Chris Brown — who appears on the lead single, “Perfect.”
Sitting down with Billboard, Dave East was asked what he’s most paranoid about. His answer, below, is a perfect insight into the mindset the East Harlem emcee was in while putting together his latest project.
“Just ’cause of how fast my life changes. It changed overnight, but it didn’t happen overnight. It kind of flipped quick. I was in the projects one day and then I was gone. Me being a father, I feel like I’m her sole protector more than anybody on Earth. That had me paranoid. Like I always gotta get back to her. I always gotta be in a position where I’m not jeopardizing no time away from her that I’m not making no money.
“The streets. Just people. I don’t be knowing what that love like. I don’t know if that sh-t is genuine. I don’t know no more. So I kind of try to keep the same exact people around me. I’m paranoid about leaving a life that I know I became so comfortable in. I was comfortable with walking to the stores. Just chilling on the block and smoking. I can’t do that no more. You can’t turn fame off regardless if you’re a platinum-selling artist or you’re in jail every week. If you’re famous, you’re famous. You’re in the headlines either way you go.”
Check out Paranoia: A True Story on Apple Music or Spotify.
Along with the album release, Dave East also dropped a video for “My Dirty Little Secret.” Directed by Fred Focus.
