Harlem rapper Dave East has linked with fellow New Yorkers Harry Fraud and Westside Gunn for his forthcoming project, HOFFA, which will be entirely produced by Fraud, with Gunn hopping on board as a curator. The project is slated to drop on July 21. The album’s announcement was released in conjunction with East’s appearance at Westside Gunn’s Buffalo Kids Gallery event this past Saturday (June 12). There, the pair revealed the album’s artwork, a portrait of East inspired by union boss Jimmy Hoffa, painted by artist Mariella Angela. East also shared a recap of the Buffalo Kids Gallery event, which featured art curated by the Buffalo Kids and Gunn himself and backed by a clip of “Stone Killer”—his 2020 Karma 3 collaboration with Griselda spitter Benny The Butcher.
While additional details surrounding HOFFA are scarce, East’s musical output has been the exact opposite, as the rapper has kept his foot on the pedal since the release of his aforementioned mixtape. Unleashing frequent drops freestyling over instrumentals inspired by tracks like G-Dep’s “Child of the Ghetto” and Cam’ron’s “You Gotta Love It,” East’s ascent up the rap food chain hasn’t repressed his desire to flex his lyrical chops for sport as he continues to cater to his core base of bar enthusiasts, one Eastmix at a time.
Fraud’s work on HOFFA comes on the heels of his production on projects from Benny The Butcher (The Plugs I Met 2), Jim Jones (The Fraud Department), and Curren$y (The Outrunners). Proclaiming himself the “Great Orchestrator,” Westside Gunn—who assumed executive producer duties on Mach-Hommy’s recent release, Pray For Haiti—previously tapped East to appear on the soundtrack to the Griselda flick Conflicted, and rap alongside frequent collaborator Jonezy on the track, “Welcome Home DMX.”
Check out the album artwork for HOFFA’s, as well as East’s recap of the Buffalo Kids event, below.