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Dave East has flawlessly recited one of his favorite Nas verses that he learned growing up in New York City.

During an interview with HipHopDX on the Grammys red carpet at the 2023 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, East was asked about the first rap verse he ever memorized that wasnā€™t his own, to which the Harlem rapper picked Nasā€™ 1999 track ā€œYou Wonā€™t See Me Tonightā€ featuring the late Aaliyah.

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When he was then asked to rap the aforementioned verse in its entirety, Dave East didnā€™t hesitate to drop the bars.

ā€œCaramel kisses of Jezebelā€™s sister/ I feel no guilt when I twist ya/ Turn the other cheek when I see the next freak witcha/ You got your name on his lease, copy his keys/ Thatā€™s your lilā€™ spot where you rest your wig piece/ Go ā€˜head and live baby, I know you his lady/ You page me, when you got the day free/ But I be out with my peeps in them system Jeeps/ You wanna lay up in the sheets of presidential suites,ā€ he rapped.

He continued: ā€œLike Iā€™ll massage you while you massage me, mami /But can you hang with a young man whoā€™s doing his thang?/ Speak up, I wanna know if you can keep up/ Timberland boots for girls, with the tree stump/ Baggy sweatsuits, mystery whatā€™s underneath them/ They for my eyes only, you call me when you lonely/ But I like to make the baddest girls wait, I got G baby.ā€

ā€œYou Wonā€™t See Me Tonight,ā€ which was produced by Timbaland, appeared on Nasā€™ third album I Amā€¦ and would mark the only time theĀ Kingā€™s Disease legend would get the chance to work with Aaliyah, who died in a tragic plane crash in 2001.

Dave Eastā€™s relationship with Nas is well-documented at this point. The pair initially linked up early on in the formerā€™s career due to his close relationship with Nasā€™ brother Jungle, which led to Esco signing East to Mass Appeal Records in 2014.

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ā€œWe just was cool on that shit,ā€ East previously told DX. ā€œAnd [Jungle] caught wind because the hood was like, ā€˜Yo, heā€™s just fire,ā€™ just off the little tapes I was putting out. Once he caught wind of it, he like, ā€˜Nah, son, I didnā€™t even know you was on it like that.ā€™ He put Nas on and the rest is history. Iā€™ve been doing me since then.ā€

On the music side of things, Dave East dropped off his Gangsta Grillz mixtapeĀ Book of David last November, while Nas is reportedly already hard at work on Kingā€™s Disease 4, despite having just released the seriesā€™ third installment last November as well.

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Nasā€™ own decorated catalog came into the conversation in January when fans began debating who had the best verse on his 2002 ā€œMade You Lookā€ remix, which also featured JadakissĀ andĀ Ludacris. Luda laid claim to the honor byĀ reciting his bars word for word in an effort to remind fans just how powerful his lyrics were.

ā€œMan, I picked up my phone today and saw that the Luda fans chose violence and Iā€™m loving every minute of it. So letā€™s add to the debate online about the ā€˜Made You Lookā€™ song, the remix, the verses just in case they missed a line or something,ā€ he said in an Instagram video before diving into his verse.

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Irv Gotti is among those who still treasure the original ā€œMade You Look,ā€ which appeared on Nasā€™ sixth albumĀ Godā€™s Son. During a recent appearance on theĀ Earn Your LeisureĀ podcast, the Murder Inc. founderĀ crowned it the ā€œbest Hip Hop recordā€ of all time.

ā€œā€˜Made You Lookā€™ may be the best Hip Hop record. He has the best Hip Hop album and the best Hip Hop single. The best Hip Hop record might be ā€˜Made You Look,ā€™ā€ Gotti declared.

Revisit Nas and Aaliyahā€™s ā€œYou Wonā€™t See Me Tonightā€ below: