2010–2013: Beginnings In 2010, he released his first mixtape
Change of Plans which gained him minor local recognition. He later released the mixtapes
Insomnia,
American Greed, ''Don't Sleep
and No Regrets
, solidifying his commitment to music. In 2013, East periodically sold drugs throughout Harlem to support himself and his music. He then released his sixth mixtape, Gemini'' in April of that year.
2014–2016: Mass Appeal signing and Kairi Chanel In 2014, his music caught the attention of prominent hometown native
Nas, who soon looked for ways to contact East. Unbeknownst to Nas, East was close friends with Nas' younger brother and fellow rapper Jungle, who quickly introduced the two. By mid-2014, East was signed to Nas through his newfound record label,
Mass Appeal Records. In 2015, he released his eighth mixtape
Hate Me Now, which gained further recognition and high-profile guest appearances from label boss Nas, as well as
Pusha T, and two-thirds of
The Lox;
Jadakiss and
Styles P. In June 2016,
XXL magazine revealed their annual Freshman Class for 2016, which included East, along with
G Herbo,
21 Savage,
Kodak Black,
Lil Uzi Vert,
Lil Yachty,
Desiigner,
Lil Dicky,
Denzel Curry, and
Anderson Paak. The following month, he performed on the Freshman Cypher along with G Herbo, hosted by Philadelphia-based disc jockey,
DJ Drama. In August 2016, he released a joint
extended play with rapper Kur titled
Born Broke, Die Rich. In September 2016, East performed at the
BET Hip Hop Awards cypher alongside Young M.A.,
Ms. Jade, Kur and Sam Black. In September 2016, he signed a joint venture record deal with
Def Jam Recordings negotiated by hop executive Steven "Steve-O" Carless, and the next day released the mixtape
Kairi Chanel, which peaked at number 38 on the US
Billboard 200. The mixtape featured guest appearances from
Fabolous,
the Game,
The Diplomats,
Cam'ron,
Beanie Sigel, and
2 Chainz.
2017–2018: Acting debut and Paranoia 2 In January 2017, East made his acting debut, starring in
BET's
Being Mary Jane series. In August 2017, East released his the EP,
Paranoia: A True Story, supported by the singles "Perfect" featuring singer
Chris Brown, "Paranoia" along with
Jeezy, and "Phone Jumpin" with
Wiz Khalifa. The EP peaked at number nine on the
Billboard 200. Later in the year East then released his eleventh mixtape,
Karma which was hosted by DJ Holiday. This was the beginning of the
Karma series. This tape featured tracks such as "Militant" with Bronx rapper,
Don Q.
Chris Brown also reappeared on "Bentley Truck" track which was also featured on the Karma tape. In September 2017, East hosted the first annual Goldie Awards, a DJ and producer battle set taking place in New York City. East began the new year by releasing his twelfth mixtape
Paranoia 2. on January 15, 2018. In the following month, East signed a sponsorship with
Belaire Rose. The signing of this deal led up to a promotional music video for the brand with his song, "Fresh Prince of Belaire" by
Rick Ross featuring East. March 2018, East signed an endorsement deal with
New Era Cap launching his new "lifestyle" 59fifty fitted collection. Shortly after his newly found endorsement, East was featured in New Era's "Claim the Crown" commercial along with some of the top MLB players
Javier Báez and
Jose Altuve, as well as record producer,
Mike Will Made It. As things continued to look up for East, he released his thirteenth mixtape,
Karma 2 on July 27, 2018. The project mixtape featured artists including
Lil Durk,
Gunna and
BlocBoy JB, as well as close affiliates
Kiing Shooter and Border Buck. Although the project failed to reach the same success as his studio album, managed to peak at number 41 on the
Billboard 200. In the same calendar year, he released his fifteenth mixtape,
Beloved, which saw him join his personal-favorite rapper,
Styles P. The tape exposed and expressed the gritty street life of New York City.
2019–2021: Survival and Karma 3 East made his movie debut in the Netflix film
Beats (2019) in which he had a supporting role as "Mister Ford". His breakthrough acting role came in the Hulu series
Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019) where he portrays
Method Man as a series regular. In September 2019, it was confirmed that East would have a supporting role in the film
Boogie (2021). After a night in Las Vegas gone wrong, East was pulled from the film. The role of "Monk" was recast and eventually played by
Pop Smoke. In 2019, he was featured on the single "
Is U Down" by
Pvrx and appeared as a guest vocalist on the single "Taxin" by
DJ Shadow. He released a two part promotional release titled
Survival Pacc with the singles "Everyday" featuring
Gunna on and "Wanna Be a G" featuring
Max B on August 1, 2019, as a pre-release for his debut album. On October 4, 2019, East released the single "Alone" featuring
Jacquees to support the release of his then upcoming debut album. He released the album,
Survival, on November 8, 2019, through
Def Jam Recordings,
Mass Appeal Records, and his own label From the Dirt. It features
guest appearances from
Teyana Taylor,
Rick Ross,
Nas,
The-Dream,
Lil Baby, amongst others. East also started his first world tour in release of the album, titled the Survival Tour which spanned from November 22, 2019 — December 20, 2019. On March 8, 2020, East announced that he was working on the third installment in the
Karma series of mixtapes. The mixtape cover featured background images of East with the now late rappers
Nipsey Hussle and
Pop Smoke, and East stated that he and Nipsey were making plans to create a collaborative project prior to his death. The album was initially set to be titled
Thoughts of a Menace, however it was changed to simply
Karma 3. Like his previous album, it was released via Def Jam and Mass Appeal. He released the lead single of the mixtape, "Really wit Me", on March 12, 2020. Numerous people, including
Korey Wise made a cameo in the music video.
Karma 3 was released on August 14, 2020, to critical acclaim. A deluxe version of the mixtape followed on October 23, 2020, with features from
Dej Loaf,
Junior Reid,
Chris Brown and
G Herbo, as well as the "Handsome" remix featuring
Jeezy. On July 30, 2021, East and producer
Harry Fraud released a collaborative album titled
Hoffa. That same year, he purchased a
storefront in his hometown, and plans to open additional businesses.
2022-2025: Various collaboration albums In a January 2022 interview with
Vibe, East revealed he had been working on various projects, which he intends to release in the year, the first of which will be
Beloved 2, a sequel to his 2018 joint-album with
Styles P. He also said his next solo project with Def Jam/Mass Appeal will likely be released in February or March. He also confirmed a follow-up to
Survival. == Artistry ==