Dave East Celebrates Buying His First Store in Harlem, Says Nipsey Hussle 'Laid the Blueprint'

Dave East is now the proud owner of a convenience store in Harlem.

The 33-year-old rapper took to Instagram on Sunday to announce the news with a post in which he credited the late Nipsey Hussle with inspiring his drive.

“Bought my first store today,” Dave East captioned a photo of himself holding a set of keys while posing in his new store. “I told Nipsey he laid the blueprint for real ones everywhere. Wish Shooter could see this shit. Coming soon 2022. Couldn’t have made this happen without @queenofharlem The realest!”

East’s real estate agent Michelle Smalls also posted a clip of the rapper inside his newly acquired store. “Thank you @daveeast for trusting me with your real estate needs,” Smalls wrote in the post. “You kept it 100 and in return i saved you 70k. So proud of you. Time to buy the block.

Dave East has never shied away from displaying his admiration for Nip. Days after the Crenshaw rapper was fatally shot outside of his Marathon Clothing store in March 2019, East honored his friend by hosting a candlelight vigil in NYC.

“Have One Rolled When I See U Cuz. Till Next Time NAYBAHOOD NIP,” the Harlem native wrote in a series of Instagram posts. “Nip Woulda Did The Same Shit For Me. Love U Cuzzy on ROLLIN.”

Later that year, East told Revolt TV that he was working on a collaborative project with Nipsey prior to his untimely death.

“We were six songs in,” East said of the project. “We were planning a tour and all of that. Fuck rap. I’m going to keep it 100. That was my n***a. Anything we did together or anytime I had to be around that n***a, I cherish it. It’s wack he went out like that. That n***a’s a king. Kings ain’t supposed to go out like that. But, that’s the world we’re living in. It’s wack he went out like that, but it sharpened me and a million other n***as up. He went out like a G.”