White Dave

There is a lot behind White Dave that makes his new EP, “Black Rapper” the perfect title. For starters, he is real about Beyoncé.
“She is the Jordan of this music shit, there have been no missteps,” said White Dave. “I would love for my career to read like Beyoncé.”

The work he did on the “Creed” soundtrack was one of his biggest projects, said White Dave. After that, he said everything started to come together and that’s when he knew he was in the music industry.

“Every time I score something like that, I realize I made the right decision, It can be scary to take that leap of faith because that’s what it took for me to want to make music for a living, and I am realizing that is what it takes if you want to be great, nobody was great sitting on their front porch” said White Dave.

Along with that White Dave has more to say about his EP, “Black Rapper” and how he makes his music.

How did you get the name White Dave?

“I used to get roasted and shit about how I talk, how I dress, and the things I was into, but it never really bothered me, and my brother gave me the rap name and told me I need to use the negative shit that people say against me and make it worthy,” said White Dave.

What was it like when Marshawn Lynch showed up to be in your music video?

“That shit was lit to keep it real, the thing about Marshawn he is a celebrity, that’s what makes him so personable is you see him on the block all the time, but for him to pull up and be a part of something that I put together was super tight,” said White Dave.

How do you want your music to be heard?

“Every song you turn on it is going to be a fresh dose, what’s cool about my new EP is that I have never rapped on these type of beats before,” said White Dave.
Images: Justin Francis

Images: Justin Francis

Do you want to experience with different genres in your songs?

“Oh, absolutely I’ll keep it a buck 50 with you brother, I love rap, rap is fucking incredible, but I can’t wait to really spread my wings and show people what I can really do, I would be a fool to say I just wanted to rap for the rest of my life, but I’ve written rock, pop, r&b, and alternative songs, nothing is off limits,” said White Dave.

What Style is White Dave bringing to music?

“What I am bringing to music is authenticity, I feel like a lot of artists in rap are kind of treating it like reality tv, they are doing what the fans expect them to do,” said White Dave. “For me, I am the type of artist and type of person that is going to do me regardless, and I think being authentic in the industry is more important than anything, I am a real life reflection of my music.” - StonyJammer

There are few things worse than being on the wrong end of a roasting session. Your face gets warm and your palms sweat, while the laughs of your friends pierce your ego. Yet no one will laugh at you if you own everything about you. Today, White Dave has released his debut EP Black Rapper. Playing on the oxymoronic take of his blackness as contrasted by his name, Dave, partnered with Fresno-based producer, Kev H., to release a 17-minute laissez-faire epilogue to heightened stoner culture.

“I used to get roasted for the music. I’m not even going to lie to you, I didn’t start making music that was undeniably good until I was well into college,” says White Dave. Everybody gets roasted sometimes, but fewer people get inspired by it.

Born Noah David Coogler, White Dave grew up in Richmond, CA where he stood out from his peers even as a child. “People used to always say ‘You act and talk like Carlton Banks from Fresh Prince,” says the 28-year-old. As a black kid growing up in the Bay, specifically in the city where Master P gassed up his No Limit tank, Dave’s perceived lack of a rough edge made him a target. “That was like the go to insult. The other one was ‘Oreo.’ It was exacerbated by the fact that I’m from Richmond, and you know stereotypically n*ggas from Richmond don’t act like me,” says Dave. So no, White Dave isn’t white. The moniker is just an extension of the proudly black Noah David Coogler, who happens to march to the beat of a different 808.

About that name. It was given to him by his older brother who also has a very recognizable name for different reasons–he’s the award-winning director of Fruitvale Station, Black Panther, and Creed, Ryan Coogler. White Dave initially began rapping, producing, and recording his own music at 12 using the stage name Noah David. Years later, as a 20-year-old, he found himself still grappling with some of the same negative comments from his peers that he endured as a child.

Today, White Dave delivers a 6-track EP that shows his cohesion over familiar landscapes, while he explores a newer sound and incredible groove. Stream Black Rapper on all streaming platforms now. - The Hype Magazine

It’s a wet, frigid and very late night on an Atlanta music video set, and the crew is feeling it. Specifically, Hollywood wunderkind Ryan Coogler is concerned about the artist, instructing him to zip up his coat.

But despite being one of the hottest writer-directors in the industry, Coogler is merely an observer tonight, having quietly sneaked onto the set to support younger brother Noah—better known as rapper White Dave—as he films the video for his most recent single, “Nervous.”

Youngest brother Keenan is also on hand; between takes, the three dance and clown with one another in the rainy streets. It’s a rare glimpse at what the brothers may have been like as boys growing up in the Bay Area city of Richmond, Calif.

In fact, it was a childhood trope that prompted Ryan to rechristen the artist formerly known as Noah David as “White Dave.” Noah tells The Root: “Coming up, a lot of people used to try to discredit my blackness and discredit my ‘down-ness,’ because they said I talked ‘white.’ And it used to get under my skin a lot when I was younger. [Ryan] was like, ‘Yeah, but you should use something that somebody used to use against you; turn it into something valuable.’”

Married to my city,
put the Riches on the map,
I put the Riches on the map …

Transformation is the theme of The Season of the Rich mixtape, Noah’s homage to Richmond, a beloved but troubled enclave in which the Coogler boys were raised with a strict focus on athletics and academics by parents Jocelyn and Ira. The family’s “Perform well, play hard” ethic was vital in keeping their three sons off the streets and on the straight and narrow.

Now 26, Noah has a deeper appreciation for being sheltered from some grim realities. He says:

There was a lot of stuff going on in my neighborhood and in my city that I wasn’t aware of, simply because my parents did their best to keep us out of it. I tell my parents “thank you” every day because they had three sons and raised them up in Richmond. I read a statistic that said 1 in 3 black boys raised in an urban environment end up either dead or in jail. I think my folks did a really good job, if that’s the case.

Richmond’s a very violent city. And I remember—I was in either sixth or seventh grade—there was a football star from our city; his name was Terrance Kelly, from De La Salle [High School]. He had just signed to Oregon State; he was one of the biggest recruits in the country. Somebody shot and killed him while he was outside of his cousin’s house.

At that point, my parents were telling us how nobody’s safe, it doesn’t matter who you are. Nobody cares who you are. He was kinda like a spokesman for the kids of Richmond. He was the one who was gonna get out and make it.

These days, Richmond has another hometown hero in Ryan Coogler, whose recent trailer for Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther movie not only left us collectively clamoring for its February 2018 release but also threatened to overshadow Game 4 of the NBA Finals altogether.

But despite his own success, big brother Ryan—or “Dad No. 2,” as Noah fondly calls him—has a sincere interest in fostering his brother’s career, too, giving him his first recording equipment, early placements on the Fruitvale Station and Creed soundtracks, and introducing him to publicist and manager Cali Green, who worked with the elder Coogler as an event producer on the #JusticeforFlint benefit.

“When you meet [Noah], you root for him,” she says.

Speaking with Noah, one clearly hears the passion for music that began when he was an 8- or 9-year-old spitting his first rhyme to an instrumental of Usher’s “My Way” and crafting early beats on a Casio keyboard given to him by his mother. “I would race home, and every day after school and after practice, I’d make a beat. … I made my first song when I was 12 years old,” he says.

By the time he reached high school, his beats were in demand by friends and area hip-hop artists alike, cementing his aspirations to become a producer. But his skills as a rapper were less well received—a fact that never deterred him, in part because the situation echoed the trajectory of one of his idols, Kanye West. “I remember he used to always talk about how no one gave him the shot at rapping, because he was a producer first. … When I first started, nobody was fuckin’ with my shit, either. They was like, ‘Your beats [are] tight, but you garbage.’ But then, as I kept at it—I kept grindin’ and kept workin’—it all panned out,” Noah says.

“Panned out” may be an understatement, if Noah’s recent work is any indication. In addition to the January release of The Season of the Rich, his recent credits include the title track for critically acclaimed independent film Kicks (starring Mahershala Ali and Kofi Siriboe, among others). Meanwhile, gaming enthusiasts might recognize his infectious single “Bands” from hit video game “NBA 2K17.”

It’s Noah’s most popular to date, but like his mixtape, he considers it just a taste of his capabilities: “For me, getting music off is like a purge. That’s what I made [The] Season of the Rich to be. I made it to be a compilation of songs that I want people to listen to, and get an overall feel of who I am and what I do. When I craft my first album, it’ll be something that I craft from the ground up. An album should be an experience; it should be a feeling. It should be something that takes you to another level.”

Noah predicts that that experience will eventually include an evolution beyond White Dave—and rap—into other genres. But in the immediate future, we can look forward to a more socially conscious sound, perhaps the type of awareness Noah hints at in his next single, “Hella.” The track samples the iconic “Return of the Mack”—a Coogler childhood staple—and recounts his return home after dropping out of Sacramento State a few years ago. Noah recalls:

At that time, I remember coming home—my initial homecoming from college wasn’t a warm one. It was like, “I can’t believe that you’re taking this risk; I can’t believe that you said fuck your future and you’re gonna try this rap shit.” It was tough for my parents to accept that decision that I’d made.

But what “Hella” really represents is, it’s a homecoming, but it’s also—it’s an official proclamation that I’m a rapper. Like, I’m officially dropped out of school; there’s nothing else that’s gonna hold me back from pursuing this dream that I’ve had. I’m officially an artist, this is what I’m gonna do, and I’m officially making that statement.

The soon-to-be-released video was shot at his parents’ home and features the Coogler clan—minus Ryan, who refuses to distract from his brother’s shine. Noah says, “One thing that was always awesome was the support that I received from them. They didn’t necessarily like my decision, but they supported me nonetheless. And that’s why I wanted to be sure that I included them in the video. Because everything ties together; and that’s one of the overarching themes, is my relationship with my family.”

For the Cooglers, it truly is a family affair. And while talented families aren’t an anomaly in the entertainment business (see: the Knowles sisters, the Jacksons, etc.), Noah assures us that there is still more to come—and not just from him: “Keenan is really the one that everyone should watch out for, on the low.” - The Root

White Dave's music has been featured in major films, such as Creed and Fruitvale Station, but now he's looking to expand as an artist, outside of films. - REVOLT

Ryan Coogler isn’t the only purveyor of the arts in his family.

His brother Noah goes by the name of White Dave and he’s all about fun-loving vibes, evidenced from his recently released Black Rapper EP.

For the next visual single, “Glass Slipper Shorty (G.S.S.),” White Dave has linked with his younger brother Keenan to hold down the Creative Director duties, €¥£$ for the overall directorial duties and partnered with HipHopDX for the premiere.

If the song’s title is giving you visions of Cinderella, there’s just cause for that.

“When my producer and I first heard this song it sounded sort of like a fairytale,” White Dave tells HipHopDX. “When you pair that light fluffy sound with an 808, it sounds like some Disney princesses got into some madness.”

As a student of Hip Hop, Keenan also agreed with video’s treatment.

“Our favorite rap videos growing up were always the ones with a comedic twist, and weren’t too serious, but had bright colors and absurd vignettes. I wanted to bring some of that creative to something my brother created.”

The zany clip features a backyard wrestling scene and cameos from ALLBLACK and Offset Jim — the type of organized confusion a director loves to a part of.

“This was a fun video to be a part of and such an interesting adaptation that Keenan conjured up,” €¥£$ revealed. “We love working with fresh talent like White Dave and are so appreciative for the opportunity to create with the Coogler family.”

Check out the video for “Glass Slipper Shorty (G.S.S.)” up above and follow him on Instagram @WhiteDave for more black Whiteness. - HipHopDX