David Blake (born July 31, 1988),"David Stones Biography", MTV, Retrieved March 22, 2013. better known by his stage name David Stones is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He is the co-founder of District of Hip Hop also known as the DOHH Squad.

David started receiving notoriety in 2010 while still known by the pseudonym Stones after remixing Diddy Dirty Money's hit song Hello Good Morning and releasing a music video to accompany it. Among the websites and blogs to showcase the video was Spike.com."Stones 'Hello Good Morning (ReMix)' Video directed by Mazi O", Spike, July 17, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2013. He then followed up with a music video to his song "Steppin Out" which was featured on the rapper 50 Cent's official video blog BooBooTV.Insanul Ahmed, "Did 50 Cent Shut Down WorldStarHipHop?", Complex, January 24, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2013."Stones – Steppin Out (Music Video)" , BooBooTV, October 30, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2013. He was labeled a “HHL Co-Signed Artist” by HipHopLead.com, Hip Hop Lead, July 27, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2013. and featured in their “Unsigned Spotlight” section that same year., Hip Hop Lead, February 21, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2013.

Life and career

1988–2011: Early life and musical beginnings David Stones was born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York. An area known as one of the roughest neighborhoods in not only the borough of Brooklyn but also the entire state of New York.Feifei Sun, "Brownsville: Inside One of Brooklyn’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods", Time Light Box. Retrieved March 23, 2013. Rapping was a hobby he picked up from watching his cousin Kenyatta Blake, better known as Buckshot from the critically acclaimed 90's rap groups Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik. When asked about his cousins influence over his career in an interview David replied, "I use him as a mentor, so when I run into some type of jam in the game I can always hit him up and ask, 'what do you think about this?'".John Charles Reedburg, "David Stones Datzhott Interview video", NME, March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2013.

While a freshman in high school David Stones formed a rap group with his childhood friend Dominick Bunch under the name Styxx ‘N Stones. The two participated in spontaneous rap battles and cyphers throughout their neighborhood in an attempt to build up their reputation as respectable emcees. Although they recorded a lot of music together they never officially released any projects as a group and decided to go their separate ways with Styxx enlisting in the US Navy while David chose to keep pursuing a career in music, but they remained friends. In 2012 Styxx died in a car accident.Erik Badia, Joseph Stepansky and Jonathan Lemire, "24-year-old killed when joy-ride turns into multiple-car smashup on busy street in Queens", NY Daily News, June 16, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2013.

In 2006 David released his first mixtape entitled, “The New Stone Age” under the pseudonym Stones. The project didn't circulate too far outside of the Tri-State Area due to lack of promotion, however it did get him recognized locally. His local buzz led to him getting noticed by hometown hero Smooth Da Hustler who he later collaborated with on a revamped version to one of the mixtapes songs called, "Get Wit It"."New Track Alert: Stones ft Smoothe Da Hustler 'Get Wit It'", iHipHop, Retrieved March 23, 2013.

From 2007–008 David released various songs and freestyles independently on his Myspace page."David Stones Official Myspace", Myspace. Retrieved March 22, 2013. The following year he caught the attention of Gallic Wars Mixtapes CEO who offered him a management deal in 2009.Global Grind Staff, "Stones (Cousin of Buckshot, CO-CEO of Duckdown Records) Signs Management Deal with Gallic Wars", GlobalGrind, January 11, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2013. He then went on to release his second mixtape, "The 2009 Collection" which featured a collection of songs, freestyles, and interviews recorded that year on New Year's Eve.John Charles Reedburg,

David Stones took a hiatus from the music industry for the second half of 2010 and the entire 2011 after switching management and decided to change his stage name from Stones to David Stones, stating the name change symbolized "progression" and marked "a new chapter" in his career. Alt URL

2012: The Steppin Stone: All Or Nuthin On November 22, 2012,DOHHMixtapes, "David Stones The Steppin' Stone: All Or Nuthin'" , Datpiff, November 22, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013. David Stones released his third mixtape, The Steppin' Stone: All Or Nuthin' which features guest appearances from Buckshot, Mark Jonas, and Willie the Kid."David Stones - The Steppin' Stone: All Or Nuthin' Album Lyrics", LetsSingIt, Retrieved April 12, 2012.

The mixtape featured standout tracks such as, "Why I Love It""Why I Love It (Explicit)", MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2013. which caught the attention of No Malice from the critically acclaimed rap group Clipse who then tweeted David his appreciation for the song."What do the critics think about David Stones?…", David Stones | Music, September 26, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2015. Hip Hop blogger Tony Grands described the song as a "piano-heavy anthem"Tony Grands, , The Tony Grands, July 11, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013. while Christopher Bryan of RapRise declared David's "trying to bring the East Coast back in a real way".Christopher Bryan, "NEW MUSIC: David Stones 'Why I Love It'", RapRISE, July 11, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013. It also featured "Triumph 2012","Triumph 2012 (Explicit)", MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2013. in which David remixes the classic Wu-Tang Clan song and features Willie The Kid who is the younger brother of Wu-Tang affiliate La the Darkman. While reviewing the track Hip Hop blogger Erin Ashley noted David's bravery stating it took "real guts" to remake a classic song such as Wu-Tang’s “Triumph”, a song she stated, "dominates people’s lives to this day." Ashley then went on to shower David with praises for the bold move saying he "held his own" while describing it as "that 90s New York [she's] been longing for."Erin, "Indie Submissions of the Week", Bad-Perm, December 27, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2013. The mixtape also featured the title track "All Or Nuthin""All or Nuthin (Explicit)", MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2013. where David talks about his struggles and reminisces on his fallen partner-in-rhyme, Styxx."David Stones – All Or Nuthin' Lyrics", RapGenius. Retrieved March 23, 2013. Who Need's A Genre? applauded David for the "raw emotion" and "knowledge" displayed on the song."David Stones- All Or Nuthin (Prod. by Extraordinary Gentlemen)" , WhoNeedsAGenre?, November 20, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.

In a review of the mixtape Joshua Hendricks applauded David Stones for putting together a project that's not just "a blabbering bunch of random words", stating his "flow is consistent", and he raps about real issues. When speaking on the mixtapes production he called it "really good", noting there are "some ride in the whip worthy tracks" while labeling “The truth”,"The Truth (Explicit)", MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2013. “Live @ The Ramada”,"Live @ the Ramada (Explicit)", MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2013. and “Systm Bumpn""Systm Bumpn (Explicit)", MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2013. as the projects standout tracks.Joshua Hendricks, "Local Review of David Stones’ “The Steppin’ Stone: All Or Nuthin’” Mixtape" , BrooklynBrand, March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.

2013–present From 2013–2014 Stones released only one song, a remix of Drake's 0 to 100 / The Catch Up single. Music journalist Skinny Friedman reviewed the track and gave it a 70 rating on the scale of 0 to 100.Skinny Friedman, "0-100 Freestyles, Reviewed", Noisey, Jul 2 2014 . Retrieved October 22, 2014.

Artistry

Influences

In an interview with former NFL player, Anthony Henry's online music magazine David Stones cited his hometown as a key musical influence and stated it's "fast-paced" lifestyle is responsible for the "experiences and the insight" that shows in his music. He then went on to state, "I always try to present a picture of what’s going on in my mind in a genuine way that people can relate to" when asked to describe the best aspects of his style. While speaking on '90s hip hop a.k.a. "The Golden Age" which he described as "super original" he specifically referenced Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Nas, AZ, Boot Camp Clik, Dungeon Family, Snoop, and Dr. Dre as some of his "all time favorites".Eric Montgomery, "Brooklyns Own" , Coool Flame April 13, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2013.

Discography

EP's "Less Talk - EP"* (2016) "David Stones Releases Less Talk EP" , Rude Boy Mag August 1st, 2016. Retrieved August 1st, 2016. "Goliath" (TBA)

Mixtapes The New Stone Age (2006) The 2009 Collection (2009) The Steppin' Stone: All Or Nuthin' (2012)

Singles

"I'ma Get It" (2015)

References

External links

DavidStonesMusic.com Official Site