Dave East, Scram Jones, Mike & Keys – FOR THE LOVE 2.5 [Album Stream]

Dave East keeps his For The Love series moving with FOR THE LOVE 2.5, a full-length collaboration with Scram Jones and Mike & Keys.

The project stretches the earlier FOR THE LOVE 2 idea into something broader and more polished without sanding down East’s core appeal. He is still rapping from the pocket he knows best: street memory, ambition, pressure, loyalty, and the kind of personal accounting that feels sharper when he does not force it. Scram Jones and Mike & Keys give the album a steady foundation, moving between soulful New York textures, warmer melodic moments, and clean drums that leave East enough room to settle into the writing.

Across the album, the guest list widens the frame without pulling focus away from him. Sada James, Cruch Calhoun, Steven Young, Frank Benz, Lyrivelli, 2 Chainz, Vado, King Beamo, Un Kasa and Quany Owe all appear, with records like “Life Is Beautiful,” “Make It Last,” “No Other Way,” “When It Come To You” and “1942” giving the tracklist different shades while keeping the same late-night grit.

FOR THE LOVE 2.5 works best when it feels unhurried. East sounds comfortable over this production, letting the stories, flexes, and reflective pieces sit next to each other naturally. It is not a drastic reset, and it does not try to be one. Instead, it expands a lane he has been building with Scram Jones and adds Mike & Keys to the mix for a fuller, more layered run.

Stream FOR THE LOVE 2.5 below.