David Willis (aka Black Dave) is an American rapper and avid skateboarder from New York City.

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Sharing the same name as the '90s Southern rap artist, New York teenager Black Dave released "On da Map" in 2012.

An accompanying video featured him skateboarding the Bowery over a boom-bap beat taken straight from the golden age of hip-hop.

This retro, Illmatic style distanced Black Dave from the increasing laptop trends in rap, and tastemaker blogs like Fader took notice of his Black Donald Trump mixtape as he prepared for a full-length.

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Black Dave was born in the Bronx, New York City.

He began skating during his teen years.

At 16, he dropped out of High School, got a GED, and went straight to college.

^[0] He went to college for two years before going to Hunter College in New York. He started working for Supreme at 18 after quitting his last job delivering food around New York City. He was influenced by older videos with hip-hop tracks edited over the skating montages. This led to self-producing hip-hop tracks. ^[7]

When asked how his name came about, "Black Dave was a nickname that was given to me by my homies.

It was a very diverse group of skaters, all races, but for some reason my personality dubbed me “Black Dave.”

Dave is also not the most common name for a black dude.

The “Black Bart” alias to me is labeling myself in the current music industry.

A skater that dresses how he wants to dress, says what he wants to say, and doesn’t conform to his peers or what’s “cool” at the current point in time".

Black Dave is known for his interest in skateboarding and his rapping career.

His skateboarding career has gotten him opportunities with the biggest skate brands Zoo York skate and Supreme. In terms of his involvement with rap, Black Dave explains, "I’m originally from the Bronx the borough that created Hip-Hop. I grew up with the music around me all my life. I look at hip-hop now as another way to speak to the people and give them a positive insight on my life and adventures". ^[1]