When he was ten years old, he moved with his family to Hollis, Queens, a largely African-American community notable as the home of such world-class achievers as Andrew Young, the Rev.
Davy produced songs for Run-DMC, The Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, Spoonie Gee, Jimmy Spicer, The Afros and The Fearless Four.
The gig with Blow, which Dave performed through 1983, included a handful of dates in September 1980 on a bill with The Commodores and Bob Marley at Madison Square Garden.
[2] In 1982 Dave, playing guitar, joined bassist Larry Smith and drummer Trevor Gale in a band called Orange Krush.
As of 2022, various parts of "Action" had been sampled at least 70 times, including on recordings by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Common, De La Soul, Michael Jackson, LL Cool J, Ol' Dirty Bastard and T-Pain.
Dave debuted as a solo artist late in 1983, cutting "One for the Treble (Fresh)" as Davy DMX for Aaron Fuchs' Tuff City Records.
"[4] A month earlier, the New York Post's Brian Chin declared that the album constituted "more proof that rap is this decade's most accessible pop art.
These include Sweet G's "Games People Play" and two tracks by The Fat Boys: "Jail House Rap" and "Hard Core Reggae."
In 1983, Dave teamed up with Larry Smith and Russell Simmons to write the music for the rapper Jimmy Spicer's "Money (Dollar Bill Y'All)."