here comes the dude...
i've been talking about
devin the dude for years - in my former
vice column and online. looks like he's finally starting to get some of the proper shine he deserves. he hit canada twice last year (montreal and vancouver, both in the fall), and will be back in early february, for shows in montreal, ottawa, toronto, and london. if you don't know devin's music, you're wrong. you do know him, you just don't know you do. you've heard him with
dr. dre & snoop, with
r. kelly & jay-z, with
too short,
scarface,
ugk,
de la soul, and guest-crooning on an
endless list of songs from the dirty south. even if you're an underground indie head, you've heard him with
dilated peoples and
j-zone. you do know him, you just don't know you do...
here is devin's new bio...
Devin the Dude
Bio 2006
by
Matt SonzalaThe streets of Houston, Texas have produced some of the underground's hardest lyricists. From the first lines of Scarface's original independent single, to the earliest incarnation's of the notorious
Geto Boys, to the syrup sticky musical revolution that was
D.J. Screw (RIP), Houston has always been known for it's ugly side. The violent poems that emanated from the city starting in the mid-80's kind of stigmatized the entire town, shit, the entire region as being a hell on earth of sorts -- devoid of life and rife with horrific strife. Listen to any of the early
Rap A Lot records from anywhere outside of H-Town and you'd be hard pressed to picture any sort of good in that town.
Then the
Odd Squad came out.
It was 1994 when the world got their first taste of this band of misfits. Blind Rob, Jugg Mugg, DJ Styles, and the king of rap croonin', the hip-hop Redd Foxx, the Bill Withers / Too Short hybrid who told you to stick to that "Fa Sho Pussy" before you end up with no pussy, Devin. There's was a different message. While all of them came up in the same hoods as the southside rappers before them, for some reason they came with a different perspective. All three emcees were as raw as they came, but each concentrated on the lighter side of life in the hood. They've been through their share of strife, but preferred to write jams about wine, women, and weed. Much lighter vices than killin', shermin', and slangin' crack. The Odd Squad truly was one of the strongest breaths of fresh air hip-hop has ever seen.
Rewind…
Devin was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, but he didn't stay there long. In the 4th grade, his family moved to New Boston, TX, a small town near the border of Texas and Arkansas. His 4 brothers, one sister, and single mother didn't stay there long though. The family moved to Houston while Devin was in junior high, but as things got crazy and the streets began to take hold of this future talent, Dev's mom sent him back to New Boston.
"I went back to New Boston in the 10th grade." Devin remembers, "It was getting kind of wild and my mom was like 'Well, you might want to go live with your grandmother.' So I moved and went to high school out there. It was cool because people seemed to be interested in getting their grades right. So that helped out, but when I graduated I was like, 'Man, I want to go to Houston, I want to be a rapper. I want to make a record, and I want a 79 Seville.' That was my two goals when I left and I wanted to accomplish those. After I accomplished those I said to myself 'I guess I can just set goals and just do it now huh? Just let me keep trying.'"
And he kept trying. Long after his high school buddies had given up on the whole idea of rappin' as a career, Devin stuck to his guns and got on wherever he could. Rapping, popping, and break dancing were a big part of his life and never once did he quit on any of them. In fact, to this day, the man's known to bust a windmill at the drop of a hat.
When Devin started to take rappin' seriously, he was entering local talent shows, rhyming over other peoples beats, and trying to get on however possible. It was in the late 80's when he met Rob Quest at a talent show at Texas Southern University that was supposed to be hosted by
Kurtis Blow and promised to drop a big load of cash in the winners lap. In the weeks before the contest, the entrants would all meet at the school to rehearse and develop their sets. Devin arrived as a solo artist, but ended up leaving a Coughee Brotha. (Coughee Brothaz being the Odd Squad and their extended family.)
"When I saw Rob up there during rehearsals, man he impressed me." Devin reflects on his first time meeting Rob Quest -- blind since the 7th grade -- one of the genre's most forward thinking, however underrated, producers. "Cuz he was on the drum machine and rappin' at the same time. Like Stevie Wonder would do a piano, Rob was up there with his drum machine, with his shades nigga, and rappin like a mahfucker. And that impressed me man so after a few rehearsals, it was like a week before the contest and me and Rob hooked up. And I went over to his place the following day and everyday that week and we was helping each other with the contest.
"And the day of the contest there was about 50 people who showed up and 30 people were performers. 10 people helped put up the show, and no Kurtis Blow. Actually, I was on stage doing my part, I had a Kangol on, long ass cord mic, and there was only 5 people out there and one of 'em was like 'Awwww Slick Rick Slick Rick.' So I stopped my whole show and I said 'NAWW THIS THICK DICK!' And I swung the mic like it was a…"
And THE DUDE was born…
"Then after that, we realized, 'Kurtis ain't here, these mahfuckers ain't got no money, let's go to the crib and get drunk.' So we dashed out of there. We don't know who won or nothing, and that's when we got it started."
Rob and Devin would sit in Rob's room in Houston's 3rd Ward everyday rappin' and making beats on Rob's archaic drum machine. The lure of blunts and hood groupies attracted Dev's long time friend Jugg Mugg to enter the picture, and soon the three got serious and began to record demos. Their first DJ was the late DJ Screw, and it was he who brought a tape to James Smith, President of
Rap A Lot Records, who quickly signed the trio in 1992. Now Rap A Lot at the time was known exclusively for harder than thou acts like the Geto Boys, The Terrorists, and Ganksta Nip, but Smith saw something special in these guys and decided to give them a chance. The result of this signing was the instant classic "Fad Enuf Fa Erybody."
The entire hip-hop nation went crazy for this record, but it never saw the mainstream success that many expected it to see. The group continued to work their debut album and while disappointed with their less than expected sales, they stayed in the studio preparing for whatever was to come next. Around this time Devin was approached by Scarface who was crafting a group from members of his crew and extended family to come out as the
Face Mob. Similar in concept to Biggie's
Junior Mafia, and Snoop's
Dogg Pound, the Face Mob was a collective of top notch, then unknown emcees who were hungry as hell, and full of fire. Their explosive debut, and only long player "The Other Side of the Law" was another critical favorite, but internal complications soon broke up the group, and Devin -- at the request of Scarface and James Smith -- began working on his solo album, "The Dude."
Fashioned after an old
Quincy Jones album of the same name, "The Dude" was a smoothed out, funk laden, ode to everything Devin -- once again, wine, women, and weed. The classic line "I smoke weed, I drink brew, that's all I rap about cuz shit that's all I do," from "One Day at a Time," kind of sums up the bulk of this stoner classic. But the unique beats laid by the Coughee Brothaz, Scarface, Tone Capone, N.O. Joe, JB, and Devin himself sounded like each producer saved their tightest tracks for just this album. While the subject matter may seem played out on the surface, wasn't nothin' played out or recycled about it. Devin is the poet laureate of stoned soul, and ain't no reason for him to deviate from what works best for him. Anyone who's ever smoked a blunt, kissed a girl, then made her cry, or vice versa, can relate.
"The Dude" did well in the streets with no video and virtually no promotion whatsoever. It even inspired long time fan,
Dr. Dre to give him a call and ask him to come represent on his
Chronic 2001 album. "I was sitting at the crib man," The Dude remembers, "and my manager called and said 'Stay right there, Dre about to call you.' I thought that shit was a joke man, but then a little while later, the phone rang and it was Dre wanting to hook up on a track." The result was the underground smash "Fuck You," which featured Dev on the hook and smack dab in the middle of Dre and Snoop. Despite it's off color title, the edited version of this track, due to it's hot hook and infectious beat, made it on to just as many radio stations as the legitimate singles on the album did. The X rated, underground video lit up more than a few sets as well, and just a few months later Devin was on the road, performing with some of the biggest names in hip-hop history --
Dre,
Snoop Dogg,
The DOC, and
Eminem to name a few -- on the Up In Smoke Tour.
People began talking like Devin might have left Rap A Lot and signed to Dre's label Aftermath, but that couldn't be further from the truth. "A lot of people even close to me figured that." Devin continues, "Probably the tour made them think that. They just figured that what you see on TV is true." But the reality is, Devin's a family man, and family is in Houston with the folks who first put him on.
Since "Fuck You" he's recorded with
Raphael Saddiq (on the "Baby Boy" soundtrack),
UGK (on "Dirty Money"),
De La Soul ("Baby Phat"), Bun B and Mddl Fngz (on the down south classic "4 o'clock In the Mornin'"), and he dropped a touching, solo tribute to his brother -- who's been locked up for the past ten years -- entitled "Can't Wait" on the Oz Soundtrack.
His second album, entitled "Just Tryin' To Live" picked up where "The Dude" left off and kept with the formula that made him famous, while delving into more introspective and deep themes on a few cuts. The album was produced mostly by Devin and his Coughee Brothaz Rob and Domo, with T-Mixx, Dr. Dre, and
DJ Premier poppin' up to lay some love. The title track sums up Devin 2002 and his crew's present views on life beautifully. Devin explains, "Well, first of all, people be getting a lot of shit twisted in the rap game, thinking it's one way, and it's really not. There's a lot of work involved, and people, they expect you to be a certain way. But as a profession it needs to be taken a little more serious. My Coughee Brothers, Odd Squad is on that song along with my boys Tre and Manchild, and everybody has different views on it. If there's any example of somebody who's been in this for a minute and is still trying to make something out of it, even though sometimes it feels like there's nothing, that's us I guess. It's definitely one of my favorite songs we've worked on."
"We need to change our ways, doing the same things we did yesterday / Smokin' weed, getting' high, making beats, feelin' fly / It's just the same old shit, but I think we ain't gon' quit…"
Devin, "Just Trying to Live," 2001
"Actually if you just listen to the song," he continues, "it's not really me that's saying 'We need to change our ways.' It's almost me saying it, but it's me also saying 'But I think we ain't gonna quit.' We gonna keep doing what we doing. It's a way of life now. I'm not saying go and do all the things you was doing wrong, cuz if you got a chance to better yourself, do it. If that means doing what you do and people respect that, then you keep doing that. You think we need to change that? 'Just trying to live?' No we don't."
While that track might touch the heart and the mind a bit, Devin and company didn't forget about the lower extremities, and outside indulgences that also seem to take hold of a life. "Cock Hounds" featuring KB is like a "Show 'Em (what they pussy made for…)" part 2. "R&B" (Reefer & Beer) is an ode to what fuels this deviant family mans fire that features Country Dude -- an alter-ego companion of sorts to Devin's cool ass Dude. And "Whatever" is an extended skit that examines just how far a rapper may need to take it in order to be heard properly.
The Dr. Dre produced "It's a Shame," and the body banger "Some of 'Em" which features
Nas and
Xzibit, takes Devin a few steps out of his normal box. "The Doobie Ashtray," which was produced by one of the Squad's long time allies, DJ Premier, looks at the material things in life and how little they really mean. Devin compares the loss of riches, bitches, and rides to the remnants of joints and blunts that lie in ashtrays the world over. "If you don't have any weed left you can always go back to the doobie ashtray", Dev explains. "But sometimes when you go back to that and it's gone, you can feel like you lost a whole bunch of stuff. So to some people who have a lot of this or a lot of that, they lose it and they go crazy."
From feeling down in the dumps from running out of weed, or losing your riches, whichever applies to you, we come to the most playful, yet touching track of the set, "Ha Ha," a song about digging in the trash. "When I lived in Florida I used to listen to a radio station called WXRB, in St. Petersburg. We lived right in front of it, and they would throw a lot of stuff away. Promotional records that were a little scratched and they couldn't play it. So every once in a while we'd be walking by there, see something and I'd get in that dumpster and grab it. Take it home and jam. And sometimes kids would laugh at me, but they didn't know what gems I was taking home."
Then just over one year later, Devin dropped his third studio release on Rap-A-Lot Records, To The Xtreme. Another classic, To The Xtreme showcased a more grown Devin with songs like “Briar Patch,” “Anything” and “Cooder Brown,” delving outside the realm of the Dude’s usual subject matter of pussy, weed and alcohol.
The single “Anything,” which was produced by Houston’s Cory Mo, was a huge southern hit with its laid back groove dedicated to giving thanks for what you’ve got rather than lusting after what you don’t have. To The Xtreme proved that there is a method to the Dude’s madness and brought him to all new levels in the world of hip-hop. Devin’s fan base spans the entire world and throughout 2005 he’s started to visit his international fans face to face. Trips to Amsterdam, Denmark and Canada have seen sold out crowds, starving for years to finally see the dude, finally get their fix. In 2006 Devin plans to “Hit every country on the planet that will have me,” starting with a mini tour of Eastern Canada and the major cities in Europe in February/March. Catch Devin the Dude on tour in a city near you throughout 2006.
For more information check out my International Booking Agent's site
http://houstonsoreal.blogspot.com - Matt keeps up with me and gets the job done.
so there it is kids. if you didn't know devin before, now you do...
i'm promoting the show in london, and opening for it. devin's also bringing up dj rapid ric from austin,
peep his site here,
and his myspace page here. i'll be performing tracks from the
ok cobra album, and
toolshed will also be in the house, along with
dj butter the butcher, and
dj druncnes monster.
