Continued from Part 1

AllHipHop.com:

It won’t be juicy enough for AllHIpHop rumors or illseed, or anything like that— 

Devin: (laughs) I mean,

you’re still recording personal, or no longer recording, personal? 

AllHipHop.com: You know

I’m still recording! 

Devin: What’d you

say, Niki? (laughs) 

AllHipHop.com: I want

to know if you’re actually friends with Scarface and Dr. Dre, or do

you just look at them as folks you’ve worked with. 

Devin: Ah, man those

are my brothers! Both of them, those are my brothers. (laughs) At the

drop of a hat, whenever they need me, I’m there! 

AllHipHop.com:

Are you going to be on Detox or anything new with Scarface? 

Devin: Well, actually,

when I was mixing all these records on the Suite 420 album, Mike

Dean came through and we was choppin’ it up. He wants to be involved

in the next project that I do, you know what I mean. He wants to do

some work together. The feeling is mutual; I’d love to do some work

with ‘Face, anytime. I know how he goes into a studio. I know how

his work ethic is; I know that he’ll come out of there with some heat.  

AllHipHop.com: What

about Detox are you going to be on that? 

Devin: Yeah, that would

be cool. 

AllHipHop.com: In relation

to Hip-Hop would you rather earn the respect of your peers and the public,

or make lots and lots of money from j###### tunes? 

Devin: (laughs) Of course,

I would like the love and respect and the appreciation of the music.

To me, the money only comes after all that is established. You get the

love and respect, and the money and stuff is like the proverbial icing

on the cake. Everybody knows how money comes and goes and what you can

do with it. How you can blow it and whatever. You can make money all

kinds of ways, doing a whole bund of different things, not just because

of Rap. I like the appreciation from my peers, and my family and my

friends, of what I’m doing, I feel good. I can feel good about whatever

I’m doing, and that goes a long way. 

AllHipHop.com: I ask

this question a lot, and I want to get your perspective on it. Is there

such a thing as commercially successful Hip-Hop that still possesses

a cultural soul? 

Devin: Yeah, those are

albums like The Chronic, 2001, a couple of Geto Boys albums.

That’s when the underground artist makes commercialized fans cross

over to them, and make them come over. Millions of people have heard

this album, yet it’s still underground and raw. 2 Live Crew did it,

Too Short did it, Ice Cube did it, KRS-One did it; a lot of artists

and Rap groups have done it. But, you just got to be really true about

what you do. And then you got those followers that are true fans that

will really support you and show their number with the units sold. It

lines up sometimes for a lot of artists.  

It can be done. It’s not

by you going into a studio and you trying to make it happen. It’s

not done like that. It’s going to be done by you doing what you’re

doing, by you continuously doing what you’re doing, on the grind.

Then you have these followers that’s been followers for a while and

somehow they multiply one year. Then out of nowhere—BOOM—that next

album everybody knows about you and you didn’t have to do a commercial

song to make it happen.  

AllHipHop.com: That

goes perfectly into my next question. Have you ever been tempted to

make a Hokey-Pokey dance song for the kids? 

Devin: We laugh, and

kid, and joke about it in the studio a lot, you know what I’m saying.

But, when it comes down to it, when you start recording a record, your

heart starts to get more involved into a record and it’s hard to just

follow a trend. Nah, I don’t do that! I don’t go in there trying

to make a commercialized song, or a song that everybody would like.

I would love for people to love all the songs that I make; but, that’s

when I’m finished with it. That’s not before I start. 

AllHipHop.com: In an

interview that you did with HipHopDx you were saying that you’d like

to have Willie Nelson on a feature; were you serious or just joking

around? 

Devin: Both, I was just

tripping; but, I would love to. It would be an honor for me to be on

a track with Willie Nelson. Not just because of the similarities of

smoking weed; but, doing music and having storytelling type songs. We

have a little something in common there. There are a lot of people who

I have run across who have asked me about that. It wasn’t just out

of the blue to where I woke up and wanted to do a song with Willie Nelson.

It’s like people who’ve approached me like, ‘Have you ever thought

about doing a song with Willie Nelson?’  

AllHipHop.com: I want

to pick your brain a little bit more; I’ll let you go in a min. On

420 you have a skit called “Twitta,” do you have an actual Twitter

account?  

Devin: [laughs] Well,

you know, the people at the label twisted my arm, man. It was like,

‘You have to do a Twitter, Devin. That’s the way of the world. It’s

the sign of the times; you just can make it without Twitter.’ That

type of s###, so I got a Twitter account. It’s called TheRealDevin420. 

AllHipHop.com: One more

random question, one of my favorite tracks is “Write & Wrong,”

I’ve always wanted to know its back story. Is it a purely conceptual

album, or did something like that actually happen to you?  

Devin: There was a time

when I was getting approached a whole bunch about making it in the Rap

game. ‘What should I do, Devin? I got these hot tracks and I want

to get signed to y’all label. I want to do this; I want to do that…’

So, that just brought about it.  Hey, if I write a song about it

I wouldn’t have to talk about it too much, or be approached with it.

They’ll hear the song and that’ll be a reference to ‘and I won’t

have to say nothing no more. (laughs) 

AllHipHop.com:

(Erupts with laughter) I can’t stand you!  

Devin: That was pretty

much it. I just wrote a song about a lot of artists that was pretty

much in the same boat that I was in, you know, still tryin’ to make

it. They wanted some advice, so that was my advice, at the time.  

AllHipHop.com:

What would you like to say to your supporters? 

Devin: I appreciate

the support of not only, Suite 420, but for all the support over

the years since ’93. That’s where the bulk of my fans come from.

They’ve been around since then and I appreciate that. It’s coming

from the heart, coming from the Odd Squad, coming from the Coughee Brothaz

and everything we’ve done since then. You’re the reason why we’re

here doing what we do and trying to keep coughee sippin’.

Hip-Hop’s competitive landscape

has compelled several insecure artists to alter their authentic selves.

Many MCs, aspiring for popularity, dump their true character only to

gain a disposable acceptance. Hip-Hop is starting to resemble a cesspool

of clichés. Toxic Avenger rappers and their landfill lyrics are polluting

its essence. Their mutated reflection mocks them when they encounter

the disappointed gaze of a knowing, Hip-Hop head. Devin The Dude, an

MC whose interior matches his exterior, has never had a problem looking

into the mirror. This Coughee Brotha has matured with his craft. Devin

embodies Hip-Hop; he has experience breaking, deejaying, and emceeing.

Scarface, Dr. Dre, De La Soul, and Nas are among his esteemed supporters.

Working on a solo project, or collaborating within Odd Squad’s group

dynamic, Devin is sure to keep the green burning and the good music

coming.  

AllHipHop.com:

With your latest effort, Suite #420, how did you challenge yourself

to create fresh new music without compromising your lyrical legacy? 

Devin The Dude: It’s

just a matter of going in the studio and having fun. It’s feeling

good as possible, you know. There’s no strategy that I have. It’s

just a matter of feeling as good as possible and being as positive as

possible. (laughs) Being around the right people, being in the right

atmosphere and being in the right mind state—you know what I’m saying—and

then having some real good weed to smoke; it all just coincides. 

AllHipHop.com

Is making music still fulfilling, is it still fun for you; or, do you

do you just look at it as a profession? 

Devin: If it’s not

fun, I wouldn’t do it. That’s the whole thing. That’s why I was

so willing to just do this and pursue this as a career; because, you

know, it was fun to do. It wasn’t really—but it turned into a job—it

was never really considered a hard job to do. It was just a cool hobby

that paid big and was getting me where I needed to go. That’s how

it felt. So, if the fun goes away, I guess the whole job of it goes

away, to me. 

AllHipHop.com:

Over the years, you’ve managed to remain relevant to the mic. With

your current deal with E1, how are you working to reinforce your presence

in Hip-Hop?  

Devin: To reinforce

my presence? To me it’s not like a come and go thing. It’s not like

I’m in and I’m out, and I’m in and I’m out. I don’t never

feel like that. When I do a project, it doesn’t feel like I’m making

a comeback. It always feels like it’s just another chapter in a huge

book. So, whatever label I’m on, or whatever kind of transition I’m

making career-wise, as far as contractual, it doesn’t make a difference

with my musical work ethics. It’s all one in the same.  

AllHipHop.com: You’ve

spent the duration of your career at Rap-A-Lot Records, how has the

time that you invested there help to shape you as an MC and as a businessman? 

Devin: Well, actually,

with Rap-A-Lot that was a learning and growing experience. Rap-A-Lot

was like a family. It was a huge family with MCs and businessmen, alike.

I learned [a lot] that helped me to guide myself, and the people that

was with me, to where I’m at now.  It was a long journey; but,

it was well worth every step of it. Back in the day with Rap-A-Lot,

by doing tours and how we did performances with the retail and the marketing;

it was all a learning experience. 

It was real cool…It was just

a blessing to be a part of all that.  

AllHipHop.com: With

your imprint, Coughee Brothaz Music, are you its flagship artist; or,

are you cultivating another talent to help brand the label? 

Devin: Yeah, it’s

a label, Coughee Brothaz, is an independent label. I’m just a solo

artist that out an album through Coughee Brothaz music and went through

E1 for distribution and everything. We have other artists in Coughee

Brothaz, too, like 14K. Tony Mac, is an R&B singer from here in

Houston. We’re still focused on putting out other projects within

Coughee Brothaz. Who knows if we might land a deal with E1 for us to

have the whole Coughee Brothaz on the label and for other artists and

groups to come out through that avenue. We’re talking about that right

now. But, you know, it’s just one step at a time to get the ball rolling.  

AllHipHop.com: Besides

yourself and 14K, are there other in-house producers? 

Devin: Yes, of course;

well actually just two on the label. We actually got comedians that

are trying to get on the label. We might do a comedian’s record and

take it back to like Richard Pryor, and old school Redd Foxx type stuff.

You know, kinda bring that back, on the label. It’s not going to be

just one specific thing that’s on it.  C-Ray [Sullivan] who did

a track called “El Grande Nalgas” on the Landing Gear

album; he did a track called “Where Ya At” on the Suite 420

album. He is a producer from the Coughee Brothaz; you’re going to

hear more from him. Yeah, it’s producers, artists, singers, rappers;

it’s going to be something to look forward to in the future.  

AllHipHop.com: In the

South, you’re looked at as a legend. But, you’ve yet to achieve

that elusive mainstream success. How do you calculate professional success? 

Devin: I think that’s

within the individual. I believe that every artist has something that

they want to accomplish, when they first start. And, whatever that is;

or, whatever that may be; when they get to that point they’ll know. 

For me, I dunno. The appreciation of a song was cool, for me. You know,

that’s what started my whole career, actually.  It was someone

liking one song I did. So, that was a success for me. That was it, and

the more kinda multiplied even more. It came to mean more of a success

to me. I thought I was kinda successful when I first started; because,

somebody liked what I did. I don’t know as far as radio spins, units

sold, houses built; I dunno. That might be how somebody else calculate

it; but, I don’t know. It’s hard for me to calculate success. It’s

inside every individual that does whatever they do. When they decide

that they’re at the point when they’re successful. I started mine

back in ’87 to ’88.  

AllHipHop.com: I love

you! I’ve read that after you released The Dude you were a

little disappointed.  

Devin: Well, I wasn’t

disappointed, uh, I don’t know… It was just a matter of me, personally;

because, I was accepted and appreciated, musically, by a lot of people.

But, financially, I wasn’t living at a point to where I wanted to

be. I was getting older and having kids, and moving and doing things

and trying to be responsible. But, everything wasn’t adding up; I

was wondering what I was going to do with the remained of my career.

Should I just find another job and still use music as a hobby? The kids

needed to eat and they needed other things—just putting a record out,

and people liking it doesn’t mean that you’re financially stable

enough to keep doing whatever you’re doing and be comfortable.  

From ’98 [The Dude]

that was my first solo album and I didn’t do another album until 2002

[Just Tryin’ ta Live]. That was four years. There was

a point, there was a long little stretch, where I had a lot of time

to idle and think, ‘Oh s***, what am I going to do?’  

AllHipHop.com: Thank

you for persevering; you’re one of my favorites! 

Devin: (laughs) Good

s***; good looking out. 

AllHipHop.com: May I

ask you a personal question.  

Devin: You mean the

tape is off, personal? (laughs) Click here for Part 2 of this exclusive interview.