From my last review, people could tell that I wasn’t exactly the biggest lover of Southern Hip Hop. I’m from Seattle myself, but despite everyone around me – I don’t jump on anything west coast. I have liked East Coast rap from day one and it will always be my expertise. For that very reason, I have slept on a lot of Southern albums that I should not have. There’s still some Dirty South garbage that I passed on that I don’t regret at all, but to Devin Copeland (aka Devin the Dude) – I owe a huge apology.
My introduction to the underground veteran from Houston was just a couple months ago as I was listening to my favorite song from Hi-Tek’s recent album Hi-Teknology 2 - “So Tired”. A great purely Dirty South effort, and fantastic because it is the GOOD Southern rap. I liked all the verses, but I was curious with Devin the Dude’s because I had heard his name many a time before, but never really checked him out. Upon hearing his great guest appearance here, I was interested in listening to his forthcoming album Waitin’ to Inhale… and boy am I glad that I did.
Let me just say that Devin is an extraordinary MC. He doesn’t sound like he demands your attention, but he still nevertheless gets it. He has this amazing tone to him, this swagger that says “I’m not really trying to sound charismatic but it still somehow works.” He doesn’t rap with a full-on vocabulary, doesn’t have complex rhyme schemes, and doesn’t bust out with the braggadocio. Devin is just there to express himself, and it is absolutely beautiful. This here, ladies and gentlemen, is a true artist. His style is a comical yet depressing self-contempt that I’ve honestly never heard another rapper employ (at least to this extent). His 4th solo effort Waitin’ to Inhale just might be his most complete and defining album.
Just as soon as the first actual song “She Want That Money” hits, you already know the ride that this album will provide. The song has a beat that I can’t really explain, it's just dope. An extremely sparse and simplistic work of sonic perfection, it’s a perfect backdrop for the somber-turned-amusing tale that Devin and his boys rap about. The story is about a girl that they meet who offers sexual favors for money. However, hilarity ensues as he convinces her to just give it to him for free. Devin might be one of the funniest rappers I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. You know the type of people that are funny because they never laugh at their own jokes, they just say their humor as if it's not all that funny? THAT is Devin’s rap style. It’s so unique and yet so ill.
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