Devin the Dude

Biography

Devin Copeland aka Devin the Dude was born in St. Petersburg, FL, and later moved to Texas while in the fourth grade. As a child he went back and forth from New Boston and Houston and finally settled in the latter after he graduated high school. In the late '80s, Devin met Rob Quest, a blind rapper and producer who was part of a Houston crew called the Coughee Brothas. Later on, the duo formed a group named the Odd Squad and recruited Devin's long-time friend Jugg Mugg and a local DJ named DJ Screw. Screw (who was later replaced by DJ Styles) took the group's demo tape to Rap-a-Lot Records CEO James Smith, who quickly signed the group in 1992. Their debut album, Fadanuf fa Erybody!!, was released in 1994 with "I Can't See It" as the lead single and video.

Although hip-hop fans praised the effort put out by the Odd Squad, their album was not as commercially successful as they hoped. While the group went back to the drawing board, Rap-a-Lot franchise artist Scarface approached Devin to be a part of his new group, Facemob. Facemob released one album in 1996, The Other Side of the Law, and then broke up due to internal problems. At this time, Devin decided to work on his debut solo album, The Dude, with the help of Smith and Scarface.

The Dude was released in 1998 with virtually no video and little radio play. The Dude was a smoothed-out, funk-laden album and an ode to wine, women, and weed. Regardless, the album built a large underground following and even caught the attention of veteran hip-hop producer Dr. Dre. He contacted Devin in 1999 and asked him to be a part of the 2001 album on the track "Fuck You." This single appearance made Devin a hot commodity, earning him appearances on songs with De La Soul, Raphael Saadiq, veteran rap group UGK, and a solo track on the Oz soundtrack.

His anticipated sophomore LP, Just Tryin' ta Live, was released in the summer of 2002 and featured appearances from Nas, Xzibit, and Raphael Saadiq with production from Dre, DJ Premier, and his Coughee Brothas. ~ Quibian "Q" Salazar-Moreno, All Music Guide