Devin Copeland (born June 4, 1970), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Devin the Dude, is an American rapper from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. He is known for his unique rapping style and his 2002 songs "Lacville '79" and "Doobie Ashtray".

Early life

Devin Copeland was born in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Foun ...

on June 4, 1970. He spent most of his early childhood in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

and moved to

while in the fourth grade. He spent the rest of his youth moving back and forth between New Boston and

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, finally settling in Houston after graduating from high school. He smoked

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various ...

for the first time at a skating rink in seventh grade; marijuana would later become a major influence on his music. As a teenager, Copeland became interested in

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

, joining several dance crews until he began rapping, which soon became his main interest. After graduating from high school, he met Rob Quest, a rapper and record producer Jugg Mugg. The trio formed the group the Odd Squad.

Musical career

After forming the Odd Squad (later known as the Coughee Brothaz), the group signed to

Rap-A-Lot Records Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary. Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label ...

. The label is notable for being the home of hip-hop artists such as

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, earnin ...

, Scarface, and Too Much Trouble. Copeland moved on to become part of Scarface's

Facemob Facemob was an American hip hop group put together by rapper Scarface. The group consisted of 350, DMG, Devin the Dude, Chi-Ray and Smit-D, with Scarface producing and writing songs for the group's debut album. The group first made an uncr ...

before going solo in 1998.Shapiro, Peter (2005) ''The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop'', Rough Guides, , p.86-87 Copeland has released ten solo albums: '' The Dude'' (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

), '' Just Tryin' ta Live'' ( 2002), '' To tha X-Treme'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

), ''

Waitin' to Inhale ''Waitin' to Inhale'' is the fourth solo album by Rap-A-Lot Records artist, Devin the Dude. The album peaked at #30 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making this his highest charting album to date. It features high-profile guest appearances from Andr� ...

'' (

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhut ...

), ''

Landing Gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

'' (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

), '' Suite 420'' (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...

), '' Gotta Be Me'' (2010), '' One for the Road'' (2013), Acoustic Levitation (2017) and Still Rollin' Up: Somethin' To Ride With (2019). He also made a number of guest appearances, including on Dr. Dre's "Fuck You" in 1999,

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

's "Baby Phat" in 2001,

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

's "I'm Back" off of Boss of All Bosses in 2009,

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy ...

's "Kush Is My Cologne" of off The State vs Radric Davis in 2009 alongside

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two ...

's "After Party" in 2010 off of The Gates Mixed Plate, and Young Jeezy's "Higher Learning" off of the late 2011 album Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition. In 2007, he appeared in a documentary titled ''Screwed In Houston'' produced by ''VBS/Vice Magazine'' that details the history of the Houston rap scene. In 2008, he ended his 15-year relationship with Houston-based

after he decided not to renew his contract. Later that year, he signed with indie label

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

. Devin is currently being distributed by

E1 Entertainment E1, E01, E.I or E-1 may refer to: Transportation Aircraft * Azcárate E-1, a Mexican sesquiplane trainer * Fokker E.I, a German fighter aircraft * Grumman E-1 Tracer, an American airborne early warning aircraft * Hydra Technologies E1 Gavilá ...

, formerly Koch. In 2013 Devin starred in the

stoner comedy Stoner film is a subgenre of comedy film that revolves around the recreational use of cannabis. Generally, cannabis use is one of the main themes and inspires much of the plot. They are often representative of cannabis culture. "Stoner film" ...

''Highway 420'', in which two pot smoking buddies go on a quest to find the best bud in the country on the legendary Highway 420. The soundtrack featured songs by

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, ...

, UGK,

Smoke DZA Sean Pompey (born February 8, 1984), better known by his stage name Smoke DZA, is an American rapper and songwriter. Biography 1984–2007: Early life and career beginnings Smoke DZA was born February 8, 1984 at Harlem Hospital in New York ...

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting i ...

Curren$y Shante Scott Franklin (born April 4, 1981), better known by his stage name Currensy (often stylized as Curren$y), is an American rapper. In 2011, he founded the label Jet Life Recordings. Music career 2002–2008: No Limit and Young Mone ...

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ba ...

Asher Roth Asher Paul Roth (born August 11, 1985) is an American rapper. He is best known for his debut single " I Love College". Roth released his debut studio album '' Asleep in the Bread Aisle'', on April 20, 2009, by Universal Motown, SRC, and School ...

and more. On June 24, 2013 Devin announced that his eighth studio album would be titled '' One for the Road'' and be released in September 2013. It would later be confirmed for an October 8, 2013 release.

Reception

Despite being a critical success, Devin the Dude has not achieved mainstream success. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' has called him "A brilliant oddball with a spaced-out flow." In addition, he has been called "Rap's best-kept secret" and "Your favorite rapper's favorite rapper".Martinez, Rafael (2000)
Devin the Dude: Every Rapper's Favourite Rapper
, ''Prefix'', 1 January 2000

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Guest appearances

References

External links

MP3 audio interview
with Devin the Dude on the radio program

The Sound of Young America ''Bullseye with Jesse Thorn'' (formerly ''The Sound of Young America'') is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California, and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). The weekly show is currently heard on over 50 public ra ...

Devin the Dude Interview

The DJBooth: Interview with Devin The Dude
(Apr '07) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dude, Devin the 1970 births Living people African-American male rappers Singers from Texas Rappers from Houston Southern hip hop musicians Underground rappers Songwriters from Texas African-American songwriters Cannabis music 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people American male songwriters