Devin The Dude has been finding his way into significant record collections since The Geto Boys' 1993 posse cut "Bring 'Em On." Finding his way within the Rap-A-Lot clique, the Florida-born, Texas-relocated emcee/deejay and budding producer used sugar, not vinegar to win his listeners over. In an era of abrasive gangsterism, the soft-spoken, often melodic vocalist spoke and sang about simple problems being solved with a bag and bowl or a bra strap and a Budweiser.

As fate would have it, the gangsters respected it. The biggest influences on gangsta rap, Dr. Dre and Scarface, both took a liking to The Dude, and put him on center-stage on their biggest projects (2001 and My Homies respectively). Devin's become more of a Hip Hop household name, but nearly anybody who understands his creativity and message realizes that his lack of mainstream success remains a travesty.

With four solo albums and an Odd Squad group effort under his belt, Devin The Dude formally announced his departure from Rap-A-Lot Records last week - after a staggering 17 years there. Despite a hot album every three year average (I can divide), Devin says he's using his independence to make more music than ever, and welcomes extended opportunity for feature-work. With a handful of laughs, recollections and mild-mannered honesty, the Dude is doing anything but riding into the sunset this early in the movie.

HipHopDX: Congratulations on the independence. As far as not renewing your Rap-A-Lot Records contract, how tough of a decision was that to make for you?
Devin The Dude: It’s been a long rift man, so it wasn’t really that tough at all. I knew it was time to do something independent-wise, as far as the state of my career and who I have alongside [me], that’s been helping me out and [it’s about] not only helping not only me, but them too. That was like the really only alternative, just branch off independently and make moves and get avenues open in other places.

DX: Even as we talked right when the album was dropping last year, you kind of alluded to moving on. Because you were with Rap-A-Lot since 1992 or 1993, were you shopping for a deal, or did it just kind of happen?
DTD: It just happened within the last year or so.

DX: But as a teenager trying to get a deal, were you sending demos elsewhere?
DTD: Yeah, yeah, I sent demos out. As Da Odd Squad, we sent a whole bunch of cassettes out. [Laughs] Back then it was cassettes. But yeah, with bio packages, pictures and everything. We started really shopping in like ’91, and we got interest in ’92. In the end of ’92, we signed with Rap-A-Lot. We had the album done in ’93, but it didn’t come out till ’94.

DX: Going back to 1991, were there other labels of note that were interested?
DTD: Uh, not really. [Laughs] Our music wasn’t [the normal]. Back then, there were a lot of gangsters, and that was, for the most part, what was going on. You had groups like Pharcyde and Lords of the Underground and stuff like that who wasn’t really with the gangsta stuff, but it was hard for groups like that who didn’t do the hardcore stuff. We just tripped out. We call our method of doing things the trip chip. We would just be trippin’, sayin’ funny things [that were also] serious, and just being ourselves. It was kinda hard to get a deal like that then.

DX: Sixteen or seventeen years later, as a seasoned industry veteran whose always been with Rap-A-Lot, how is the process of looking for a deal?
DTD: Actually, I don’t just got out and look. I actually came to realize with how much work I put in, and how much good performance you do in front of people that can help you, you’re helping yourself. They’re most likely gonna reach out and try to give a hand and do what you’re trying to do too. It’s a matter of not necessarily looking, but just working as best as possible. Then, when opportunity comes, with a cool budget and some space behind the project, we can roll with it.

DX: Whether it’s the biggest album in the last decade, Dr. Dre’s 2001 or projects from J-Zone or CunninLynguists, you’re renowned for your feature work. Being on a label, were there ever opportunities in this area that were denied to you?
DTD: Yeah, when they didn’t have avenues to go through, then yeah, it could be a problem them. They’ll have their misunderstandings about how to do it or getting in touch or whatever. Being independent, if you have the right contacts with these people, you can get in touch with them directly.

DX: Before we move on to new material, how much of this decision had to do with the handling of Waiting to Inhale, which was critically boosted but struggled with sales and marketing?
DTD: The decision was made before the album was even release. It wasn’t a matter of the content or the appreciation of the album. It was a matter of what I was gonna do two years from now and what I was gonna have in store for me. It wasn’t like I was searching for some huge major deal that will have me rappin’ for the next five or six years, I wanted to have the freedom to choose. The next deal I get will be a one or two album deal with the option to do what I want to do, whether something with movies or writing or any other thing that may come my way. Continued on page 2 »