Since his emergence as a member of Tha Odd Squad on 1994’s phenomenal Fadanuf Fa Erybody Devin the Dude has been something of an anomaly amongst Houston MC’s. Where most of his Houston contemporaries yoked their molasses slow, but technically polished flows to gut wrenchingly heavy beats and hard bitten gangsta posturing, Devin’s slyly humorous and defiantly relaxed style always sounded best over the greasy, laid back funk, replete with smooth jazz saxophones and other signifiers of seduction that would cause hard charging MC’s like Scarface to lose their cool completely. Devin, however, just flows on, and if his fantastic fourth album, Waiting To Inhale, is any indicator, he shows no signs of falling off any time this decade. Though longtime Devin fans will find few surprises on Waiting To Inhale, rarely has he presented his well-worn, but totally inimitable persona with such consistent charm and virtuosity. A lothario, but not a pimp, a stoner, but not a drug dealer, Devin spins distinctive tales possessed of an unrivaled sense of intimate immediacy and narrative complexity.