Devin the Dude: Greatest Hits

Album Review

On the basis of The Dude, Devin was labeled by some the new Too Short. In this case, it is actually a pretty on-target characterization. There are, of course, important differences. For one, he is a far sight funnier than Oakland's finest. To be deadly accurate, he's hysterically funny. And Too Short never attempted the smooth crooning into which Devin frequently and ably slides during his choruses. But in a more fundamental way, the Houston rapper is more like an updated and melodious hip-hop Dolemite, because the whole tone of The Dude is waka-waka blaxploitation smutty and smoove. The album title, in fact, is a reference and tribute to the 1974 Quincy Jones album of the same name, and as the rapper himself once pointed out, the main themes of his music are "weed, wine, and women," with little deviation. The music compliments the mood in every regard. Pimp-sleek bass is mixed with heavy-lidded Southern rhythms, while Devin floats through the libertine backdrops with a rather severe case of laid-back nonchalance. It is a winning combination devoid of all the typical playa politics — violence and drama don't come within a country mile of these songs. If it is not exactly world-beater stuff, it definitely is an extremely randy good time. The Dude didn't sell too well with the general public; the album, however, did score some major points and found an admiring, devoted fan base in one place where it counted for extra: among Devin's fellow rappers.