DEVIN the DUDE Words by Randy Roper
Just weeks before the release of his latest album, Suite #420, and the start of his 420 Tour, Devin “The Dude” Copeland is in a good mood. And why shouldn’t he be? While most rap careers are about as stable as Greg Oden’s knees, Devin The Dude has spent damn near 20 years eating good and smoking even better off the music business. Devin talks to OZONE about this year’s monumental international Cannabis holiday. For people that don’t know, can you explain what 4/20 is? 4/20 is like a smoke time and it turned out to be an international smoker holiday, April 20th. It started off, at 4:20 PM, some college guys out in California used to take a smoke break everyday at this particular time. It turned into a trend and became worldwide. So, Suite #420 is a special occasion. It’s a blessing for me to come out with another album, man. It’s been quite a minute since my first album. It’s kinda sweet for me to be still in it and putting out records. Suite #420 is like having a hotel suite with your friends and people over there that smoke, to just chill. Everybody’s letting the weed break the ice, and ain’t nobody trippin’ on color or race or whatever. It’s just coming together, sharing ideas and passing the weed over. We want the album to portray that. Just smoke, chill, have fun and enjoy what’s here. How many years have you been celebrating 4/20? I don’t really celebrate it like that. I’m usually high on 4/20 anyway. But on April 20th I would probably call a couple friends, my Coughee Brothers and sisters, and ask them if they’re putting it in the air for 4/20 and just wish them a Happy 4/20. Stuff like that. I don’t throw no huge party. You don’t have any big 4/20 plans this year? Actually, man, yeah, the nationwide tour starts on 4/20. It’s going to begin in Houston, then a few shows in Texas, then we’re going to head out to the West, then the Pacific Northwest, then go to the Midwest, then the East Coast, back around to the South, we’re going to make a circle. We’re going to be out for like a month and a half. Who else is going on tour with you? The Odd Squad, the Coughee Brothaz, actually we’re still trying to accumulate another artists right now as we speak. We’re just trying to get a solid show together and get ready for the road in April. This is going to be your third album since you left J. Prince and Rap-ALot, so what’s been the biggest difference since you left Rap-A-Lot and joined Razor & Tie Entertainment? There hasn’t been too much of a change. Our music is still the same and
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our work ethic is pretty much the same. We still have the same format of how we do things and the studios we go to for mixing and mastering. You’re been grinding for a long time. Even though you have a strong fan base, do you ever get frustrated and feel like you should be a bigger star? Nah, not frustrated. I never thought when I started rapping in the 11th grade that I’d be in the presence of artists I looked up to and admired most in my life. I never could have imagined I’d be in the presence of some of these people and help them with their projects, and vice versa, get them to help me with my projects. Like Nas and [Dr.] Dre and De La Soul and Rafael Saadiq, Too $hort, [DJ] Premier, just to name a few. There have been so many blessings that came my way, no record sales could account for that. I’m not saying I don’t want to sell records. Every rapper would want a lot of units sold, of course. But the respect and appreciation goes a long way. There was a recent interview online where you were talking about Amsterdam. Have you been there recently? Man, I’ve been to Amsterdam about three times. I haven’t recently been, but I’m looking to go again. It’s real cool out there, man. It’s carefree. You can smoke and drink and chill at the same place, and ain’t nobody really trippin’ on that. Is the weed better over there? I think they have a better variety, simply because it’s not frowned upon. It’s not necessarily “legal,” but they don’t really trip. Since the availability is so broad, they’ve got all different kinds of weed. But it’s some pretty nice stuff out there. It’s probably the same stuff that you’ll see in the dispensaries out in California. Obviously, you think they should legalize weed in America, right? I sure hope so and I’m sure waiting for that time. If not legalize it, at least decriminalize it. It’s messing up a lot of families and putting a lot of money towards lawyers and jail. It’s simply a grass that grows, that’s actually a medicine, and it’s good for you. But they want to try and portray it as something bad. It helps millions of people. It’s never killed one and the powers that be want to make it seem like it’s a bad thing. So, on 4/20, what do you want fans to do after they buy your album? I want them to twist up something first. So, make sure they have something in a bong, a bowl, weed pipe or something, take a few hits and put the record on. And hopefully they like a few songs that they hear on the album. //