Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Dude, it’s Devin the Dude and Del!
by Dan Verel, [X]press Online
It’s no secret that underground hip-hop is big in the Bay Area. So when famed and well-respected Del The Funky Homosapien, from the Hieroglyphics camp in East Oakland, makes a return to the stage, hard-cord Bay hip-hop kids come out in full force.
Wednesday, Nov. 14 was no exception as Del wrapped up his nation-wide tour at Slim’s in the SoMa district. As the headliner, and after recently signing with indie hip-hop juggernaut Def Jux, Del had created quite the buzz as the tour wound down and headed back to the Bay Area for two shows at Slim’s. And while he did not disappoint, Devin The Dude and his Houston homies may have stolen the show.
The Dude does well to distance himself from the typical “Crunk” sound of the South, as he and his H-Town cohorts display a sound more akin to Snoop Dog mixed with a touch of Outkast.
Unfortunately, the performance on the 14th suffered the same fate as hip-hop shows the world over: mediocre and bad opening acts. The show started out promising, with Knowbody, a new talent out of East Oakland who toured the country with Del and Devin, being the first to the stage. The little-known emcee impressed the early crowd, with clever and well-written rhymes set to bass-heavy, energetic production. He was an appropriate opener for Devin and Del, and acknowledged as much with a concise but solid set.
The next act, however, would not do the same. Shortly after Knowbody came the Serendipity Project – “Unfinished Project” might be a more apt name. The eight-piece band of surfer-looking frat boys and one female vocalist sounded like a cross between the B52s and the Red Hot Chilie Peppers, except that the guy from the B52s probably had a better flow. Borrowing a tired chapter out of countless copiers of The Roots, Serendipity Project’s attempt at blending virtually every genre of music into hip-hop failed, though not for lack of effort. My esteemed colleague who writes about hip-hop for MP3.com succinctly summed up the sound with four words: Santa Cruz jam band. Next.
Next, indeed, was Bukue One, from all parts East Bay. The skateboarding, kick-flipping emcee was a welcome respite from the ill-fated mess that preceded him. The only problem with Bukue, despite his engaging and reggae-infused freestyles, was that his set seemed to last for 56 hours. The crowd came to see Devin the Dude and Del, so when 14K – named after the cheap gold that coats the teeth of equally cheap gangsters – came to stage, the show finally picked up where Knowbody had left off. 14K, part of Devin’s Houston crew, engaged the crowd with the unique southern style that has made Devin a legend in Texas and in the underground generally: smooth flows, great stage presence, and tales of smoking weed and chasing skirts.
Soon to follow was the Coughee (pronounced “coffee”) Brothers, yet another crew of H-Towners aligned with Devin, who was quick to join them on stage. With Devin leading the way, the crew of six lit blunt after blunt on stage, while treating the crowd to a sound not typically heard in the Bay Area. G-Funk meets southern twang in Devin’s and the Coughee Brothers’ unique brand of hip-hop, and the Hyphy-crazed heads in the bay might do well to take notice. Plus, the Coughee Brothers have the gangtsa version of Ray Charles in Rob Quest, a blind member of the group who was arguably the best rapper on stage.
Finally, four hours later on a Wednesday night, Del came out to massive adulation, and performed a great set of throw back jams from his heyday. But the contact high provided by Devin The Dude and his pals was more than enough to leave at least one person satisfied for the night. The show was a bit of a blur after them, but in a good way.
For more information, visit:
http://www.myspace.com/devinthedude
http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
http://www.myspace.com/cougheebrothaz
http://store.definitivejux.net/store/index.htm
http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
It’s no secret that underground hip-hop is big in the Bay Area. So when famed and well-respected Del The Funky Homosapien, from the Hieroglyphics camp in East Oakland, makes a return to the stage, hard-cord Bay hip-hop kids come out in full force.
Wednesday, Nov. 14 was no exception as Del wrapped up his nation-wide tour at Slim’s in the SoMa district. As the headliner, and after recently signing with indie hip-hop juggernaut Def Jux, Del had created quite the buzz as the tour wound down and headed back to the Bay Area for two shows at Slim’s. And while he did not disappoint, Devin The Dude and his Houston homies may have stolen the show.
The Dude does well to distance himself from the typical “Crunk” sound of the South, as he and his H-Town cohorts display a sound more akin to Snoop Dog mixed with a touch of Outkast.
Unfortunately, the performance on the 14th suffered the same fate as hip-hop shows the world over: mediocre and bad opening acts. The show started out promising, with Knowbody, a new talent out of East Oakland who toured the country with Del and Devin, being the first to the stage. The little-known emcee impressed the early crowd, with clever and well-written rhymes set to bass-heavy, energetic production. He was an appropriate opener for Devin and Del, and acknowledged as much with a concise but solid set.
The next act, however, would not do the same. Shortly after Knowbody came the Serendipity Project – “Unfinished Project” might be a more apt name. The eight-piece band of surfer-looking frat boys and one female vocalist sounded like a cross between the B52s and the Red Hot Chilie Peppers, except that the guy from the B52s probably had a better flow. Borrowing a tired chapter out of countless copiers of The Roots, Serendipity Project’s attempt at blending virtually every genre of music into hip-hop failed, though not for lack of effort. My esteemed colleague who writes about hip-hop for MP3.com succinctly summed up the sound with four words: Santa Cruz jam band. Next.
Next, indeed, was Bukue One, from all parts East Bay. The skateboarding, kick-flipping emcee was a welcome respite from the ill-fated mess that preceded him. The only problem with Bukue, despite his engaging and reggae-infused freestyles, was that his set seemed to last for 56 hours. The crowd came to see Devin the Dude and Del, so when 14K – named after the cheap gold that coats the teeth of equally cheap gangsters – came to stage, the show finally picked up where Knowbody had left off. 14K, part of Devin’s Houston crew, engaged the crowd with the unique southern style that has made Devin a legend in Texas and in the underground generally: smooth flows, great stage presence, and tales of smoking weed and chasing skirts.
Soon to follow was the Coughee (pronounced “coffee”) Brothers, yet another crew of H-Towners aligned with Devin, who was quick to join them on stage. With Devin leading the way, the crew of six lit blunt after blunt on stage, while treating the crowd to a sound not typically heard in the Bay Area. G-Funk meets southern twang in Devin’s and the Coughee Brothers’ unique brand of hip-hop, and the Hyphy-crazed heads in the bay might do well to take notice. Plus, the Coughee Brothers have the gangtsa version of Ray Charles in Rob Quest, a blind member of the group who was arguably the best rapper on stage.
Finally, four hours later on a Wednesday night, Del came out to massive adulation, and performed a great set of throw back jams from his heyday. But the contact high provided by Devin The Dude and his pals was more than enough to leave at least one person satisfied for the night. The show was a bit of a blur after them, but in a good way.
For more information, visit:
http://www.myspace.com/devinthedude
http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
http://www.myspace.com/cougheebrothaz
http://store.definitivejux.net/store/index.htm
http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
# posted by [X]press Staff @ 10:18 AM 