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Though his status as underground legend seems to grow year after year, Devin the Dude’s record sales will probably never be as high as his own state of mind seems to be at any given moment. The man raps about weed, pussy, weed, booze, weed and the odd bout of melancholic nostalgia—not an easy path to mainstream success when the radio market demands boasts about guns and slabs.
But maybe the Dude’s onto something: Smoking hay by the bale is a much more fun way of keeping it real than slinging coke is, right? And there’s no doubt that Devin keeps it real; if you’re skeptical, check out his high-larious “High Y’All Doin'” web video series, in which the perma-blazed Devin shows that he kept track of time spent in the studio for his just-released Landing Gear by tracking the growth of his personal crop of doctor-prescribed marijuana plants. (That album, by the way, has the smooth funk beats, genial humor and unguarded honesty that he’s perfected in the past decade—the same formula that’s earned him guest spots from Snoop, Andre 3000, Lil’ Wayne and the title of “your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.”)
Supporting the Dude is the Devin-led stoner collective Coughee Brothaz and the Garland-raised Austin rapper Bavu Blakes.
