Austinist CD Reviews: Devin The Dude

The discrepancies between sound and subject matter occasionally go beyond humor into the sublime. "Hope I Don't Get Sick-A-This," which sounds like an even more dirge-like "St. James Infirmary," is essentially about screwing anything that moves; "Just Because," a bleak, darkly funny kiss-off to an ex, rides an ultra-cheesy synth-and-sax track that would have given Hall & Oates pause. But novelty will only get you so far--ask Mike Jones--and, thankfully, Devin possesses one of the most lyrically graceful flows in hip-hop today, in addition to a singing voice that belongs in a church choir.

At its heart, Waitin' To Inhale is a straight-up soul record, packed with any number of greased-up guitar hooks, glittering harmonies, and heartfelt songs about girls, although some of those girls are underage. It was all recorded in his Coughee Pot studio in Houston, and it features the kind of blissed-out, D'Angelo-esque Saturday night grooves your sheltered aunt might refer to as "real music," with like chord changes and bridges and stuff. There's a disarming depth of emotion to Devin's style: when he fantasizes about throwing his ex off a hotel balcony, on "Just Because," he does so because he's completely heartbroken, not because he thinks it's a fun thing to say.

Four albums into his career, Devin seems poised for the kind of mainstream success, or at least cult-expanding respectability, that has already swelled the coffers of his better-known Houston brethren. Waiting To Inhale actually saw some chart action the week it dropped, a sure sign that Planet Clear Channel is operating at a frequency out of most music fans' range. Having famous friends like Bun B and Snoop Dogg along for the ride can't hurt, but there will always be plenty of people who just want somebody to get really high and tell them a story.