As a sort of job requirement, successful rappers come with
strong personalities, but sheer likeability is rarely the first quality
that springs to mind. Nevertheless, Houston’s Devin the Dude, often
referred to as “your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper,” has built a
long career on being funny, laidback, and approachable on the mic.
That, and possessing one of the smoothest flows in the game today.
Devin’s latest is Waitin’ to Inhale, one of the best hiphop
albums of the year, and like his three previous albums, it concentrates
on his two favorite topics: women and weed. They’re hardly new subjects
for hiphop, but Devin’s personality—the smooth jester with a gift
for narrative—shines throughout, and I’m sure I’m not the only
listener who felt by the end of the album that Devin would be one of
the most fun friends a guy could have.
One of the album’s standout tracks is “Broccoli and Cheese,” with
the unforgettable refrain, “Girl, this dick is so clean, it’ll probably
go good with your broccoli and cheese.” This not being a typical
suggestion in the rap world, I asked Devin where he came up with the
idea of proposing steamed vegetables as a side dish for his penis. He
starts giggling at the mention of the song: “It was a specific event
with this one woman, where you do everything you can to try to please
her, and take her out a couple times, and talk to her, but she’d never
give you no pussy. It seemed like she loved to go out to eat all the
time, but she never gives you no pussy. So it’s like, ‘Man, my dick is
just as clean as those lima beans. Ever thought about eating some of
this?'”
As I’m cracking up at the end of his story, Devin is laughing even
harder than me, and I get a glimpse of what Devin’s world is like (in
my imagination): bullshitting, rhyming, smoking his beloved “coughee,”
making crank calls in redneck voices (hilariously featured on
Waitin’), and keeping Dr. Dre and André 3000 on the speed
dial. Like I said—the coolest friend in the world.