Devin The Dude (of Odd Squad/FaceMob) picks his: Top 5 dead or alive

AllHipHop.com:
Regarding MCs, I want to get your Top 5 Dead Or Alive.
Please, tell me who made your list and why.

Devin The Dude:
Well, you know how that is, that changes a lot.
Once you finish making your list
and you give it some thought,
you’ll think about some more artists
and MCs that you like.
You’ll think, damn, he was up there, too!
That’s always been hard for me.
I’ve been a fan of Hip Hop since the very early ‘80’s
My s*** has accumulated and sometimes I’ll forget.
I’ll give you roughly, my Top 5.

Jay-Z


With Number 5, I’ll go with Jay-Z.
At the time when he first came in the game
it was like the early ‘90’s, the early to mid-‘90’s.
He came in when there were a lot of heavy hitters out.
At that time right there, being lyrical is what you had to be.
There was no way around it!
There was no faking the funk.
You couldn’t do that half-steppin’,
and just be saying some s***.
You had to be accountable.
He came through at that time and he was good.
He didn’t let go at all.
Still to this day,
he can go in the booth and rip up some s***.
At the time, it was just a matter of holding your own.
And he was one of them MCs that could hold his own.
He’s proven that with longevity.

MC Shan


Number 4, I’ll say MC Shan.
He was one of the artists to me that made me pay attention.
He made me listen and almost see the story that he was saying.
He would tell a story like,
“Left Me Lonely,” and “Project Ho,”
and songs like that.
You could almost see the people and
the places he was talking about when he was rapping.
That always stuck with me.
He painted a vivid picture.
Back then, he was one of the people who started me wanting to rap.

Slick Rick


Number 3, I would say Slick Rick.
Wow! He continued that legacy [of storytelling].
When Slick Rick came along,
I thought it was pretty much over with.
He was brighter!
You were actually almost there with him instead of looking at him.
You know, “Children’s Story,”
and “Hey Young World,” songs like that,
it was like you were like right there with him.
If MC Shan made me start rapping,
I guess Slick Rick made me continue it.
I started wearing Kangol’s because of Slick Rick.
He came first with the fur Kangol, too
I didn’t totally bite his style;
because, I had different kinds of Kangol’s, too.
He pretty much had the fuzzy one all the time, and stuff.
But, I made sure that I didn’t get too far from it.
Slick Rick, you know, he was my guy.
I wasn’t really rapping then;
I was still kinda just deejaying and break dancing.
I was a music listener and lover then,
but I’ve always had Slick Rick around.

Nas


Number 2, I would say the homie, Nas.
Not only is he one of the great men
with the lyrics—he’s painting the picture—you can see him.
When MC Shan raps you’re there with him.
It’s like how Slick Rick did, too.
When it comes to his rhymes,
sometimes you can be there with him and
sometimes y’all can be together.
With Nas’ music and the stories that he tells,
it seems like you and him are together,
looking at something else.
It was a blessing just to be able to do song with him.
He was a part of my project, too.
That was one of the greatest things that’s
ever happened in my career, too.
I got a chance to meet him and
he was likewise appreciative of my music.
That kinda really did a whole lot for me, you what I’m saying.

Just like meeting Dre and meeting Snoop,
being involved with Scarface, Too Short, De La Soul,
artists like that; they appreciate me.
They got some nice music,
and they actually appreciate what I did.
Nas is one of those artists.
He’s not only one of my favorites,
he’s a lot of people’s favorite artist.
You know, Nas, he knows what he’s doing.
He represents to the fullest as far as Hip-Hop.
He’s done a lot for Hip Hop.
Just to be involved with Nas on any project is a wonderful thing.

T LA Rock


My number 1, I guess would be T-La Rock.
He has a song called “It’s Yours.”
He has other songs, too.
He was like, my favorite MC.
Back in the day, when the songs was pretty much like,
‘throw your hands in the air,
and wave ‘em like you just don’t care—say, ho.’
There really wasn’t that much lyrical stuff going on.
He was one of the first artists that came along
and just started coming with huge words that made sense
he also came with a rhyme pattern,
and a cadence which showed he could rap.
The way that he would say these words would be crazy!
It was crazy; hardly nobody was doing it at the time.
When he came on the scene,
he changed the whole vocabulary of rapping.
He was innovative; he changed things!
That’s what made me say, okay,
Rap is here and it’s not going nowhere for a long time.



VIA
AllHipHop.com


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