A Sit Down with Dev7
Devin, AKA Dev7, is a Hip-Hop artist based in Chicago, born and raised in Jacksonville, FL, who blends melody with raw lyricism. Devin is a frequent in the cloud-rap and electronic sub-genres, also being a key figure in the New Wave scene emerging out of Chicago. We got the chance to sit down with him and talk about his work.
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Interviewer: “You rep your hometown, Jacksonville, and your local city, Chicago, hard. How do the many places that you have lived shape your sound and your lyrics?”
Dev7: “From being part of different cultures, and being exposed to all types of people, meeting new people, constantly moving houses; a lot of that representation comes from trying to keep rooted in where I'm from, the ideas, the people, and the communities that I grew up in. I want to show love back to the people who were there when I took my first steps for real. I feel like repping where I’m from in my music is a great way to do that. Chicago too… wherever I’m at, my city loves me, and I love my city.”
Interviewer: “I fuck with the name Dev7, it rolls off the tongue easily. What does the name mean? Especially the number. How’d you come up with it?”
Dev7: “Dev7 is my alter-ego, you know, he’s my mask. If there’s something that Devin won’t do, Dev7 already did. The number also represents something like ‘in-between’, not first, not necessarily last, but one of a long line. Centuries after I die, there will still be people who came from my, or a similar walk of life, people who experienced things close to the way that I did. There will be people who fight for the same shit I fight for right now. I’m just another human being the universe has called upon, and I'm fulfilling my purpose.”
Interviewer: “You’ve had some notable performances recently, Columbia’s Manifest, a great set at Metro Mix, and of course, Coat of Arms. How have you felt on stage recently? Any more performances coming up?”
Dev7: “I felt confident on stage recently. I feel like I’m kind of coming out of my shell a bit. It’s in the end process of being broken right now, but ive had stage fright my whole life, and especially a lack of confidence performing my own material. Recently, though, ive been feeling an overwhelming amount of love and support that has helped me believe in myself much more. I actually hopped right off stage from an improv show before that Manifest set, so that felt great.”
Interviewer: “So you’re an actor too?”
Dev7: “Yeah, so I have most of my experience in theatre, Ive been doing it for almost 8 years now. I’m starting to get more into acting in short films, as well as improv work. I’ve really been falling in love with improv work recently; it’s been eye-opening in terms of what you can do creatively, and how I can further express myself in a medium that I already know. It’s been a passion of mine since a kid, and I always thought being a stuntman would be the most badass thing in the world. A lot of my acting passion has come from watching WWE as a kid. So I’m really getting into stage combat right now. I love it. Another thing aside from the music.”
Interviewer: “Seems like you’re a bit of a jack of all trades. You also shot the video for “Smoking Dodie” by Campbell Crose. That shits fire. You shoot music videos on top of the acting, too?”
Dev7: “Yeah, and thank you. I’m a videographer, that’s kind of my main title, you could say. I do music videos, and I do more short films than anything. I work in the film industry as well for production. I’m mainly a camera operator and gaffer; however, I also work in cinematography, and I assist in camera operation.”
Interviewer: “That’s a full plate right there. How do you balance it?”
Dev7: “This shit is tiring, man. My brain just doesn’t stop taking pictures and telling stories.”
Interviewer: “What is next for Dev7? Anything you want to tell us or highlight for yourself?”
Dev7: “I’m forever evolving, there’s always room to move forward. I’m always going to do what makes me happy, and I hope y’all enjoy it. Ive got new stuff coming out soon that I personally really want y’all to hear. It’s going to be lit.”
