Young Devyn Talks Her New Music, 'Straight To It' Single + More #SOHHExclusive
Rising New York rap star @YoungDevyn talks to SOHH about her journey to the top, what COVID has been like for her, what shows she's digging, and much more!
#YoungDevyn #SOHH #First #BOHH #BlackOwnedHipHop #BrooklynDrill
#YoungDevyn #SOHH #First #BOHH #BlackOwnedHipHop #BrooklynDrill
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MusicTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Yes, you've tuned in, you've stayed long enough.
00:13 You've watched the entire show.
00:16 You know that you gotta be voting for my pick today,
00:19 but if you're watching this part,
00:21 you are at the new Music Wednesday After Show.
00:24 This is Cyrus, of course you see Hannah.
00:26 Hannah, you wanna give them a shout out real quick?
00:27 - Hey y'all, it's Hannah, so intern.
00:30 - Yes, yes, yes, but that's short for international
00:33 for the record, and today we have the pleasure
00:36 of actually introducing a lot more of the world
00:39 to someone that a lot of people already know,
00:41 the amazing young Devin, straight to it.
00:45 - What's up, what's up?
00:47 - All those fire beats, can we get a little teaser
00:49 of that straight to it so everyone is familiar
00:52 with what we're talking about?
00:53 Yes, yes, I'm a little bit tight, Devin,
00:55 but I'm glad you did not have me drive in the car.
00:58 I feel like your team did not call me up.
01:00 I could have taken a quick day to hold you down.
01:03 But very dope, once again, it's a pleasure
01:06 to have you with us today.
01:08 How are you feeling today, young Devin?
01:09 - Thanks for having me, I appreciate it.
01:10 - Absolutely, so of course there's a bunch of things
01:13 that we wanna talk to you about,
01:15 but we have to focus in on the straight to it music video.
01:18 I know you've been doing all these different interviews
01:21 and all that, but just kinda give us the whole concept.
01:24 We're familiar with "Secret" and some of those
01:25 Caribbean vibes, and you kinda swooshed it up on us
01:28 with that video, and I'm completely feeling it.
01:32 - Yeah, straight to it, it was just something fun.
01:34 It was supposed to be a fun freestyle for my fans.
01:37 It started out as just content on my page, on my Instagram.
01:40 It was never really supposed to be a song.
01:42 And then just seeing the reaction of it going viral
01:45 on TikTok and Shade Routines posting,
01:48 all these different blog sites were posting it.
01:49 So I was like, you know what, I should turn this
01:51 into a song and capitalize off of the momentum.
01:54 And so that's exactly what I did,
01:55 and the plan worked, clearly,
01:58 'cause it's opened so much doors.
01:59 My team has just put 100% behind it,
02:02 and it's just been bigger than what I could ever even imagine.
02:05 - No, absolutely, and you gotta definitely talk
02:07 about the production, 'cause this is not just like,
02:10 let me get the GoPro and do a video.
02:11 This is a high quality production.
02:13 You used the jewelries out, the whip looks amazing,
02:16 it's shining all over.
02:17 Definitely talk about producing or getting it together.
02:20 - Yeah, I mean, it was really simple.
02:22 I didn't want anything that was too difficult or too crazy.
02:25 I wanted the concept, as you can see,
02:27 just getting straight to it.
02:28 Many crazy things happen behind the scenes,
02:31 but at the end of the day,
02:33 my team always puts it together properly.
02:35 And so it came together well, and the video was amazing.
02:37 Everybody loves the fact that it's me,
02:39 singled out by myself, just rapping, giving straight bars.
02:43 So that's kind of the beauty of it,
02:45 'cause it represents the title of the song, too.
02:47 So that part, just pulling it together was great.
02:51 And then linking up with 2-300, he produced straight to it.
02:53 He's an amazing producer, and he doesn't only do drill beats,
02:56 he does all types of songs.
02:58 So we've been working on not only drill songs,
03:00 but just any type of song that you could think of,
03:02 and he's really talented.
03:04 - Got you, got you, got you.
03:05 Hannah, you know I'm gonna keep on talking.
03:07 You wanna jump in, or you want me to keep on?
03:09 - I just wanted to kind of talk about how you started.
03:11 You were eight, doing shows, sold out shows
03:14 with soca artists, and I didn't not know
03:17 what I wanted to do.
03:18 So you already had your foundation,
03:20 so how did you know you wanted to continue music,
03:23 and that was something you seriously wanted to do?
03:25 - I didn't, I never made a conscious decision to do music.
03:28 It's just when I started it, and I seen the reaction
03:30 of how everybody was to me doing it,
03:32 I realized it was something that I was real passionate about,
03:35 and I just kept going at it.
03:36 But I never really made a conscious decision
03:38 to be like, you know what, I'm gonna be a singer
03:41 when I get older, or I'm gonna be a rapper when I get older.
03:43 It just kind of fell into my lap,
03:45 and I just took the opportunity and ran with it.
03:48 - No, got you, and you know,
03:51 one thing I really wanna ask you, Devyn,
03:52 is what's so unique about you is you have such a grip
03:56 on different flows, right?
03:57 I mentioned "Secret" a minute ago,
03:59 "Secret," "The Caribbean Fire," right?
04:01 Then you got "Make It Hot,"
04:02 which is a little bit of a different sound.
04:03 Even "Straight 2" has a whole different,
04:06 like, do-do-do-do-do, kind of that freestyle flavor.
04:08 I guess, just kind of give us an idea
04:10 of how you pick and choose the different flows,
04:14 different songs, 'cause it's very unique.
04:16 - Well, it just depends on my vibe, really.
04:19 Like, I never try to put a cap on who I am
04:22 and my sound or anything,
04:23 like whatever I feel like doing that day.
04:25 You know, if tomorrow I wake up
04:26 and I decide I wanna do a rock song,
04:27 I'm gonna do a rock song.
04:28 Like, I don't ever have any type of cap on my creativity.
04:32 So, you know, it's just whatever I'm feeling.
04:34 Like, sometimes I might go in the studio
04:35 and I might hear a melodic song,
04:37 and if it takes it to me, then I'll write to it.
04:39 Or if I hear a drill song, I'll get in that mode.
04:41 But it's my day.
04:42 I do have days where, you know, when I wanna write,
04:45 I do be in certain moods.
04:46 So, you know, it just all depends.
04:48 But I never try to put a cap on anything that I do.
04:52 - No, absolutely.
04:53 You know, one thing that I really love about you
04:54 is you give so many blessings on social media,
04:57 specifically with, like, a lot of freestyles
04:59 and, like, little teasers.
05:00 And I know we have one clip kind of cued up,
05:02 if we can get that shown on your IG a few days ago.
05:05 ♪ I treat my opps like a blunt and I pass 'em ♪
05:07 ♪ Shorty loves 'em by the morning I bag 'em ♪
05:09 ♪ Catch you lacking in the feeling we flag 'em ♪
05:10 ♪ Bring a Chevy and it's freeing like magic ♪
05:12 ♪ He said, "Devyn, how you doing?" ♪
05:13 ♪ Fantastic, wait, I just said I'm the best ♪
05:15 ♪ Think I'm feeling all this drip on my neck ♪
05:17 ♪ I told my jeweler, "Make my diamonds spaghetti" ♪
05:18 ♪ Yo, my body, this ain't no silhouette ♪
05:20 ♪ Tick tock, bring the good 52 on my wristwatch ♪
05:22 ♪ Don't think I ain't on time 'cause of hip-hop ♪
05:24 ♪ That's the thing where your homie could get shot ♪
05:26 ♪ Money straight like a poet, I've been blocked ♪
05:27 ♪ I don't need ♪
05:29 - Boom, perfect, yeah.
05:30 So, I mean, and of course you got the mink coat out
05:32 crazy nice and fine.
05:34 But like I said, whether it's IG, whether it's YouTube,
05:36 you sprinkle, like, your presence all over the place.
05:39 Let's put back context with that.
05:40 Was that a freestyle or was that from a previous music video?
05:43 - Yeah, that was from a music video,
05:45 but you know, sometimes, I just have a lot of songs.
05:47 I make a lot of music.
05:48 I have like hundreds of songs.
05:49 That was just one of the, you know,
05:50 those unreleased songs in this dash
05:51 that I ended up doing like a dope visual for
05:54 'cause I did a collab with my friend.
05:56 She has 360 booths.
05:58 So, I always try to use my platform
05:59 to help people around me as much as possible.
06:01 So, it's like, you know, she started her 360 booth.
06:03 I'm like, "Okay, let me freestyle on your booth.
06:06 "I could use it as content."
06:07 And that's also promoting your business.
06:08 And so, you know, that's kind of what we did.
06:10 And I just used that freestyle that I had did.
06:13 It went crazy on my Instagram again.
06:15 Like, my team was like, "You know,
06:16 "so you decided to just wake up and go viral, huh?"
06:19 I just woke up and I was like, "You know what?
06:20 "I'm gonna post this today."
06:21 And it just went crazy.
06:23 So, I know the fans is expecting that,
06:24 but there's so much music coming that, you know,
06:26 they don't even know what's really coming.
06:29 - No, definitely, Hannah.
06:30 You good?
06:31 - You look bomb in that video.
06:32 I just want to say that. - Thank you.
06:33 - And your makeup, hair, everything.
06:35 And I know a teenage girl, like,
06:36 everybody wants that dream, like,
06:39 "Oh, I'm in the spotlight, got my hair and makeup done."
06:42 So, is the struggle real when it comes to, like,
06:44 having your hair laid for a music video
06:46 or how you want it, or your outfit?
06:47 Like, how is it, like, behind the scenes?
06:50 - Look at my hair now, it's hot.
06:51 If I'm not, like, doing a music video
06:54 or things like that, I'm usually in a hat.
06:55 Like, my team is now starting to beg me to, like,
06:58 you know, my hair to be done all the time
06:59 'cause I'm always working.
07:00 So, it's like, you know, if I'm not doing something
07:02 that, you know, pertains to me necessarily,
07:04 half of my hair, then I'm always just working
07:06 or I'm a little scruffy.
07:07 But I'm trying to put myself together,
07:08 but yeah, it is a lot of work 'cause, you know,
07:10 I'm picky, I like my hair done, I like my nails sent away,
07:13 I like my makeup sent away, you know?
07:15 So, and on top of that, too,
07:18 I do feel like I'm kind of like that representation
07:20 for, like, girls our age.
07:22 Like, you know, if you think of, like, female rappers,
07:24 you know, they're there, of course,
07:25 but I don't think in a sense of, like,
07:27 relatability, it connects.
07:28 Like, I don't think there's that everyday girl
07:30 that feels like one of us, that looks like one of us,
07:32 but still is fried, still put together.
07:35 That's kind of what I want to just be for people our age,
07:37 and so I try to make sure I'm very aware of that.
07:40 - Mm-hmm.
07:41 - Yeah, yeah, people our age, our age,
07:43 I mean, like, I'm kind of, you know, it's a great issue.
07:45 But nonetheless, I definitely get where you're going.
07:48 You know, one thing I kind of want to piggyback off
07:49 of what Hannah was saying a little bit ago, Devin,
07:52 you know, just having such an early start to your career,
07:54 I mean, you're 19 years old, right?
07:56 - Yeah.
07:56 - And you put in work already, which is just crazy.
07:59 I wonder, how does social media,
08:01 just in general, whether it's SoundCloud,
08:03 IG, you know, all those different platforms,
08:05 I mean, you know, being able to just be so young
08:07 and blow up on such a crazy level,
08:09 does social media play a big part of that,
08:10 with your grind?
08:12 - Yeah, of course, I mean, social media,
08:13 that's kind of like the biggest tool
08:14 for out this generation.
08:16 Like, people are becoming millionaires
08:17 from their phones, off of social media.
08:19 So, of course.
08:21 You know, I just used it to my advantage,
08:24 when I realized my algorithm,
08:25 and when I realized things that catch,
08:27 how to make people go viral.
08:29 'Cause at first, I never used to understand it,
08:31 and then when I went viral, I understood,
08:32 like, there's really, like, a formula to it.
08:34 You know, not in a sense of faking the funk,
08:36 but a formula, in a sense,
08:37 to captivating people's attention.
08:39 Even the smallest things, like how you crop a video,
08:42 like, all of those little details
08:43 add up to the bigger picture.
08:45 So, you know, once I started figuring those things out,
08:47 I started just putting them together,
08:49 and I kind of became like a machine with it.
08:50 So, it's like, second nature.
08:52 Like, I know if I wanna post a freestyle video,
08:54 I'm gonna crop it a certain way,
08:55 because it'll pop up on the Instagram feed larger,
08:58 and that's more of a chance somebody will look.
09:00 It's just little things like that.
09:01 And once people, you know,
09:02 once I started putting it together,
09:03 I started realizing it.
09:04 So, social media definitely helped me out a lot.
09:06 - Gotcha, and you know, one thing,
09:07 just to kind of keep the conversation moving forward,
09:09 like, what's your biggest superpower?
09:11 'Cause I was looking at you, Devin,
09:12 and I'm like, she can freestyle, she can write,
09:14 she's got different flows.
09:15 It's almost like a Marvel character, right?
09:17 - Right.
09:18 - I'm just curious, like,
09:18 what do you feel like your biggest strength?
09:21 - My biggest strength is that I keep going.
09:24 Like, for some reason, even at times
09:26 where I don't feel like I keep going anymore,
09:27 I just still keep going.
09:28 And I tell people that all the time,
09:29 'cause even when I look at, like, not really artists,
09:32 but just people in general, you know,
09:34 let's say they started in the year 2016.
09:35 A lot of people who started in 2016 is not here right now.
09:38 Or, you know, a lot of kids my age
09:41 who was trying to sing soca music
09:43 around the same time as me are not here right now.
09:46 You know what I'm saying?
09:46 Like, it's a lot of reinventing I had to do,
09:49 learning myself, figuring myself out,
09:51 just taking a break, stopping, going,
09:53 ups, downs, nights where I was crying, upset,
09:56 but I still kept going.
09:58 That was the beauty of it.
09:59 And it's like, you know, when you stop,
10:00 you don't even know if you stopped right before,
10:03 you know, that good moment was supposed to happen.
10:04 And so no matter how rough it is or how tough it is,
10:07 no matter what aspect of life,
10:08 I just some way, somehow pick myself up and I keep going.
10:11 - Yeah, yeah, and that's a little somber, Nova.
10:13 I mean, just to really continue
10:14 that specific conversation, COVID hits, right?
10:17 COVID, for all artists, you know,
10:19 you're selling out shows at a very young age
10:21 and you have such a big bus, you can go for it,
10:23 and then everything just comes to a complete stop, right?
10:25 You talk about going and going and going.
10:27 How in the world were you able to just mentally,
10:29 physically be able to go when everything was shut down?
10:32 - Yeah, I mean, that was crazy.
10:34 It's like, it was like a gift and a curse, you know,
10:36 because I signed a deal in a pandemic.
10:38 So it's like my life changed in the pandemic,
10:41 but at the same time, everybody's life changed
10:43 in the pandemic for many different reasons.
10:45 Of course, I've lost people in the pandemic as well.
10:47 And just, you know, this has kind of changed the whole world.
10:52 Like I miss being on stage and performing for my fans
10:55 and selling out shows, but you know,
10:57 my team and everything, we're getting it together
10:58 so now that the timing is right.
11:00 But yeah, like that took a big hit for everybody,
11:02 but I think that also was a good thing
11:04 because it taught people to use their brains.
11:06 It taught people to, you know,
11:07 you can't be so dependent on, you know,
11:09 you being outside physically.
11:11 Like now you gotta use your brain
11:12 and, you know, really captivate people, you know?
11:15 So that's exactly what the pandemic has done
11:17 for a lot of artists.
11:18 And you've seen a lot of artists prosper, some haven't,
11:21 but I feel like we've all adjusted
11:22 and the music business is doing a good job
11:24 at figuring out ways to still reach the masses.
11:27 - Absolutely.
11:29 I think also with COVID and you're such a young artist,
11:32 like your career has been going
11:34 throughout your whole childhood.
11:35 So how was like school and like with your career
11:38 and is college in your future?
11:40 Like how is that whole thing going?
11:42 - Yeah, well, I graduated high school 2019.
11:45 So like I always, in the beginning, I was big on school,
11:48 but then, you know, after a certain age,
11:50 started getting into my little trouble.
11:52 My mind just wasn't on school.
11:53 Then I started rapping and the popularity of me rapping
11:56 even more kind of motivated me.
11:58 Like, no, I really just wanna do music,
11:59 but I still made sure I graduated school.
12:02 But that balance was crazy though.
12:03 Like being at a show, I'm doing my homework backstage
12:06 before I'm going out to a sold out show, you know?
12:09 Like my mother never played that.
12:10 Like she didn't care how many fans I had,
12:12 I was getting my work done regardless.
12:14 You know, only when I got older
12:16 and I started handling school on my own
12:18 is when I started slipping up.
12:19 But for the most part, I always made sure
12:20 that I balanced my grades and you know, my career.
12:23 'Cause you never know when you need it.
12:25 It goes hand in hand.
12:26 When I was younger, I used to wanna be a lawyer.
12:28 So I wanted to be really big on my criminal justice
12:31 and the law and global and things like that.
12:34 And it's kind of helped me with my writing
12:35 because I know a little bit more.
12:37 Like when I'm speaking about like the introspective things
12:39 that goes on and like the community,
12:41 if I'm talking about the system,
12:43 I'm really educated on it and I can elaborate on it
12:45 in my music because I've really studied it in school.
12:48 So now that I'm older, I kind of understand
12:50 why the adults be like, "Pay attention."
12:52 - Exactly.
12:54 Definitely.
12:55 We gotta focus on the freestyle.
12:57 I mean, Layla, when you say that you can freestyle,
12:59 that's such an understatement, Devyn.
13:00 Like your body, like you body, body, body.
13:04 Before I dig too deep into it,
13:05 obviously if anybody's checking you out for the first time
13:07 or just wants to see some of your most fire stuff,
13:09 we gotta show a little highlight
13:11 of one of your most memorable freestyles.
13:13 I think we should have that cued up.
13:15 - Okay. - Let's wait.
13:16 - Yeah, Brooklyn, Trinidad.
13:19 Listen, call me the gold and the greatest.
13:21 I'm seeing my green and Jamaicans.
13:23 I'm trini but no couple Haitians.
13:24 I'm still Reverend Brooklyn.
13:25 I'm nothing to play with.
13:26 And I never had to go sell out my body
13:27 to be everybody's new favorite.
13:29 They said all this winning is making me cocky.
13:31 Let me get humble to say this.
13:32 There is nobody ahead of me.
13:33 Cooking what's next to me.
13:34 I got the recipe, dog.
13:35 Killing you rappers, no felony.
13:36 Go get my clemency.
13:37 I mean, 17.
13:39 - Yeah, so the same year that you graduate,
13:41 you body the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards
13:45 you've been talking about.
13:46 Before we get too deep into it,
13:47 just the love of freestyling.
13:49 Where does it come from?
13:50 So many artists get put on blast,
13:52 especially from Funk Flex,
13:53 and not having those freestyle skills,
13:55 you gotta speak on it.
13:57 - Yeah, and Flex, that's family.
13:59 But yeah, no, the freestyling,
14:02 that hunger just came from the people that I studied.
14:05 I came into the game, I was inspired by Nicki,
14:07 but then I fell in love with Meek's.
14:08 Meek, it don't matter how big he is,
14:10 no matter how many records he got,
14:11 he's still making his rounds for Flex
14:13 in all of the different places,
14:14 and still freestyling during his little press runs.
14:17 And I really appreciated that.
14:19 And that's one of the things
14:20 that made me such a big fan of Meek.
14:22 And watching "Shade of Kiss,"
14:24 it's a video of him,
14:25 I forgot what radio station, but he bodied.
14:28 It's a real iconic video.
14:29 It's things like that,
14:30 that I became a student of the game really fast.
14:33 So the hip hop that I grew up on,
14:35 and the hip hop that I studied,
14:36 was the MC era, the golden era of hip hop,
14:39 the '90s, when people was really focusing on bars,
14:42 and cyphers, and battles,
14:44 when those things were fun,
14:46 and really big in a part of the culture.
14:47 So I made sure that I transcended it
14:49 into my age bracket,
14:51 but do it in a way where it's appealing.
14:52 So I might not be in every cypher,
14:54 I'm not gonna bar people to death,
14:56 but you're gonna hear what I'm saying,
14:58 and I'm gonna make sure I put it together
14:59 in a clever way.
15:00 - No, absolutely.
15:01 And then you look at it,
15:02 it's not a TikTok freestyle,
15:04 it's not an IG freestyle.
15:06 You're on Sway,
15:07 you're on a Friday freestyle.
15:09 Of course, as we just showed,
15:11 the BET Hip Hop Awards,
15:12 I mean, the pressure, the excitement,
15:14 you just thrive off of those opportunities.
15:16 'Cause I mean, a lot of people get shook,
15:17 or pull up Blackberry, shout out to Drake.
15:18 - Yeah, the pressure about the BET Hip Hop Awards
15:21 is that that cypher,
15:22 and I always say this,
15:23 that wasn't even what I wrote.
15:24 That was one of those moments
15:25 where I really got caught in the moment.
15:27 But I had to just, with God's grace,
15:30 put two and two together
15:31 and figure something out.
15:32 But it was just such a surreal moment,
15:33 like a year before I was saying
15:35 that I was gonna be on the cypher.
15:37 I didn't have any connections,
15:38 I didn't know how I was gonna get there.
15:39 I was just speaking into existence.
15:41 So for me to actually be there
15:43 in the same timing that I said I would,
15:44 it was just like a crazy moment for me.
15:46 And I think blacked out,
15:47 but I caught myself,
15:48 and I put my words together,
15:51 and it came out the way it did,
15:52 so I'm happy about that.
15:53 But yeah, that was a big surreal moment for me,
15:55 like one of my most memorable moments thus far.
15:58 - Gotcha, how do you stay on top
15:59 of your freestyle skills?
16:00 'Cause I figure as you get more success,
16:02 as you do more interviews,
16:03 as you do more songwriting,
16:05 is that just one of your crafts
16:06 that you just wanna always have on deck?
16:08 Like, I can just do a freestyle at any moment?
16:10 Or do you see yourself departing
16:12 from that part of your arsenal?
16:14 - No, I definitely always keep that a part of me.
16:16 Like I said, I'm a student of the game.
16:17 So the type of people that I,
16:19 you know, I'm even inspired by,
16:21 they wouldn't even let that slide
16:23 if that was the thing,
16:23 or if that was the case.
16:24 Like you're never gonna see,
16:26 you know, me go to a place,
16:27 and somebody acting a freestyle,
16:28 and he be like, nah, I'm not ready.
16:30 Like, you know, he gonna say something.
16:32 So that's kind of the type of,
16:35 like I said, I wrote that I studied,
16:36 and the type of people that I grew around.
16:38 And then, you know, I just always feel like,
16:40 me as a writer, I'm always pushing my pen.
16:42 So when you write all the time,
16:43 freestyling becomes like muscle memory,
16:45 because you're always thinking of words.
16:46 But I grew up reading the dictionary a lot.
16:48 So it's like, I can think of words really fast,
16:51 'cause rapping is really like a sport.
16:53 And the more you train and practice at the sport,
16:55 if you gain muscles,
16:56 it becomes like muscle memory.
16:58 And so that's kind of how it is for me,
17:00 a freestyler sometimes.
17:01 - No, absolutely.
17:03 - Yeah, that specific BET freestyle,
17:06 I noticed you was repping Brooklyn and Trinidad.
17:08 And I'm Jamaican, so I know we're big,
17:10 we're big on like repping our countries.
17:13 - Yeah.
17:14 - So like, and especially in New York,
17:15 I feel like everybody tries to be a rapper
17:17 or try to sing,
17:18 but like, how do you deal with that,
17:19 hating people are like,
17:21 you're just a regular New York City girl rapping.
17:23 - Mm-hmm.
17:24 I mean, I don't even,
17:25 I don't really pay attention to comments, one.
17:27 And number two,
17:28 I don't think nobody really ever even played
17:30 with me like that,
17:31 because like I was rapping,
17:32 like when, before it was even cool.
17:35 And so like, 'cause you know,
17:36 you would know our age bracket right now,
17:38 everybody's trying to be a rapper.
17:40 - Right, everybody's trying to, right.
17:40 - Everybody's on Facebook, everybody's on Instagram.
17:42 Your friend from down the block who was just a fan.
17:45 Now she's rapping.
17:46 You know what I'm saying?
17:47 Like everybody's being a rapper now,
17:48 but I was rapping before it was even a trend
17:51 or before it was even cool, you know?
17:53 So I don't even think people really ever played
17:55 with me like that.
17:56 But if, even if they have,
17:57 like I don't be paying attention to like comments
17:59 and nothing like that.
18:00 I barely read comments, you know?
18:01 I try to respond to my fans and things like that,
18:03 but I try to stay away from negativity.
18:05 It don't do me no justice either.
18:07 And I'm too hard headed.
18:08 Like I might argue with you
18:09 and it might go a little too left.
18:11 - Exactly.
18:12 - So I just try to stay away from that overall.
18:15 - Yeah, and really just one or two more things
18:16 I wanna throw at you, Devyn, once again,
18:18 thank you for taking some time
18:19 with the new Music Wednesday After Show.
18:22 I gotta ask, you know,
18:23 and so of course you wanna be successful
18:25 and have an amazing career,
18:26 but when it comes down to respect, right?
18:28 Is it respectful for your like fellow peers?
18:30 Is it for female hip hop artists or females?
18:32 Is it for the OGs, the little Kims of the game,
18:35 the Foxes of the game?
18:36 Who like, when it comes to just kind of getting that,
18:39 the respect, who do you really most want it from?
18:44 - I don't know, 'cause I don't ever really try
18:46 to hold somebody's opinion that high.
18:49 You know, I really appreciate when people give me compliments
18:51 like, you know, people, of course, Nikki.
18:54 Nikki posted me and shouted me out.
18:55 That was a big moment for me.
18:56 Everybody knows Nikki is the reason
18:58 why I even started rapping.
18:59 So of course these types of moments are big,
19:01 but it's like, you know,
19:03 when you look at things like award shows,
19:05 you might know you have a good album
19:07 and it gets nominated for every category
19:09 and it wins nothing.
19:10 That don't take away from your album
19:11 'cause you didn't win.
19:12 You know what I'm saying?
19:12 Your album still have been platinum
19:15 and it went number one and it did what it was supposed to do
19:17 just because a certain community
19:19 didn't really agree with it
19:21 or pick it to be the number one
19:22 doesn't mean that it's not.
19:23 So I never really try to hold people's opinions too much
19:26 or weigh it in to try to say like,
19:28 I need this person's approval.
19:29 'Cause I feel like, you know, I stay in my lane.
19:31 I don't bother anybody.
19:32 And once I continue to do what I'm doing, you know,
19:35 it don't really fall into anybody else's lane anyways
19:38 for the approval to even matter.
19:40 - Gotcha, gotcha.
19:41 I wanna go completely off on a different angle.
19:43 This is probably something that Hannah would be asking,
19:45 but I heard that you big into sneakers
19:47 and I wanna know, is that all cap or is that all fact?
19:50 Are we team Nike, three stripes?
19:52 Is it just about, don't say team Ugg.
19:54 You cannot be rocking Ugg sneakers.
19:55 - No, no, no, no, no.
19:56 - Devyn, what are you rocking these days, sneaker wise?
20:00 - I don't know.
20:01 I went from like, I used to do a lot of Jordan,
20:03 but I used to have a lot of Jordan sixes, a lot of,
20:06 now I'm more like a ones girl.
20:07 My favorite Jordan is ones.
20:10 What else?
20:12 Yeah, I was really, growing up,
20:13 it was really just more so Jordans, Timberlands.
20:15 And then now I'm doing, you know, I got signed.
20:18 I'm doing more designer sneakers, Balenciaga.
20:22 But you know, that's kind of probably
20:23 like my favorite sneakers right now,
20:25 Balenciaga runner sneakers.
20:27 I got like four different pairs, like different colors.
20:29 'Cause yeah, you know, just being young,
20:31 reckless for no reason, but yeah.
20:33 - No, I got you.
20:34 I actually have a couple of fan questions
20:36 that I just got last minute that I wanna throw at you.
20:38 What are you watching streaming wise?
20:40 So somebody that needs something to watch streaming,
20:42 I know you're always in the studio,
20:43 but for that two minute break that you get,
20:46 any TV shows that you gotta watch on the regular?
20:48 - The crazy thing is, I don't even watch TV shows,
20:50 but I just started, well, I just finished this show.
20:53 It's called Them on Amazon.
20:54 It's about like this African-American couple,
20:57 and it's during like, you know, racism times
21:00 and during segregation, they move into, you know,
21:03 a community that they're not welcomed in, of course.
21:05 And it's just a whole thing,
21:06 a series of events that happen.
21:08 And it really just shows like, you know, what us,
21:11 our people really have to go through like mentally,
21:13 you know, like it's one thing physically
21:15 to be segregated from people, but you know,
21:17 it's a whole set of, you know,
21:18 mental things that came with that,
21:20 that people don't even know about,
21:22 or that it's still not even discussed
21:23 in our type of communities.
21:24 And it really just highlights all of that.
21:26 So I really love watching shows like that,
21:28 but you don't wanna lie to the type of,
21:29 and I like watching like The Blacklist on Netflix.
21:31 That's fire, 'cause I feel like I'm a spy.
21:34 So anything that has to do with like spy
21:36 and all of that, that's me.
21:38 So I love watching shows like that.
21:40 - Gotcha, gotcha.
21:41 Actually, I have two more,
21:42 and I promise we will finally let you breathe.
21:45 The second one is Brooklyn influences.
21:47 So we know Nikki and of course, Megan,
21:49 and some of those other influences,
21:50 but Brooklyn specifically, like some influences.
21:54 - Yeah, definitely.
21:56 Of course, you know, the top dogs.
21:59 Brooklyn influences, I just,
22:02 I don't really have anybody in particular.
22:03 I just listen to a lot of people.
22:04 Like I listen to, one of the people that I love seeing,
22:07 like, you know, transcend with Yung Yung Mae.
22:09 Like, 'cause I was a fan way before she even blew up.
22:12 Like when she was still doing freestyles on her block,
22:14 like I was a fan of her.
22:15 So just to see how she kind of, you know,
22:18 evolved from when it was, you know,
22:19 that transition from being a freestyle rapper
22:21 to then, ooh, and just everything that came with it,
22:23 that was really dope for me.
22:25 And just New York rappers in general.
22:27 Like I don't even really try to bring it in one borough.
22:30 Like I listen to a lot of A Boogie.
22:32 I love seeing A Boogie's come up story.
22:34 I love seeing Lil Tjay's come up story.
22:36 Like just watching artists ascend.
22:38 Like I'm never a hater.
22:39 So when I see somebody go from like A to Z,
22:41 it really motivates me and inspires me even more.
22:43 Like I'm never like, oh, why not me?
22:45 Like, I just love them.
22:46 So just seeing those artists kind of blow,
22:48 even with J.I.
22:49 J.I. was somebody who I had a cool, close connection with.
22:52 So just seeing how everything that we spoke about,
22:55 how it played out for him, that's another one that,
22:57 I'm just really proud of these guys
22:59 and how everything is playing out for them.
23:01 And you know, now it's finally happening for me
23:02 and they're just as proud.
23:04 So I'm really happy and thankful for that.
23:06 And then I think another big influence
23:07 for everybody in Brooklyn right now is Pop Smoke.
23:09 Like Pop Smoke has inspired a lot
23:11 of these Brooklyn rappers, y'all.
23:12 Like I'm telling y'all,
23:14 these rappers were not having all the deep voices
23:16 and all the craziness that's going on now.
23:19 It's a lot, but you know, it's for everyone.
23:23 Respect, nothing but love to Pop Smoke and all his family.
23:25 But yeah, he's definitely a heavy influence.
23:27 He's kind of, you know, brought drill
23:29 to the mainstream, you know, forefront.
23:31 If it wasn't for Pop doing that,
23:33 straight to it probably wouldn't even be on a radio
23:35 or it probably wouldn't even have been paid attention
23:38 to as much as it is now.
23:39 So of course I always gotta tip my hat off to him.
23:42 - Absolutely.
23:43 And I know you're dying to go do a freestyle.
23:45 Hannah, before we lose,
23:46 Devin as she goes to body and freestyle,
23:48 any last minute things you wanna throw her away?
23:50 - I just wanna say, I don't have any more questions
23:53 but I'm very inspired by your whole story
23:55 and how you're coming up.
23:57 Seeing a young black girl just doing what she wanna do
23:59 and grow with it is just amazing to see.
24:01 So thank you for interviewing with us.
24:03 - Thank you for interviewing me.
24:04 I appreciate you guys so much.
24:06 - Absolutely.
24:07 Devin, it's been a pleasure.
24:08 Thank you.
24:09 We need more freestyles, more freestyles.
24:10 - Of course, I'm dropping a repeat this month.
24:11 I'm dropping a repeat.
24:13 - Absolutely.
24:14 And we'll just wrap it up on that note.
24:15 - All right. - That's a wrap.
24:16 - Thank you guys.