Dev

In the year 2010, you may have heard the lyrics:

“Poppin bottles in the ice, like a blizzard when we drink, we do it right, gettin slizzard/ Sippin sizzurp in my ride, like Three 6/ Now I’m feelin so fly like a G6″

Your first thought may have been ‘How do I get ‘slizzard’ and what the fuck is a ‘G6’ ?’

Then your next thought is, ‘I need this song as my ring tone, now!’

After your new ring tone is set, you think to yourself, ‘whom is the girl singing that hook, its catchy as hell!’

Well, your iTunes receipt reads ‘DEV’, a name you are not quite familiar with, yet. She isn’t some Uffie clone and she sure isn’t a wannabe Ke$ha. She is DEV. Let class begin, shall we?

DEV is a singer/songwriter, discovered by Los Angeles boy group, The Cataracs.

To some, that ‘C-word’ might just be another Snoop Dogg lyric, but to others it’s the name of a young group that is pioneering pop music that today’s radio stations, iPods, and Facebook statuses are yearning for, with beats that we will remember and the lyrics that we will never forget. Dr. Luke and Max Martin are using the same formulas now that they did for teens in the late 90s to early 2000s with Britney, N*SYNC, and of course, The Backstreet-Boys.

Making her way up Billboard’s hot 100 with her debut,” Bass Down Low,” she is ready to tell her listeners that she is more than just the “G6″ girl. Even before writing and producing her first album, DEV is off to a great start with creative ideas employed by executive producers & non-stop collaborators The Cataracs.  She was just returning from a few studio sessions with 50 Cent and Travis Barker, and preparing for a flight to Costa Rica, when I decided to give her call. I was curious about the whole ‘G6’ movement and I wanted to know how she felt about only being known as the ‘G6’ girl.

Dev: Hi Alex.

Alex Kazemi:  Hey Dev, where are you right now?

Dev: I’m good, in Florida!

Kazemi: Touring?

DEV: Yeah, Just wrapped up the tour and then off to Canada for a show on the 20th.

Kazemi:   I’m not sure how this works. You were a professional Olympic swimmer, swimming all your life and then one day you just decide to sing the hook to one of the biggest pop songs of the year 2010 “Like A G6.”  Does California Valley boy production duo, The Cataracs, have anything to do with this transition?

DEV:   I was a swimmer for a long time, then one day I was pissed about my ex boyfriend’s new girlfriend, you know, the whole ‘young, aggressive, don’t think twice’ stage in my life. I recorded a song on Garage Band and put it up on Myspace. The track was basically nothing but me dissing this girl, it was just to make myself feel good, like music should. This guy Niles came across my page and was really into my voice, we started messaging each other back and forth and eventually set up a place to meet up.  Literally from the time we met up, he got me into singing, music, and opened up my eyes to business opportunities.   Back then I had no idea that one day, we would be employing party anthems like “G6″ and “Bass Down Low” to the world.  Today, I live with both of them in downtown L.A and now were on some real shit! [Laughs]

Kazemi: Real shit, eh? How do you three sort out ideas as a collaborative group, what is a typical session like with DEV, Niles & Dave (The Cataracs.)

DEV:  We’re all completely random, unique, and weird individuals which makes each session very different and complicated .It really depends, some times the boys will come to me and say, “I’ve been wanting to do this song as a Cataracs track but this has more of a DEV style to it.” From there Niles will show me the beat and David and I will come up with lyrics. Sometimes I go to them when I have written up an idea, then they will help me elaborate on the idea to the point where we can have a song.  I love having both of their minds and different personalities to work with. It’s great we live together, we balance each other out.

Kazemi:  I assume they will be executively producing your whole album?

DEV:   Yes, We’re going to go to Costa Rica for a month and lock ourselves in this incredible beach house to produce and write the whole album together.

Kazemi:  I would be a liar if I didn’t say The Cataracs are geniuses when it comes to the simple radio formula, but will any other additional song-writers/producers be flying out to Costa Rica for the debut?

DEV:  A few people that you may have heard of have contacted me, but it’s hard to say as of right now. The Cataracs and I are on a really good streak and nothing has been intentional. “G6″ was not planned, nothing has been planned. It’s always been really natural and we’re going into this album with the most natural mindset we can. If any of the producers really want me to come out and fly from Costa Rica, maybe I will, but as of now I’m focusing on working with The Cataracs.

We’ll see, I guess?

Kazemi:  You are becoming notorious as ‘the hook-girl,’ you’ve just reprised that role on a track for the new 50 Cent record, did your voices compliment one another?

DEV: Yes! Oh my god, it’s so cute! I was extremely excited considering I’m such a big 50 fan. I remember when “In Da Club” came out, I was so obsessed! The track with 50 is really cool; our voices definitely complimented each other in the bridge.  The roughness of his voice contrasted really nicely with my soft little voice. The coolest thing about that collaboration is that I was singing over a Cataracs beat, that is always really comfortable.

Kazemi: Travis Barker and yourself were in the same studio, did you guys happen to cut anything?

DEV: We did! I actually got on one of his songs that will possibly be put out on his solo album. They were in the studio down the hall and Travis asked me to get on the hook. He liked it enough, kept it ,and it will hopefully be out on his album.  It’s a track that has verses from E-40, Snoop & Ludacris. It was really cool as well, same kind of situation with 50. I had a big poster of Travis on my wall and I was obsessed with Blink.

Kazemi:  That’s fandom at its best, what was the story with “Booty Bounce” and “G6″ were they produced and written around the same time? Whose idea was it to use the “G6″ hook from “Booty Bounce” for the final track “Like A G6.”

DEV:  They were made in the same summer; it was a time where The Cataracs and myself were grinding it out in the studio pretty tough together. We made a bunch of simplistic random tracks, the sounds are similar and we were just swagging, telling the world we were the shit! It was a really cool phase with super sassy tracks.  It was The Cataracs idea to take the bridge of Booty Bounce and put it over “G6.” The bridge basically became a hook.

Kazemi: Did you write this bridge turned hook by yourself?

DEV: No, The Cataracs & Myself did it together, we were all kind of sitting down and I had to approve it before I sang it. They approached me like any other time they have written lyrics they thought I’d like and I was obviously down. That beat was amazing and to switch it from “Booty Bounce” to “G6″ was not a problem for me. Everybody thought it was a great idea and we went with it.

Kazemi: On the topic of Lyricism was the line, “And we sip champagne when we thirsty” from “Bass Down Low” a tribute to the Biggie classic “Juicy.”

DEV: It was a tribute to the big poppa, indeed.

Kazemi:  It’s going to be hard drifting from being the “Like A G6″ girl, its going to take time, but what do you think will separate you from that title, music wise? On the debut album, will there be a balance of icy pop songs like “Bass Down Low,” but also other material that could be different with the DEV-edge, the DEV- aesthetic, your own sound to make people think differently?

DEV: You are the coolest dude in the world right now.

Kazemi: Thank You.

DEV:  Your Welcome!

Thankfully, “G6″ gave me enough attention and a good amount of success that obviously put me in a good place.  Now it’s time to push my music to a greater audience. I’m playing bigger shows, and traveling different places, but with all that it comes down to the point where people put me in a box and say, “Wow, is that all she can do?” People should be more curious, my voice is weird and it’s capable of things. I’m confident in The Cataracs and myself that this album is going to speak for its self, I won’t just be known as the “G6″ girl.  Pop songs with the feel of “Bass Down Low” will be included, but I grew up being into different types of music! I know that my intricate influences and The Cataracs simple influence are going to come out on this album as one.  Typical pop music isn’t the only thing I’m good at. I have a lot of ideas, hip-hop influenced tracks, some electro ballads, I’m really excited for it; my sound is going to come out. When my album is out people aren’t going to say, “So, did you hear The “G6” girl has an album out right now? ” It’s going to be, “I just bought DEV’s album on ITunes and it’s sick as fuck!”

Just wait till April, bitch!

Kazemi: [laughs] I was wondering what it’s like being a white girl coming up on the music scene who can spit on a microphone, then all of a sudden sunk to being like Uffie or Ke$ha.  Every-time you hear a white girl rapping on the radio, an avid mainstream music listener will say “Oh my god! What a Ke$ha wannabe.”

Who the fuck is DEV? Why isn’t it Uffie & Ke$ha?

DEV: I feel that I have much more to say and the ability to have an eclectic sound, a very diverse pop album. I’m not bashing either artist, but I’m going to be able to give you a little bit more then what you’ve heard on their records. When my album comes out, hopefully I won’t have to hear another reference or comparison.  I’m such a brat, I don’t want to be compared to anyone and I don’t care if it’s the greatest person in the world. Fuck it, both artists are cool, but whatever, I would just wait till April.

You know what I’m saying, Kazemi?

Kazemi: Oh, I got you Dev, I got you.

Would you ever want to pen songs for any other pop artists aka outside song writing?

DEV: I plan to explore my artistry after this record is finished. I think when the time comes, I will be writing with other artists but for now I’m focusing on DEV. My energy is focused on finishing touring and making the best pop album I can.

Kazemi:  Are you a morning or night writer?

DEV: I write the best from 4AM to 6AM, it’s super strange. This is going to sound really stupid, but I used to have swimming practice at 6AM, I think all my energy is familiar with that hour and my mind functions best then.

Kazemi:  That’s a fair change of workout. Alcohol, sex, gossip, and every taboo element teens talk about today is somewhat translated into what’s on the radio these days, when you write do you feel you have to cater to this whole “fuck-yah-partying, fake ID, and underage sex” pop song movement.

DEV:  I personally don’t go into songs thinking about all of the misfits and each social clique from high schools. The Cataracs are really good at doing that and they will know when to calm me down. I’m not going to be the one who says “Everybody underage, listen up! Get drunk and go fuck people!!”

I am not going to say that in a song, I feel like I can say a bit more then that but I know the teens are down with it and they want to hear words like “slizzard.”

The boys and I have that under control; listeners should understand music is a type of self-expression and not to take anything too seriously. In 2011, The Cataracs and myself have the ability to change the game, blend the music world by providing that Cali swag and sound we’re on.  With the sounds and lingo that The Cataracs and I choose, we know what’s up. I feel like a lot of artists today try to get there, and it’s almost there, but the lingo is off, or the beats are wrong. I can tell those things because The Cataracts and I have already started this generations pop music movement.