Devon (rapper)

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Devon | image = | image_size = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Devon Martin | alias = Mr. Metro | birth_date = {{Birth date|1963|6|5}} | birth_place = England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|7|23|1963|6|5}} | death_place = Vancouver, Canada | genre = | occupation = Rapper | instrument = | years_active =  | label = | associated_acts = | website =  }}

'''Devon Martin''' (June 6, 1963 – July 23, 2024), better known mononymously as '''Devon''', was an English-born Canadian rapper who rose to prominence in 1990 for his song titled "Mr. Metro", a controversial single about police racism.<ref name="canoe">{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia |url=http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/D/Devon.html |title=Devon |archive-date=May 10, 2017 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510103635/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/D/Devon.html}}</ref> "Mr. Metro" subsequently became an alias of the artist.

== Early life == Devon was born in England, but raised in the Mississauga suburb of Malton, Ontario. He formed his first band, Shock Waves, at the age of 14, releasing an independent single in 1977.<ref name="canoe" /> Later he was a member of the reggae band 20th Century Rebels, and served as a backing musician for Bong Conga Nistas, Messenjah, Judy Mowatt and Lillian Allen.<ref name="canoe" />

== Career during 1990s ==

=== "Mr. Metro" video === Although the title of his single "Mr. Metro" referred to the Toronto Police Service, the song was in fact inspired by incidents of police racism across North America, including his own detention by police in Redondo Beach, California, rather than in Toronto alone.<ref name=canoe /> Despite this, the Toronto Police Service threatened to arrest him on defamation charges, forcing him to black out parts of the video which might have been perceived as identifying Toronto police officers.<ref name=canoe /> The video went on to win a MuchMusic Video Award in 1990.<ref name=canoe />

=== Other work === In 1990, he collaborated on the one-off single "Can't Repress the Cause", a plea for greater inclusion of hip hop music in the Canadian music scene, with Dance Appeal, a supergroup of Toronto-area musicians that included Maestro Fresh Wes, Dream Warriors, Michie Mee, B-Kool, Lillian Allen, Eria Fachin, HDV, Dionne, Thando Hyman, Carla Marshall, Messenjah, Jillian Mendez, Lorraine Scott, Lorraine Segato, Self Defense, Leroy Sibbles, Zama and Thyron Lee White.<ref name="urban">{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/urban-music-emc/|title=Urban Music|date=November 2, 2012 |author=Errol Nazareth|author2=Francesca D'Amico|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia|accessdate=February 11, 2018}}</ref>

After the song "Mr. Metro", Devon released his first solo album ''It's My Nature'' in 1992. The following year (1993), he won the Juno Award for Best Rap Recording with the album ''Keep It Slammin'''.<ref name="junoawards.ca"/>

In 1997, he relocated to Vancouver and signed to indie label Rated-R Recordz owned by Ray "Rated-R" Montani, a young man he was mentoring, where he released the EP and single both entitled ''Pressure'', which were released in 1998, and feature Orin Isaacs.

== Death == Devon died in Vancouver on July 23, 2024, at the age of 61. The news was confirmed on social media by Devon's brother, comedian Jay Martin.<ref>{{Cite news|title = The legacy of Toronto rapper Devon and his protest anthem 'Mr. Metro'|url = https://www.cbc.ca/music/devon-martin-toronto-rapper-mr-metro-1.7288887?cmp=DM_Display_PopularNow_CBCMusic|website = CBC.ca|date = 2024-08-09|access-date = 2024-08-09|first = Del|last = Cowie}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist | refs = <ref name="junoawards.ca"> {{cite web | url = http://junoawards.ca/database/artist-summary/?artist_name=Devon | title = Juno Awards Database | work = junoawards.ca | publisher = Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706184449/http://junoawards.ca/database/artist-summary/?artist_name=Devon | archivedate = July 6, 2011 | accessdate = February 28, 2011 | url-status = dead }} </ref>

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devon}} Category:1963 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Canadian male rappers Category:20th-century Canadian rappers Category:20th-century Black Canadian male singers Category:20th-century Canadian male singers Category:English emigrants to Canada Category:Canadian reggae musicians Category:Musicians from Mississauga Category:Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year winners Category:20th-century Canadian male musicians