In the year 2010, there might not have been a time in your life where you didn’t hear or see the following 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 instinct may be “What the fuck does Slizzard mean and is a G6 some type of car?” It then goes to “I need this song as my ring tone right now” and “I need to spam my BBM status with these lyrics, oh my god! So hip!”

After your mind goes through that, oh so intense process, you draw back and think about something else. Who the hell is that girl singing the hook?

Well on your iTunes purchase receipt it says “DEV” and that’s who it is, it’s not Uffie and no it’s not Ke$ha. It’s DEV. Well who is DEV? Pop class begins….

DEV is a singer/songwriter, discovered by LA Valley-boy group “The Cataracs.” To some that C-word might just be any other Snoop Dog lyric, but to others it may be the name of the group that is brewing up all the youthful pop music that today’s radio stations, iPods and Facebook statuses are screaming for; basically brain-washing teens with fetch lingo and simple beats that will live in your brain. The same things Dr. Luke & Max Martin did in the late 90s to early 2000s with Britney, N*SYNC and The Backstreet-Boys. Coming strong with her recent Billboard hot 100 debut “Bass Down Low,” The Cataracs’ self-proclaimed “mainstream top 40 revolutionizing muse” is ready to use her debut album to tell listeners that she is really more than just the “G6? girl. Before even going into writing/producing this album, she is coming off headstrong as ever with creative ideas employed by executive producers & non-stop collaborators “The Cataracs.” Just coming back from studio sessions with 50 Cent & Travis Barker and getting ready to fly to Costa Rica to begin her debut album sessions. I decided to call her up to find out what the whole “G6 movement” is about and how annoying it is to be only known as the “G6 girl.”  When a pen, a paper and a Universal Republic contract seems to be living proof, she is so much more than that.

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 I’m playing a show in Canada on the 20th.

Kazemi:  Exciting, so I don’t know 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 decision and transition? Two S’s, swimmer to singer.

DEV:   I was a swimmer for a long time and I guess I was pissed off because of my ex boyfriend’s new girlfriend, you know when your young and aggressive..  I decided put up this song on MySpace. MySpace was the place to be at the time, you know I recorded a song off my MacBook, it was basically a “diss track” and I didn’t expect anything out of it? It was just to make me feel good like how music should but Niles came across of my page and was really  into my voice and they kind of got me into singing and opened up my eyes to business opportunities.  I didn’t know we’d ever be connoisseur’s of party pop like “G6? and “Bass Down Low” when we first met up and now we live with each other in LA and are on some real shit! [Laughs]

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

DEV:  Were all completely random, unique and weird individuals that make each session very different and complicated in a way. It really depends, some times the boys will come to me and say “I’ve been wanting to do this song but this is more of a DEV track” and from there Niles will show me the beat and me and David will come up with lyrics or some times I go to them when I have written some sort of idea and they will help me elaborate on it to the point where we can have a song.  Its great having their two minds and two different personalities and it’s great that I live with them.

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

DEV:  You assumed right! We’re going to go to Costa Rica for a month and lock ourselves in this incredible beach house and do my whole album together. Producing and writing, I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with on my album.

Kazemi: The Cataracs are really geniuses when it comes to the Dr. Luke formulaic sound that the audience of this generation wants to hear but will any other additional song-writer/producers be flying out to Costa Rica for the debut?

DEV: I might work with some people,  I’ve been contacted by a couple people that you might know of but it’s hard to say of right now but I think me and The Cataracs are on a really good streak right now and it’s not intentional. “G6? was not planned, nothing has been planned and it’s always been really natural and I think were going into this album with the natural mindset we’ve gone into with any other session. 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 for the time being in Costa Rica.

We’ll see, I guess?

Kazemi:  I think working with other producers isn’t a bad idea. You are becoming notoriously known as the hook-girl, you just reprised that role on a track on the new 50 Cent record, did your voices collide and compliment each other?

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

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 the album he’s working on.

I’m on the hook with a song that has verses from E-40, Snoop & Ludacris. He liked it enough, kept it and hopefully is  out on the album. 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 ” Like A 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 I can understand why you thought they were made around the same time. It was a really cool phase, swagging it out basically and telling the world we were the shit! Super sassy tracks, it was actually The Cataracs idea to take the bridge of Booty Bounce and put it over “G6.” The bridge became a hook basically.

Kazemi: Did you write this bridge/hook?

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 swung 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, yes.

Kazemi: I think this needs to be said, it’s going to be hard drifting from being the “Like A G6? girl and its going to take time but what do you think will isolate you from that tile music wise. On the debut album, will there be a balance of icy pop songs like “Bass Down Low” but then other material that could be seen as different and could be the DEV-edge, DEv- aesthetic. Your own sound that could make people thinks differently.

DEV: You are the coolest dude in the world.

Kazemi: Thank You.

DEV:  Your Welcome!

So yes, thankfully “G6? gave me enough attention and it gave me a good amount of success and obviously has put me on the pop music scene, it’s a good time to push my music to more people rather then before when a demo would only have a couple thousand hits on MySpace. I’m playing bigger shows, traveling different places but with that,  it comes to the point where people put me in a box and everyone says “Wow, is that all she can do?” People should be more curious, my voice is weird and it is capable of things and that hook everyone knows from “G6? has given me a lot of attention but not too much. I’m confident in The Cataracs and myself that this album is going to speak for its self and 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 helluva different music! I know that my intricate influences and The Cataracs simple influences are going to come out on this album as one.  Typical pop music is not what I am only good at doing; I have a lot of ideas and hip-hop influence records, some electro ballads. I’m really excited for it; my sound is going to come out. I think when my album is out people aren’t going to say “So did you hear The G6 girl has an album?” It’s going to be “I just bought DEV’s album on ITunes and it’s sick as fuck.”

Wait till April bitch!!!

Kazemi: [laughs] Every artist gets compared and I was wondering what it’s like being a white girl coming up on the scene who has saliva and can spit on a microphone and then is all of a sudden  sinked  towards more mainstream artists like Uffie and Ke$ha.  Every-time you hear a white girl rapping on the radio, an avid mainstream music listener will say “Like, Oh my god! What a Ke$ha wannabe.”

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

DEV: I just feel that I have a lot 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 those record. When my album comes out, hopefully I won’t have to hear another reference or comparison.  I am such a brat, I don’t want to be compared to anyone, I don’t care if it’s the greatest person in the world. Fuck it.    Both artists are cool but whatever, wait till April.

You know what I’m saying Kazemi?

Kazemi: I’m on it, I think.  Would you ever want to pen songs for any other pop artists, outside song writing?

DEV: I think when the time comes; I’m focusing on DEV right now. My energy is on finishing touring and making the best pop album I can. I plan to explore my artistry after this record is done and when I’m taking a break right before the sessions for the next record.

Kazemi:  Are you a morning or night writer?

DEV: I write the best from 4AM to 6AM, it’s super strange but this is going to sound really stupid but I use to have swim practice at 6AM.  I think all my energy is use to that hour and my mind can function the best at the hour from practice.

Kazemi:  That’s a fair change of workout. Alcohol, Sex and gossip and every element a youth talks about in there personal conversations is kind of translated in the pop music today, when you write do you feel you have to cater to this and join the 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 at high school who will be into my song. 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 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 me have that under control but listeners should understand music is self-expression and don’t take anything too seriously. In 2011 The Cataracs and myself have the ability to change the game, blend the music world by providing the weird California swag and sound were on.  The sounds, The Cataracs & me choose, the lingo we use, and we know what’s up. I feel like a lot of artists try to get there and it’s almost there but the lingo is off, the beats are wrong and I can tell those things because we’ve already started the movement, that  “pop revolution” everyone is talking about.

LINK LOVE: Alex Kazemi

I can’t really stand hip hop and I really never listen to it, but if you let Travis Barker remix the song I’m in! The man is a genius when it comes to playing drums, and his rad drum set just makes him look even better.

When Daniel told me that we were going to visit the Scott Kay studios in Teaneck, New Jersey, I looked at him in with a surprised look and said “You’re making me go to Jersey? How exactly are we going to get there?”. Apparently, I am bit more naive then I thought, because an hour later there was a black suped-up Cadillac Escalade waiting downstairs, a complimentary ‘red carpet welcome’ from Scott himself.

As we drove across the George Washington bridge, we watched a video about the history of Scott Kay, showcasing his mens collection ‘The Art of Man.’ Rugged with a bit of rock and roll influence the collection was what I would imagine someone like Dave Navarro or Travis Barker rocking, a real rebel without a cause look that could only be pulled off by the type of person who could hold court at a sold out concert. I was in love!!!

The Cadi pulled up at an obscure looking building in a rather suburban community.  I suddenly felt as if we had fallen for a trick, an evil plot by Conde Nast to quiet down our vocal critisms on Annie Wintour and her brainless attempt at publishing, a final cell and prison, locking us up in one of the least stylish locations possible, a windowless warehouse in Jersey (ewww, shivers). We headed into the building, me gripping my cell phone with the 9-eleven on speed dial just incase we’d finally meet our maker (I imagine him to be a lot like Karl Lagerfeld; old, wise and ready to diet). Of course when we entered through their dual security doors, passed the receptionist, and into their showroom we were transported into a world we could never imagine, a space filled with dozens of dutiful workers putting final touches on intricately detailed pieces of gold, palladium and my personal favorite DIAMONDS!!! It was like Santa’s Workshop (if Santa was really me and I could have my elf-slaves do my jewelry bidding) a wonderful place where everything had a thousand-plus price tag and everything was shiny and ready to wear.

Skulls and Lots of them

Scott’s marketing  kahuna, Dan Scott, took us on a tour explaining that everything relating to the Scott Kay brand took place within these office like walls. Design, creation, sales and maintence all managed themselves from this massive warehouse, carefully hidden in the middle of suburbia. He guided us into a conference room where Scott’s entire mens collection laid stretched out. Daniel took to trying on massive skull chains which made him look like a total poser in his prepster ensemble. I gravitated to a piece from the Guardian collection which featured an amazingly detailed clasp and linking that I’ve never seen in any modern jewelry piece. Each of the pieces were so intricate and well designed with an attention to detail which just doesn’t exist in the types of delicate accessories we normally see for women. This was truly a mens collection. A set of pieces that define an attitude and style, rather than just some passing phase or trend.

While checking out the cuff wear, which was made up of purposely oversized palladium pieces, Scott Kay entered the room ready to take us on a full tour of his factory floor. He explained his design ethic, bringing us up to speed on what he envisions his brand to be. A true craftsmen who refuses to compromise on quality, Scott beamed about what he believes to be the Art of Man, the idea that a new customer has arrisen that is devoted to details.  He shared his inspiration, films like Gladiator and 300 (a Spartan helmet sits proadly in Scott Kays office) which helped him establish collections which were not only inspired by the Roman-Greecian era but also crafted in the same artisan ways of the period, true reccreations from a time when craftmenship and quality always stood before a name brand.

Scott Kay Helps Be Put On Some Of the Season's Hottest Eyewear

The factory was filled with nearly three dozen workers all focused on one specific task necessary for the completion of one of Scott Kay’s jewelry pieces. Designers, diamond setters, weavers, polishers, crafters, and others worked tirelessly shaping metals, choosing settings and ensuring the quality of pieces. The process was mind boogling and I came to understand the price tag on these items, seeing the amount of work that goes into each one from multiple workers.

Later Scott led us upstairs to his office, breaking out some of his concept books for whats on the horizon for Scott Kay. We got to see what he envisions as a lifestyle brand, a selection of sportswear, handbadgs, and shoes which incorporate jewelry styled clasps and accents. My favorite item was a pair of thigh high boots which incorporated a Spartan inspired clask and heel. Me wantie.

A New Spider Inspired Collection Coming Soonish

We packed up and got ready for our trip back to the big city realizing that Scott Kay is one brand that is ready to dominate and in the words of Russell Crowe in Gladitor (yes, I immediately made Daniel watch the movie with me after the trip)  “unleash hell’ on the fashion world.

For more info on Scott Kay visit Scott Kay.com

Already past the mourning stage for their forgotten buddies lost on that fateful plane trip, Travis Barker and DJ AM will be preforming together this New Year’s Eve at New Year’s Nation’s Los Angeles New Year’s Eve Party at The Lot in West Hollywood, California.

The performance will be streamed live to other major cities.

Wow guys, you couldn’t give it a year. Possibly do a tribute concert or something for the homies you lost? Hollywood must be one heartless bitch…