Devo Springsteen

DeVon “Devo” Harris (born December 9, 1977 in Columbus, GA), also known as Devo Springsteen, is an entrepreneur and Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter.^[1] Harris launched the career of EGOT winner John Legend by signing him to Kanye West’s GOOD Music in 2003. Harris produced and co-wrote many songs from Legend's first albums as well as songs for Nas, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin, Ol' Dirty Bastard, The Last Poets and more in addition to DJing around the world. Devo won the Best Rap Song Grammy in 2006 for his production of "Diamonds (from Sierra Leone)" with Kanye West and Jay-Z. After earning his MBA from Columbia Business School in 2011, Devo turned to technology where he became an award-winning media entrepreneur and inventor.

Biography[]

Devo Harris grew up across the U.S. and Germany because both of his parents were in the U.S. Army. He graduated high school from The Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri and then attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he wrestled, played football, and DJed at local radio stations WPPR and WQHS FM. After graduating with degrees in Economics and Strategic Management, he moved to New York City in 2000 with college roommate John Stephens (John Legend). While working in venture capital, he began working part-time assisting and serving as A&R at Kanye West's production company G.O.O.D. Music (then called Konman Productions). Devo eventually signed his roommate to the label in 2003 and managed Legend's project. Devo then earned an MBA degree from Columbia Business School. Harris and Kanye West are cousins. ^[2]

Music[]

Devo's influences include Stevie Wonder, The Doors, Michael Jackson, Rick Rubin, Timbaland, Dr. Dre, and Kanye West. Harris has appeared on MTV Base, BET Style, and VH1 and was a featured guest DJ on BET's Rap City.

Harris also co-wrote the tracks "Lullaby" and "Let's Go" with Britney Spears and Tom Craskey. The song appeared on the demo version of Britney's album Blackout.

In 2008, Harris collaborated with John Legend on "If You're Out There" which appears in John Legend's third studio album Evolver. The song was also used Barack Obama's campaign theme song and was performed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Technology[]

After graduation from Columbia Business School in 2011, Devo started his career in technology by teaching himself to code and launching Adventr in 2014.^[3] He later became a Senior Product Manager at Vimeo. Devo specializes in next generation technology with a focus on radical simplification and integration with 3rd party applications and services. In 2020 he relaunched Adventr as a new smart video platform.^[4]

Discography[]

Singles[]

Mixtapes[]

• 2006, "Bacardi Big Apple & Devo Springsteen Present: The Good Life"

Grammy Award history[]

References[]

External links[]

• AllHipHop Feature - Devo Springsteen: Whip It!
• BigMusicBiz.com Interview - Devo Springsteen^{[dead link]}