Devon Martin, known as Devon, or by his alias, “Mr. Metro,” was a rapper, producer, composer, writer, singer and musician who was born in England, and raised in Malton, Ontario. As a young boy, Devon was influenced by the music of Parliament, Bach, Charlie Parker, and Chic, starting his own band, Shock Waves, at 14 years old. He recorded and released his first independent single with the band in 1977.

Throughout the 80s, Devon worked with the reggae band 20th Century Rebels, appearing on their 1983 self-titled release. He toured Canada extensively with the band, appearing at music festivals in Halifax, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. The 20th Century Rebels worked with several musicians over the years, such as the 10-piece Toronto jam band Bonga Conga Nistas, who they performed with regularly opening for artists Jody Mowatt and Lillian Allen. Later, Devon toured as a guest rapper with Messenjah and Ojiji, and joined the group the Redeem Team, backing Frankie Paul and Tiger.

After touring, Devon opted to begin an independent career. He penned his biggest hit, “Mr. Metro,” (which gave him his alias) in 1990, inspired by an incident on tour with Lillian Allen, where he experienced racial profiling in a Redondo Beach record store. Disturbed by the experience, he wrote and financed an independent music video for “Mr. Metro,” about violence and the proliferation of it in our society. He used several different local rallies as background footage for the video, causing outrage amongst the local police who considered charging him with defamation of character for the policemen shown in the video. Devon eventually blocked out the faces of the people in the video for it to be shown on air. “Mr. Metro” would go on to win Devon a MuchMusic Award for “R&B Video of the Year”.

That same year, Devon was involved in the one-off single “Can’t Repress the Cause,” a collaborative project between Canadian hip-hop musicians and Dance Appeal that served as a plea for more inclusion of their art form in the Canadian music scene. Other artists involved in the collaboration include Maestro Fresh Wes, Dream Warriors, Michie Mee, Lillian Allen, Eria Fachin, HDV, Messenjah, and more.

In 1992, Devon was signed to Capitol-EMI, under which he released his first solo album, It’s In My Nature. He received the 1993 Juno Award for “Best Rap Recording,” for the song “Keep It Slammin,’” the first track on the record.

In 1997, Devon relocated to Vancouver where he signed to the label Rated-R Recordz, and released the EP Pressure in 1998, featuring Orin Isaacs.

Following a move to Vancouver, Martin continued to produce and compose, but focused on spending time with family. Unfortunately on July 23rd, 2024, Devon Martin passed away at the age of 62 in Vancouver. He is remembered for his wide ranging talents and support of the Black community.