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Raheem DeVaughn was nominated for a Grammy this year for "Woman," a single from his album. (gabriel bouys/afp/getty images) |
Raheem DeVaughn isn't one of those snooty musicians who doesn't like to be labeled. In fact, the rising young singer and songwriter goes out of his way to supply interested observers with a handy description of his place in the musical cosmos. "R&B hippie neo-soul rock star" is DeVaughn's preferred handle, and while he might be jumping the gun on the rock-star part, DeVaughn has otherwise nailed his sound.
"I wanted to create a body of work that's my version of the Marvin Gaye albums," says DeVaughn. "The reality is I grew up on Babyface and Boyz II Men and Jodeci, but I definitely identify more with the old-school artists."
"Love Behind the Melody," DeVaughn's new album, beautifully blends those old-school musical values with modern grooves and technology. The album's first single, "Woman," was nominated for best male vocal performance at this year's Grammys but lost out to Prince's "Future Baby Mama." DeVaughn says the nomination alone opened so many doors for him that the absence of a statuette is moot.
Besides, it's the song itself - a pro-woman anthem in a sea of urban misogyny, and a crisp, lean R&B track to boot - that's drawing much-deserved attention from such vocal fans as Alicia Keys, OutKast's Big Boi, and Jill Scott.
"The bashing of women has been a constant for too long in our music," says Scott, who tops the bill on a tour with DeVaughn that stops at the Orpheum on Sunday. "Any artist who can show his appreciation for women, and tune into emotions, is amazing. And Raheem connects with the audience, which is the most important thing an artist can do."
If "Love Behind the Melody" sounds more mature and accomplished than what you'd expect from a new artist plying his sophomore wares, that's because DeVaughn isn't the newcomer that the sudden mainstream attention might suggest.
"It's my second album, but my 12th CD," the 32-year-old musician points out. "I seasoned myself."
During the '90s, prior to signing with Jive Records, the Baltimore-based artist became something of an underground sensation, cultivating a grass-roots audience with a series of mixtapes and independent records. DeVaughn performed for years with local bands on the Washington, D.C., music circuit, selling CDs he had made on the burner he bought with $2,000 in prize money he won in a nightclub talent show. The impulse to control his own career hasn't dimmed now that DeVaughn's got the full weight of a major label behind him: He still shows up at local venues and plays impromptu shows, and he still sells mixtapes of unreleased material to generate buzz.
"You can't let go. You have to set your own tone," DeVaughn says. "Music has changed so much, and it's so unpredictable. If I hadn't done all that, I wouldn't be where I am now."
DeVaughn was raised mainly by his mother, a now-retired federal worker, but spent vacations visiting his father, the jazz cellist Abdul Wadud. He recalls going to gigs with his dad and observing the life of a working musician, and even though at the time Devaughn had no inkling he would go into the same line of work, "I think I got from him the independence of it all. He put out records himself back in the '70s. Definitely, definitely that was a huge inspiration."
DeVaughn discovered his singing voice in his early teens, but a career didn't seem like a viable possibility until he got to college. On his first day at Coppin State University, DeVaughn saw a group of guys singing Boyz II Men-style and spontaneously began harmonizing with them. Before long he had joined a group and was routinely cutting classes. Two years later DeVaughn left school and began writing and recording in earnest. He identified his niche immediately.
"I wanted to experiment with sounds and styles, and I want to keep stepping outside my own box," DeVaughn says. To that end, his next project, already 90 percent completed, is going to be a sprawling, socially conscious album called "The Love and War Masterpiece." DeVaughn is contemplating creating a short film based on the songs' lyrics, which he imagines might screen at film festivals. He has a Christmas album in the works and has invested in a business that distributes second-generation video phones. DeVaughn is embracing the transition from underdog to rising star with the clarity and confidence of someone who hasn't had success handed to him, but who has built it himself from the ground up.
"Dreams are real," he says. "That's my motto."
Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music, go to boston.com/ae/music/blog.
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