Raheem DeVaughn

If you're new to Raheem DeVaughn but have caught wind that he calls himself an R&B-hippie-neosoul-rock star, you've got a right to be skeptical. It's hard enough to hold down an advanced degree of R&B cred these days without ratcheting up the pressure by insisting on being a hippie and a rock star, too. And despite the best efforts of Jill Scott and Angie Stone, neo-soul seems to have sputtered out somewhere among the back rooms of Maxwell's '90s-era urban hang suite. But DeVaughn's sophomore disc will hang your skepticism by its ankles and make it squirm. The D.C. singer and contemporary of Erykah Badu and Common is a gifted guy who knows how to work a lyric and never met a melody he couldn't set swiftly into motion. The best evidence comes by way of the radio-ready "Woman," a sweet-natured thumper as relatable as a crooked smile, but it's backed by pop-scraping tracks including the Gna ...

2008-01-15 - Jive