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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Dodging Procrastination To Remedy My Soul...

"You are an obsession, you're my obsession..."  Obsession - Animotion


Today I should be reeling about the concert I made an effort to catch on Monday night, yet to the best of my ability still managed to miss.  But instead of carrying on like a raging bull seeing red (aren't bulls colorblind?), I decided to dedicate this entry to one of my favorites - Raheem DeVaughn.

     

I did procrastinate on purchasing my ticket for this show, I knew 3 weeks ahead of time that he was coming through B.B. King's.  I detest waiting until last minute to do anything and missing this show was my fault.  I have absolutely no idea what came over me.  I knew that Raheem is not only my musical obsession (as my girl Vonnie from Honeysoul would say), but I had to share him with a whole room of screaming-nearly-out-of-their-mind women, scouring to the front of the stage for a piece of my man...oops sorry, I meant Raheem.  When I reached B.B. King, the place was PACKED, wall to wall and from stage to bar.  It was utter madness.  Raheem had just started crooning "Ask Yourself" driving those aforementioned ladies of unsound mind to the brink of delirium.  I was able to befriend the bouncer to catch a glimpse, but it was only a tease knowing that I would not be able to watch the entire show.  After 20 minutes I slowly made my way out the door with my tail between my legs, only to stay for a bit of his next track "Mo Better" before I left.  As I walked up the stairs, I realized that due to me dragging my feet for 3 weeks, I have missed out on one of the Cadillac of all concerts for the year.  Never again.

Now out of my utter jealousy and disgust with myself, I had to take someone else's video to show you what I MISSED on Monday night at B.B. King's in Time Square:


Now, compose yourselves.  Let us talk a bit about Raheem DeVaughn, shall we?

For those of you who are sleeping on Raheem DeVaughn, the "R&B hippie neo-soul rock star," you need to slow down and take in what he has to offer.  If you are looking for unforgiving soul music, you will find it in Raheem.  If you are looking for old fashioned sangin', you will find it here in Raheem.  If you are looking for sex appeal as well as a sexy voice for those nights with your significant other - you will SURELY find it here in Raheem DeVaughn.  And yes, he may be a bit on the young side although he never reveals his age, "I'm timeless, like my music" is what he says.  But believe me when I tell you, DeVaughn is wise beyond his years, which reflects in his writing.  And not to mention, he has that "it" factor.  I still remember being given his first album The Love Experimence to review.  I was mesmerized when I heard "Guess Who Loves You More" and this CD had a permanent spot in the #1 slot on my CD player for a good month.  Raheem's sound is reminiscent of soul music of the past, the type of soul that put you in the mood.  The type of soul music that would have you running through the house to set up your tape recorder to press record when that jam came on the radio.  The days of the quiet storm...oh yes y'all that is Raheem DeVaughn.

Raheem Devaughn had already amassed a large following in DC and around the U.S. as the underground king of R&B before he came onto the scene.  When The Love Experience entered in on Billboard's R&B chart at #9, that did not stop Raheem from keeping pace.  His album gained critical acclaim as well as exposure to a larger audience.  With stellar tracks like "You", "Believe" and the single "Guess Who Loves You More," this album was only the beginning of what Devaughn had in store.

Now with the release of Love Behind The Melody tearing it up: entering the Billboard R&B chart at #1, nominated for a Grammy for his track "Woman," and following up with his second release "Customer," Raheem is not sleeping.  I know some of you out there saw Raheem perform on the Jay Leno show.  I sat and watched with a devious grin as I read his shirt - Grammy Nominated was written on the front, while the back promoted his album.  I guess he learned on the indie circuit that if you want things done properly, you have to do it yourself.  Honestly, I think that goes for everything.  And we have learned and seen what happens when everything is left in the hands of the label.  For that self promotion alone - I love him even more.

So be sure to check out Raheem DeVaughn if he comes through your town, I'm sure you will not be disappointed.  Sorry that I don't have a review for you to read from Soultracks, but that will never happen again (well, never say never.)  

Now you all should know already that I hate MySpace, but this is for the good of the artist and usually their MySpace page is the best place to get any recent info.  So you can check out Raheem DeVaughn's webpage on the easy link I put here just for you - www.myspace.com/raheemdevaughn

On that note, here is the flashback video of the day.  I am sure it is one of Mr. DeVaughn's inspirations and it is also one of my favorites from this all time great band...Enjoy!



I'm off to catch up on my Raheem catalouge...see y'all later!

Tha Connoisseur 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm going to pick up a copy right now. You make me wanna share it with my significant other. Thanks for the suggestion!

RhythmicSoul said...

"Mo Better" is one of my FAVORITE cuts from that album..its absolutely beautiful and smooth as silk, he definately did it for me on this album, and im usually very picky when it comes to my male artist..i tend to have a desired few and never really stray away..his first album made me a casual listener but this one made me a fan.

Tha Connoisseur said...

My gemini twin - DO THE DAMN THING!

And Mr. Soul - wow, you didn't like him first time around?!! You are bringing tears to my eyes...but I will forgive you, 'cause you like him now. : ) And you are right, "Mo Better" is a killah tune, my favorite track is "Four Letter Word".

RhythmicSoul said...

i liked him the first time around, "guess who loves you more" was amazing to me, and we wont even get on how brilliant "you" was..It just wasnt till this release where i was like OK, this guy is going into my male singer circle (since im so picky when it comes to them)

Anonymous said...

Isn't it painful when you "shimmyshack" and miss out on a good show or get there so late you can't be all up in the front? Believe me, I've experienced this more than I care to remember.

Raheem has SO many fans and baby mommas. LOL! I had two people on my blog both claiming THEY were his baby mommas. Ha! I just saw him open for Jill in Philly and he did great. I do like his set while he's on tour with her. He stays with his ear to the streets. No matter how big he gets, I don't think he'll ever forget where home is. That's what makes him so likeable.

I may get shot for this but his first album is a classic. Every single song was a banger. Second one...um, not so much. I only like one or two of them. What I do like is that he tried to do some different things on this one. Change the game a bit. Can't hate on that. People are hating on Ebadu for the same thing and I won't hear of it!

Tha Connoisseur said...

V- to be quite honest, just like E's album - when I first listened to Raheem's, I was not feeling it. After the second play I was like...hmmm and then the third play I was like...ohhh alright. It was one of those albums that need consecutive plays to really get into my soul. But I LUV IT!!! : )