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