Raheem DeVaughn On Growth, Grief, Independence and The Future of R&B
Few artists have represented Washington D.C.’s musical identity with the consistency and purpose of Raheem DeVaughn. Emerging during the early 2000s Neo-soul revival alongside artists like Anthony Hamilton, Eric Roberson and Musiq Soulchild, DeVaughn built his reputation as an independent minded singer who balanced romance, activism and cultural pride. His 2005 debut The Love Experience helped establish him as part of a generation determined to preserve the emotional core of R&B while Hip-Hop continued dominating the mainstream conversation.
Beyond music, DeVaughn has also built a reputation as a community advocate. His LoveLife Foundation, launched in 2012, focuses on domestic violence awareness, education and community empowerment. His activism reflects a lineage of socially conscious R&B voices that stretches back to Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
Now more than two decades into his career, DeVaughn is entering what he describes as a new phase defined by mastery, independence and purpose. In this conversation with AllHipHop’s R&B maven Rasheeda Wallace and Slops, he opens up about grief, therapy, direct-to-consumer independence, why some veterans misunderstand today’s R&B landscape, and why he believes this era should be about giving artists their roses while they can still receive them.
What emerges is a portrait of an artist focused less on fame and more on impact.
AllHipHop: You’ve always been active in the community. Where did that passion come from?
Raheem DeVaughn: Ironically that was before I started my foundation. That was around 2006. One of the initial initiatives was domestic violence because I was getting so many calls to show up for community talks.
Prince George’s County was ranked number one in domestic violence calls at one point and that’s right in my backyard. So I always supported the anti-domestic violence community. Starting the foundation in 2012 gave me the opportunity to really be ten toes down and have direct access without dealing with politics.
AllHipHop: What life experiences really changed you as a man and artist?
Raheem DeVaughn: Probably the most defining things were the birth of my children and losing my father. Those things make you respect time.
I always talk about what I call the three greatest gifts. The gift of time, because from the moment we are born we are running out of time. The gift of decision and free will because every choice affects you and others. And the third gift is people. The people we encounter are a gift.
AllHipHop: How did losing your father impact you emotionally?
Raheem DeVaughn: I was the last person to bathe him and wrap him before his burial. After something like that, social media comments cannot affect me. There is nothing I am not equipped to handle after that.
It actually pushed me to therapy for the first time in my life. I was one of those people who thought I did not need it. But therapy helped tremendously. A free and clear mind makes it easier to create.
AllHipHop: You recently revisited one of your classic records. What made you take that risk?
Raheem DeVaughn: It was not an easy thing. I knew I would be under scrutiny. Most artists will not touch their classics. But I stay in the studio and I probably spent months on it.
I approached remaking my own song the same way I approached covering Janet Jackson or The Isley Brothers. It either had to feel equally fulfilling or make the original feel like the demo. That was the standard.
AllHipHop: What drives you creatively at this stage of your career?
Raheem DeVaughn: It is the 10,000 hour effect. I have been in the studio long enough. On stage long enough. Around producers long enough. There is a mastery that comes with that.
I know how to get the right people in a room and walk out with something people are going to love. That comes from experience.
AllHipHop: What do you want people to feel when they hear this album?
Raheem DeVaughn: I want people to make love. I want intimacy. I want it to feel like audio ecstasy.
I want people playing Uno, spades, having date night. I dropped it around Valentine’s Day but every day can be love day. I wanted it to feel like those five slow jams in a row on a Jodeci album.
AllHipHop: You have been very vocal about direct-to-consumer independence. Why is that important now?
Raheem DeVaughn: I have always been a direct-to-consumer artist. Even early on we were pressing CDs ourselves and getting them into stores.
Now I encourage artists to sell directly to fans first. Do not just put your music on DSPs for fractions of pennies without putting it behind a paywall first. That direct support becomes startup capital for your marketing and promotion.
AllHipHop: What is your honest take on the current state of R&B?
Raheem DeVaughn: Some of these OGs are just bitter. Some do not understand seasons changing.
There is some music that could be better sonically. Some that is not on a positive frequency. But I am not here to condemn anybody. You just have to stand on what you put out and own it.
AllHipHop: Who do you see pushing R&B forward today?
Raheem DeVaughn: I love what Brent Faiyaz is doing. I hear the growth. I also love Ari Lennox. I remember meeting her early in the studio and she was a beast even then.
I am always going to be biased toward the DMV. The same way Snoop reps the West Coast and Tip reps Atlanta. We have to celebrate our own.
AllHipHop: What do you think is missing from conversations between generations of artists?
Raheem DeVaughn: This should be the decade of the roses. We are all getting older. You can either be old and disgruntled or celebrate what is happening now.
If you see something dope, hit like. Share it. Give game. I was on a call with some artists recently that was supposed to be twenty minutes and turned into two hours because they needed information and motivation.
AllHipHop: Why is mentorship so important to you?
Raheem DeVaughn: I would not be who I am without people like DJ Jazzy Jeff and others showing me the game when I was young. They could have taken advantage of me but they did not.
So I feel responsible to pass that knowledge forward. Hopefully 15 or 20 years from now we will see one of these young artists doing the same thing.
Photos by: @Iamcomplex