The son of jazz cellist Abdul Wadud, Maryland-based R&B vocalist Raheem DeVaughn kicked his career into gear after initiating a series of independent releases, aided in part by the cash reward earned from winning a talent contest. Jive became interested, signed him, and released The Love Experience in June of 2005. The album peaked within the Top 50 of the -Billboard 200 album chart, with the singles "You" and "Guess Who Loves You More" regularly spun on some of the more adventurous R&B stations across the U.S. Love Behind the Melody followed in January 2008. Its first single, "Woman," was his biggest hit yet and was nominated for a 2008 Grammy in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. A year later, "Customer" was nominated for Best R&B song. Led by the late-2009 single "Bulletproof," featuring Ludacris, DeVaughn's The Love & War MasterPeace -- featuring much more socially conscious material than the average contemporary R&B release -- surfaced in March 2010.

~ Andy Kellman, Rovi