By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Music Writer

Raheem DeVaughn, “Love Behind the Melody” (Jive)

After he released his debut album “The Love Experience,” Raheem DeVaughn drew a lot of comparisons to the gifted but now missing-in-action D’Angelo. Like the neosoul king, DeVaughn’s love songs were passionate and sexy, and his sensual tenor could persuade a nun to do improper things.

On his new album, “Love Behind the Melody,” the comparisons are even more evident, especially on the slow groove “Love Drug,” on which he likens his lover to cocaine in her potency and addictive powers. (”Brown Sugar,” anyone?) Yet DeVaughn is not just some D’Angelo wannabe. As “Love Behind the Melody” makes clear, while the singer-songwriter is influenced by the likes of D’Angelo, Prince and others, he’s carving out his own sound.

DeVaughn blends smooth R&B grooves with a touch of hip-hop on songs like hot track “Friday (Shut the Club Down),” which blends part of the Temptations’ “My Girl,” and the pulsating “Energy” featuring OutKast’s Big Boi. But he also offers dreamy bedroom ballads like the retro, luscious-sounding “Mo Better,” and “Marathon” featuring Floetry. And “Butterflies” is in a category all its own, an airy guitar-centric mix of soul and rock.

DeVaughn co-wrote all the album’s 17 tracks: They are elevated by well-crafted lyrics free of the cliched writing that tends to bog down many love songs. While relationships and love are the central themes of the disc, the songs are not monolithic. “Quiet Storm” slow jams; he mixes different soundscapes so each track offers something new for the ear to discover.

With the exception of John Legend and perhaps a few others, there aren’t a lot of strong male singers in R&B who offer more than ghetto love songs and sex soliloquies. DeVaughn’s voice is a sorely needed on who fills the void that D’Angelo, Maxwell and others left in their absence.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: The piano-based “Woman” is an uplifting track that pays tributes to all women, including your baby’s mama, as DeVaughn would say.