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Raheem DeVaughn says he is "just on some other stuff."

One of few DMV — District, Maryland, Virginia — artists with national name recognition, he performs with Alicia Keys and features Ludacris on his new single, "Bulletproof." His mother fondly recalls attending Aretha Franklin's birthday party with her son.

Yet even after the Tuesday release of his third album with Jive Records, he continues collaborating with locals and building his label, 368 Music, which recently launched New Carrollton rapper Phil Adé.

It is a complicated picture. The ladies love DeVaughn and hip-hop artists clamor to work with him. When asked his age, he replies: "I refer to myself as timeless" (his MySpace page lists his age as 34). His music blends revolution with romance and both will be showcased on his new album, "The Love and War MasterPeace," which will also be sold as a deluxe double-disc version featuring additional songs.

"I'm trying to put something out where you put in the CD and you want to play it from beginning to end," says DeVaughn, who is often compared to Marvin Gaye by friends and family.

DeVaughn, born in New Jersey to musician Abdul Wadud and Imani Frances-Smith, moved to Maryland with his mother after his parents separated. He attended elementary school in the Takoma Park area and then moved to Beltsville, graduating from High Point High School. Today DeVaughn — who has two children — elicits screams from females with his romantic style. Not so during his formative years, though.

"He was very much into school. He was not considered that flamboyant guy," Smith, his mother, says.

While attending Coppin State in Baltimore on scholarship, DeVaughn embraced his creative side and left college. His mother offered support, with a caveat: Take music seriously or go back to school. DeVaughn chose the former, fronting R&B outfit Urban Ave 31 and performing and selling tapes around U Street NW in Washington, D.C., in the early 2000s.

Then came what frequent collaborator Kev Brown calls a "foot in the door." DeVaughn joined other DMV artists on DJ Jazzy Jeff's 2002 project "The Magnificent," and that combined with a local buzz brought a record deal.

"I don't think it was my big break, I was already making a name for myself in D.C., but the relationship with Jeff certify-stamped me," DeVaughn says.

Uphill battle

Despite selling more than 500,000 combined copies of his first two albums and earning two Grammy Award nominations, DeVaughn knows competing nationally is an uphill battle. Getting "Bulletproof" radio spins has been challenging.

"It's not like something you are going to hear in rotation every 10 minutes," he says of the socially conscious track. "The catch-22 is the label might feel it is a hit, but then the radio will be like, ‘I really can't play this.'

"‘Bulletproof' is a big hit in Chicago. I do get support from [some local stations], but the youngins don't know about the song. They want to hear it on 95.5 (WPGC) and 93.9 (WKYS)."

WPGC Music Director Big Tigger says he is tasked with playing the most popular songs, period.

"We actually played [‘Bulletproof'] for awhile. It did marginally well even though personally I loved the song," Tigger writes in an e-mail. "As far as the ‘youngins' are concerned, they unfortunately seem to not be interested in songs [containing] positivity or thought provoking lyrical content."

W. Ellington Felton, who has recorded with DeVaughn as The Crossrhodes, agrees.

"In terms of subject matter, [‘Bulletproof"] is not a light song. He's reminding people: You're a human being," Felton says. "That's not sexy. That's not gonna make people go out and buy clothes."

DeVaughn is satisfied with his creative freedom at Jive, a label he says is known for working with self-contained artists.

That's a good thing, because he has an independent streak. His debut, "The Love Experience," was released in 2005 long after completion. While waiting for its release, he grew impatient.

"I had built this following, they were waiting, and I started doing mixtapes out of pure frustration to start promoting myself," he says.

The prolific artist just dropped his most recent mixtape, "Mr. February aka March Madness," and also has plenty of unreleased material. Brown says DeVaughn has an EP's worth of songs with local rapper Cy Young, and DeVaughn mentions an unreleased Christmas album.

Outside of the studio, DeVaughn plans a spring tour following the release of "MasterPeace," with local dates unconfirmed.

"I can say this though, the tour has been bought out cross-country," DeVaughn says.

‘The singing Jay-Z'

DeVaughn is focused in the studio.

"You'll see him mumbling something, then ‘I'm ready,' and he'll just record," Brown says. "He'll never officially write it down."

DeVaughn is now dubbed "the singing Jay-Z," after the rapper known for abstaining from written rhymes.

"He can show up and make a song that people will love," Felton says, explaining DeVaughn often finds inspiration in the city and enters the studio as others go to sleep. "Understand you are going to have to be ready to work. He's serious and focused."

DeVaughn saw examples of determination every day growing up: His mother was a decorated Department of Justice employee and the first minority female to retire with three badges, according to a release from biographical archive Cambridge Who's Who.

"My grandson can write his full name now. [The other day] he said he ‘can't do it.' I say we don't use the word ‘can't,'" Smith says. Now her son is as accomplished as his mother.

"Oh my lord," she says, ticking off local accolades, Grammy nominations and BET Awards. "He has so many awards."

Staying put

Lost in the question of when DMV hip-hop will rival Atlanta's rap scene is the strength of the R&B roster. Artists like Ginuwine, Marvin Gaye and Amerie originated locally, to name a few.

"A lot of them have left. Even Marvin didn't stay. For me, it's a different kind of thing, because I'm here. I'm still rooted in this area. U Street is where I started," says DeVaughn, who splits time between Prince George's and Atlanta, urban music's epicenter. "I have my own artists, like Phil Adé, who is making a lot of noise. I definitely want to give back even more, put other cats on [the scene] too."

And the scene benefits from DeVaughn's high-profile status.

"Talk to half the rappers in the city. They will say they got a joint with Raheem," says Brown, who itches to play another show alongside DeVaughn.

Felton hopes to resuscitate The Crossrhodes. But the ball is in DeVaughn's court.

"That's the million-dollar question," DeVaughn says. "For us, it's about the timing. When the planets align right, we'll go at that joint."

Right now, his priority is "MasterPeace," which features appearances by Wale, Damian Marley and a slew of soul artists on a song called "Nobody Wins a War."

As album sales continue dropping, DeVaughn hopes fans will help him win his battle.

"The biggest service people can do ... is buy the album and support the music and the message," he says.

His biggest supporter is confident the sales will be there.

"A millionaire? Almost a millionaire? No. But will he be? Any day now," his mother says. "I just believe that this is his time."

Raheem DeVaughn

-County connection: Grew up in Beltsville, graduated from High Point High School.

-Solo discography: The Love Experience, 2005; Love Behind the Melody, 2008; The Love and War MasterPeace, 2010.

-How he made it: "I just grinded it out."

-How the DMV music scene sticks together: "We vow collectively to wave the flag. There might be internal stuff, but we make sure we are on one agenda."

-For more: www.myspace.com/raheemdevaughn

E-mail John Burgess Everett at jeverett@gazette.net.