"The last album was a concept album; this album is strictly a love album," Raheem revealed. "I think that (the love behind the melody) is something that we all search for."
Among the people he worked with on the album are producers Brian Michael Cox, Jack Splash and Chucky Thompson, plus rapper Big Boi (of OutKast) and the British duo Floetry.
Working with a hip-hop artist like Big Boi though, may seem a little unusual for a soulful artist like Raheem. "I beg to differ," he said. "I've worked with a lot of different artists. I'm always looking for newer, fresher sounds."
And among those newer sounds is the song "Customer," in which Raheem goes to great lengths to literally and figuratively serve a woman: "Welcome, can I help you? Take a minute to read the menu. If you're lookin; for a man, if you're lookin' for a friend, if you're lookin' for someone to talk to, Take your time, I'll fill your order."
The song is one of only two tracks on the album co-written by Raheem with others. His co-writers were the Karma Music duo of Carvin & Ivan, who also produced the track. Although Raheem has high praise for "Customer" and its producers, he also said he doesn't have a favorite song on the new album. "I can't really pinpoint it," he said. "You gotta listen to it (the album) from beginning to end. You can't just name one song."
As far as the future, Raheem says there's a list of artists he'd like to work with, and that list includes R&B singer Sade, pop star James Blunt and rapper Jay-Z. It's an eclectic list for an R&B artist, but Raheem says he's more than just an R&B artist: "I'm what you call an R&B hippie neo-soul rock star," he said.
