Few contemporary R&B singers have succeeded in being soulful and gritty at the same time, but new artist Urban Mystic doesn't have that problem. His first single "Where Were You?" has just the right blend. It poignantly asks: "Where were you when you first heard Biggie or 'Pac/ and you knew you were blessed with the best of hip-hop?"

But it's not just the words that make the song - the singer's delivery grabs you. Drenched in emotion, Urban Mystic's voice - which is reminiscent of Jodeci's K-Ci Hailey - contains that intangible quality that makes soul music so moving. That's very impressive for a young man who is just 20.

Interestingly enough, "Where Were You?" was written and produced by Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature fame. (He's also the man behind singer Jaheim, who's described as the "ghetto Teddy Pendergrass.") "When I sat down and he let me hear the words to the song," says the Ft. Lauderdale native, "I was like 'wow, this is definitely something that I can relate to, thinking about where I was at a certain point and time of my life.' That gives me a chance to feel good and go back and reminisce."

Like Sam Cooke and other legendary singers, Mystic, born Brandon Williams, has deep roots in the church. His father, now deceased, was even a preacher. Williams says his stage name was inspired by his spiritual upbringing. "Urban Mystic describes me as a person," he says. "It's speaking of "Urban" in reference to my urban side, you know, referencing where I'm from, the hood, and 'Mystic' represents my spiritual background. I was raised up in the church. I grew up sanging in the church, still currently sanging in the church. So there it is: I'm Urban Mystic."

Most of his debut album, Ghetto Revelations, is far from suitable for the church, though, not with titles like "It's a F*ck Song" and the words "bitches" and "nigga" dropped throughout. But Williams feels there's no contradiction. "I try to base my life on a battery, … just like a car battery" he says. "It won't start with two positives, and it won't start with two negatives. It's got to have that positive and that negative to be able to start and crank and go on."

Mystic makes this combination work for the most part. Despite the coarse language and some lyrical missteps, Mystic keeps listeners engaged with his voice. He shows his soul roots on a cover of Bobby Womack's "Woman Gotta Have It," and he sprinkles his songs with some well-placed shouts of "Lord" and "Can I Get a Witness?" But none of this testifying gets in the way of Mystic reaching his core audience. "I'll give it a church vibe or a church feel," he says, "but I kind of make it more to relate to the people that's out in the streets."

Nevertheless, his church background does influence his lyrics. "I'm not going to tell nobody nothing wrong," he says. "I'm not gone say, 'Hey it's right to go and shoot up and kill a bunch of people.'

"Music is a very powerful thing. I don't think that a lot of people realize how powerful music is and how much of an influence music is on people in general. When I grab a bunch of people on my side and on my team, I'm gon' be able to tell them the right thing. … To have that kind of influence on people is definitely a great feeling."

Music@creativeloafing.com