Don't hold your breathe waiting for MTV, BET, or VH1 to highlight soul troubadour Anthony David's ascent from Army veteran to acclaimed solo performer. Or, for that matter, the journey of songbirds Slick & Rose from singing background for poet Jessica Care Moore to rocking stages on their own. Media coverage for those types of artists - who are shooting a middle finger to the music biz status quo - is virtually nonexistent.

But two video-savvy music lovers have joined forces to change that. Monique Woods (aka Redheaddread) and Shannon McCollum have created the quarterly DVD magazine Elements. It's an inspired synthesis of performances and introspective interview footage that works like an intimate portrait of Atlanta's soul underground. It exposes the kind of organic black music that exists far from the overexposed world of pimp goblets and crunk juice.

Their idea for the DVD came together while they were both working on a Pastor Troy video shoot. One day while killing time, they began talking about how they felt music was changing for the worse. They wondered what they could do about it. "I wasn't feeling hip-hop the way I used to," says Howard University alum Woods, who developed her technical chops while working for CBS and ESPN. "And after Shannon took me to a love fest where Van Hunt performed, I knew there was a mature and overlooked black audience grossly underserved. Instead of blaming the industry, record executives, and radio for promoting negativity or waiting on permission to follow my passion, I just got to work."

McCollum, a music historian revered for his groundbreaking work with Southern hip-hop artists, was also inspired by the idea. "I knew the soul scene in ATL needed a promotional vehicle," he says. "After shooting hip-hop for the last 12 years, I needed a change in lifestyle. ... I moved into the organic and rooted nature of soul music, [which is] my love. ... Starting Elements was about making our soul community proud."

Woods and McCollum are part of an emerging trend of disenchanted hip-hop heads who once overdosed on the liberating grooves of A Tribe Called Quest, MC Lyte, and Boogie Down Productions, but are now returning to a form of soul that's similar to the sounds that once came from their parents' 8-tracks.

The duo began the project by employing guerilla strategies even a block-hugging hustler would envy. Without business cards, a company name, or a clear editorial philosophy, they talked themselves into such alternative venues as Apache Café, Cotton Club, and the Jazz Loft and convinced managers, promoters, and club owners to grant them all access to some of soul's best kept secrets.

The premiere issue features live sets and in-depth behind-the-scenes footage of Atlanta's underappreciated heavyweights such as Anthony David, Slick & Rose, Dres tha Beatnik and Van Hunt, as well as acts like Kanye West discovery John Legend, funk impresario Raphael Saadiq, and golden girl Res. All of those artists are beautifully presented through a combination of Woods' avant-garde camerawork la Spike Lee, and McCollum's humanizing realism that brings to mind the work of photographer Gordon Parks. Elements gives this group of unsung performers the kind of spotlight their talent deserves.

music@creativeloafing.com

For more information, go to www.elementsdvd.com.