Raheem DeVaughn is one of the most soulful singers in the R&B game. The self-proclaimed “Love King” celebrates his 40th birthday today (May 5).

The New Jersey-born, Washington, D.C.-bred crooner is far from a new jack in the music industry. DeVaughn burst onto the scene back in 2005, with his debut album, The Love Experience. His voice was a breath of fresh air in the post-neo soul wave and he was praised for his love songs celebrating women's attributes.

Speaking of which, it was his 2008 song “Woman” from his second album, Love Behind the Melody, that garnered him the most universal acclaim. On the ballad, DeVaughn sings the praises of grown women who are independent and strong.

His subsequent albums like the concept project The Love & War MasterPeace and A Place Called Love Land dealt with love but also focused on social issues affecting the black community.

In 2015, DaVaughn released his fifth studio effort, Love Sex Passion. His latest single, the sensual ballad “Temperature’s Rising” is a mature update of R. Kelly’s 1993 ballad, “It Seems Like You're Ready.”

"I took a hot line and made it a hot song,” DaVaughn told The Boombox. “That song wouldn't have been that song if I had not chose to use those lyrics and that interpretation.”

“People love what's familiar to the ear and at the same time, it’s paying homage to the great,” he adds. “When you think about the ‘90s and baby making music, that’s all R. Kelly. It sounds like sex and it feels like sex so you want to keep having sex.”

On May 5, 2011, DeVaughn was honored with the Key to the City and was given his own Raheem DeVaughn Day in Washington, D.C. Since then, he's been giving back to his beloved hometown with his LoveLife Foundation.

Watch Raheem DeVaughn's "Temperature's Rising" Video

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