Opening Act: Aniyyah Brooks
Get ready for the return of Raheem DeVaughn to the State Theatre, along with Eric Benét, An Intimate Evening; Where Love, Meets Soul.
Raheem DeVaughn the son of cellist Abdul Wadud, was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Washington, DC and Maryland. He is a Grammy Award-nominee, BET Award-winner, singer, songwriter and producer who has been recording music since 2005. He kicked his career into gear by performing at coffee houses and small clubs in DC.
Raheem was nominated for and won BETJ Virtual Awards for “Album of the Year” and “Artist of the Year” in 2008. He was also nominated for several Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Male Vocalist (2008), Best R&B Song (2009), and Best R&B Album (2011).
In 2021, Raheem released his ninth studio album Lovesick (with Apollo Brown). He has been compared to Dwele, Van Hunt, D’Angelo, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. Raheem has described himself as an “R&B hippie neo-soul rock star,” a take on the difficulty media types have classifying him.
Eric Benét Jordan, “Eric Benét,” is an American singer-songwriter and musician, born in Mobile, AL. He was raised in Milwaukee, WI and is the youngest of five siblings. He expressed an interest in music at an early age, but was initially encouraged by his father, a police officer who died of cancer, to attend college and pursue a “stable” career. Eric is an NAACP Award winner.
Eric began his career as a member of the group Gerard in the late 1980’s. Later he and his sister Lisa, and his cousin George Nas Jr formed a band called Benet and released a self-entitled album in 1992, which sold over 100,000 copies. In 1994, he signed with Warner Bros Records, releasing his solo debut album, “True to Myself,” in 1996. Eric released his second album, “A Day in the Life,” in 1999. He went on to release seven more albums between 2005-2025, which includes his latest album “The Co-Star.”
Eric has also been active as an actor. He had a recurring role on “For Your Love” 1998-2002. He also made his big-screen debut alongside singer Mariah Carey in “Glitter” 2001. Additionally, in 2005, he appeared on “Half & Half” and had a recurring role on the 2007 MTV show “Kaya”. On July 9, 2011, Benét’s second feature film role, Trinity Goodheart, premiered at the American Black Film Festival. In 2013, Benét appeared on the second season of BET’s hit television show, “The Real Husbands of Hollywood.” In 2022, he appeared in “Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story.”
In his music career, Eric has had other notable achievements such as winning a Black Reel Award 2002 and four nominations for Grammy® Awards in 2000, 2009 (2), and 2012.
Aniyyah Brooks is an independent R&B singer/songwriter from East Orange, NJ, currently residing in Los Angeles, CA.
She started her career off writing and producing her first single “Was It Worth It” in 2017 followed by her first EP titled “Aniyyah”. To help promote her releases, she hosted her very own concert which sold out within the first week of ticket sales. Following the success of the concert, she released what soon became her second EP titled “What It Cost Me” in 2022 along with a few more singles over the next few years.
Aniyyah furthered her career through theater performances, local gigs, an LA collective she joined as well as the development of her social media presence. She’s made an impact on many stages along with appearances on TV One, BET, R&B Live, the Newspaper and has toured internationally. Today, Aniyyah continues to grow in her craft with recent singles, “You Lose” and “Immanity”. She prides herself on being a vocalist first as this is what denotes true R&B. R&B music is what she loves. It’s what she’s passionate about. It’s who she is and how she gives back.
