At the head of the '60s and '70s soul revival is a six-man collective of hip-hop, funk, and gritty soul influences - The Revelations featuring Tre' Williams. When listening to their debut, the EP Deep Soul, it's easy to consolidate images of the bluesy South with the gritty streets of the city into one passionate, contemporary view of life.
Tre' Williams, the raw-baritone leader of the group, sounds like something of a modern-day Otis Redding and has used his church choir and R&B backgrounds with his four-octave range for a number of big-name contributions (Petey Pablo, Nas). The other five members of the band are just as experienced in the music world, with ties to names like Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, and Raphael Saadiq.The sextet produced their debut on Decision Records in November and critics have been praising its daring hybrid style and the pure soul so evident in every one of the seven songs.