Souljah

He's a lot like the 17 year old boy living in the house next door to you: one minute he's five-foot-seven, the next he's 6'1. Souljah aka Frankie Diaz could easily be somebody that you know.

With his incredible voice and a debut CD laced with clever lyrics, hypnotic tracks and impeccable vocals, he's someone that the world will soon know.

One listen to Souljah’s voice and you're tempted to draw comparisons: Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher.

But listen a bit longer and those comparisons begin to dissipate as it becomes clear that, while Souljah certainly channels the creativity of those who have come before him, he definitely has a style, a flavor and a place in music that are all his own.

His debut CD Souljah takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Souljah covers a variety of subjects: A girl that he's dying to hit the dance floor with. A girl that's got another man. A girl that has him totally and completely head over heels in love.

It's an album about teenage boys, teenage girls. The first single, the e-murder-produced "The Party," is an irresistible up-tempo dance joint with an attention-grabbing hook.

"It's basically saying to a girl ‘If you're at the party by yourself, show me how you get down but if your man's here, tell me first. The slightly braggadocios "Move It” finds Souljah running down his credentials to a hottie. "It's just explaining how I'm coming out, the typical bragging about yourself a little bit but not too much and telling the girl who might be older than you ‘You may be older , but you can still Dance.'"

”Never Leave”, which was produced by The A. Lang (Christine Milian, Britney Spears, B-5 and P.Diddy), addresses the age-old issue of teenage love. "This song is going to be the new teenage anthem," says Souljah.

"Even when teenagers really are in love with each other a lot of older people are like ‘Love? You're barely old enough to go outside at night!' But what they don't know is that kids our age really do have feelings for each other so this song is basically telling older people that even though we're young, we still love each other. I think all the teenagers can relate to it.

“Souljah got his musical initiation early on, inspired by what he refers to as the "eclectic" taste of his parents and soaking in the sounds of his favorites: Michael Jackson, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, Anita Baker, and Aretha Franklin. By the time he was 13, Souljah realized that his voice was more than just a chick magnet. And so did his mother as he began to hook his son up with various producers.

"When I went in and started working, there were ups and downs but I loved it and I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.” And the rest of his life is off to a great start.