A music video speaks a thousand words. Yesterday soul singer Raheem DeVaughn had the computer screens steaming with the debut of his erotic, all-NSFW-everything music video for “Single” off his mixtape Jackin For Beats (pun?). VIBE caught up with the thick-lipped chansonnier for a late night conversation breaking down the inspiration behind his lustful video, the importance of oral sex and if he and his lady friend were really acting for the cameras.

So about this video…
Raheem DeVaughn: Let’s go in on that! 

[Laughs] A lot of, er, lip service going on in that.
That video was pretty much all shot on my mouth. 

We see. Those sex scenes were super intense, are you sure that was just acting?
No one will ever know.

Are you saying those scenes might’ve been real?
That’s the part I love. I really don’t have to say that. No one will ever know.

Okay. If you could though, would you shoot a video like that, but with real sex happening?
If it was somebody I was comfortable with and we had a level of trust, why not? But no one will ever know except the individuals that were over there filming.

Gotcha, was the lead girl casted or did you know her personally?
I recently started my own record label and we’re going to be doing a website so I met her prior and she was going to be one of the hostess… and still may be doing that. But she’s an absolute stranger and was very professional. And I like to think of myself as a professional too. And it was just fun to do. The imagery is very cinematic.

You’ve never done a video before close to this erotic, what was your motivation?
I wanted to create an image that was tasteful, but cutting edge, provocative, grown… real. I wanted to have people guessing and jaw-dropping. I knew it was going to be big but I didn’t guess all this. I was curious to see just how many people are checking for me, but it looks like a lot of people are.

Yeah, so much so that you were even a trending topic on Twitter yesterday. I’m sure you’ve been getting crazy tweets and DMs.
Yeah, they’ve been on my heels. I’ve gotten some very interesting tweets.

From anyone we may know?
High-profile models, actresses, lawyers, attorneys, ex-girlfriends. I feel like even my female employees look at me a little differently now [laughs]. 

Did you have any hesitation prior to shooting?
From day one I’ve blown myself up and at this point in my career I’ve been blessed. I’ve always been hands on with my music and my movement. I’ve blown myself up as a revolutionary and conscious artist. As a philanthropist and a performer. So right now it’s cool for me to blow up my sexy too. It’s cool to be a heterosexual man and be confident and feel sexy and want to give my female audience a taste of ‘What if.’ I know they wonder. 

Ha! I think it’s safe to say you have a love of giving oral sex. Is that something every man should be doing in 2010?
Let me say this, if you don’t do that, she’ll find someone that will [laughs]. And in these days it might be her best friend. If your girl is clean and deserving, why not? The best sex is between two givers… that’s off the chain. If you know how to do it properly, you will thoroughly enjoy the fruits of your labor [laughs]

What do you say to those who think this is all a quick way to gain attention?
It’s not a moment of desperation. Technically there ain’t no records to sell. It’s a free mixtape. I paid for the video to be shot myself. It’s just another way for me to display my artisty. I’m constantly reinventing myself. It’s a constant thing that I do. No diss to any of my homies, but I pay very close attention to what people say about me. I maybe saw five negative comments out of thousands. And whats interesting is it was from dudes. But I made this for women. I made this for a woman to say that’s how I want to be loved down. And for the brothers who do ride with me I made it for them to say yeah that’s how I put it down. 

Would you have done a video like this five years ago?
I can’t say yes or no. It all starts with a song. The crazy thing about this particular thing is this is a beat that isn’t even mine. I just thought I’d sound good singing over that. You gotta figure out a way to keep yourself fresh. 

Coincidentally, Keri Hilson also premiered a sexually-charged music video this week that caught people off guard. Except I think she might’ve received more flack than you.
I haven’t seen her video yet, but I’ve seen some of the comments. Someone created a blog page on just me and her. They had our pictures up like mug shots like how does this dude go from “Customer” to this? Easy. It’s art man, don’t take it so seriously. I’m a fan of Keri. Unfortunately for women though, if they decide to be promiscuous they’re going to get a bad rap. It is what it is. We all know that. But hopefully it was her decision. If she’s cool with it, I’m cool with it. 

True. After seeing such a crazy response from your female fans would you capitalize off this video? Maybe make a longer version?
I’ve been thinking about that all day. How do I top this? You don’t. For what? It’s done. You move on to the next thing and you find a way to create more greatness. -VIBE