4 To Watch For: Ricky Fanté

Budding soul sensation Ricky Fanté sounds like the second coming of Otis Redding, but don’t try the comparison with him.

“To tell you the truth,” Fanté says, “I didn’t really listen much to Otis when I was growing up, and I still don’t.” Protests aside, the 26-year-old Washington, D.C. native’s debut, Rewind, plays like a sonic encyclopedia of classic ’60s soul music, particularly the raw southern soul perfected by Atlantic/Stax/Volt Records. And Fanté’s uncanny ability to channel past greats is the album’s most appealing and distinctive quality. “It Ain’t Easy,” the first single, is pure Memphis/Muscle Shoals gold, with Fanté backed by a gospel choir, and with a glorious horn chart arranged by Earth, Wind & Fire-vet Jerry Hey. “Drive” captures the infectious, handclapping party music of Sam Cooke, while “Why” offers a gritty take on senseless urban violence that would fit seamlessly on Curtis Mayfield’s early-’70s albums. “It’s Over Now” and “A Woman’s Touch” showcase an over-the-top, pleading approach to soul ballads that would make Otis and Percy Sledge proud.

Fanté wrote and recorded the album’s 12 tracks with the help of Grammy-winning songwriter Jesse Harris, who wrote or co-wrote several songs on Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me. But the genesis of Fanté’s songs dates back to a childhood spent listening to his parents’ classic-soul collection and singing in the church choir. “I’m not going to do the hip-hop gangsta pose,” Fanté says. “I appreciate some of that music, but it’s not my story. It’s not who I am. My father was an engineer and my mother was a lawyer and a teacher. My parents were huge music fans, and I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and Al Green and Marvin Gaye. That’s bound to come out in what I do.” But not Otis Redding, the soul icon he most closely resembles? “Not really,” Ricky says. “I knew ‘Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay,’ and a couple of the other hits. But I don’t know that much about his music. I just heard the song ‘Tramp’ for the first time recently. I really like that one.” Okay. And the critical reaction to the music? “It’s so old it’s new,” Fanté says, laughing. “I have people in their ’50s asking for my autograph, and teenagers telling me that I’m their favorite new singer.” No kidding. When you try a little tenderness, some folks remember the past and others hear it as a balm for the first time. Either way, it’s a voice for the ages.