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Kem, who beat the odds by scoring a hit with his independently released debut album, "Kemistry," will perform at Expo's Music Heritage Festival Concert on July 19. (PRNewsFoto)

Entertaining thousands of fans isn't enough for national recording artist Kem. The R&B/jazz vocalist, whose popularity keeps soaring each year, also wants to inspire listeners with a positive message that is often absent from mainstream music.

"As artists, we have been endowed with the opportunity to be in tens of thousands of people's lives or however many this art form brings us to," he says. "My experience, my faith and my spiritual foundations have brought me of all the great things in my life, and I feel on a personal level to share that every opportunity I can."

Saturday night, the Detroit-based singer and songwriter will bring his adult contemporary sound to the Indiana Black Expo's Music Heritage Festival Concert, where he will perform alongside Keyshia Cole and Chrisette Michele.

"Indianapolis is a city that has given me a lot of support over the years, especially with my first album," he says. "I haven't had an opportunity to come back recently, so this is just an honor to be playing at one of the biggest things to happen there this year."

Speaking on the phone recently, while on his way to the recording studio to work on his third album, Kem recounted how his life changed dramatically over the past decade. Growing up in the late '70s/early '80s in Detroit, he struggled through a rough period after high school when he was in and out of homeless shelters.

After being discovered following the 2002 independent release of his first album, "Kemistry," he now is part of the iconic Universal Motown record label. His first two albums were certified gold hits, selling more than 500,000 copies each. His latest, "Kem Album II," debuted at No. 5 on Billboards Top 200 chart.

"I've always dreamt of doing what I'm doing now," he says. "But some days in the beginning, the dream didn't seem as tangible, and some days you wonder if you should get a real job. But you just have to keep plugging along, and as I would tell anyone doing anything they aspire to do: just don't give up."

Kem says he believes his lyrics, about faith and personal struggles, resonate with listeners because they're universal themes.

"No matter what your economic or ethnic background is, ultimately we are all looking for the same things -- to be well, have healthy relationships, have prosperity and have hope for the future," he says.

He says he also offers a distinct brand of music that is "smooth but funky, with a lot of jazzy rhymes and spiritual overtones."

"A lot of people tell me I'm a creator of baby-making music, in the tradition of Luther Vandross and Barry White, who a lot of people compare my music with," he says.

Kem says Black Expo concertgoers will get a glimpse of the future, as he will play several tracks from his upcoming release, "Kem Album III Intimacy," which he hopes to launch later this year.

"We are also going to do lot of old favorites from the first CD, but definitely look for some of the new material," he says.

- By Trevor Brown / Indy.com