BY GAIL MITCHELL

PHAT CITY: It can't be said enough. The lifeblood of the music industry-or any industry for that matter-is new, forward-thinking talent. And more often than not, industry eyes look to the independent ranks for that creative jump-start. Checking in on a couple of cases in point: Tallahassee, Fla.-based Parlane Entertainment Group's Phat Cat Players and Oakland, Calif.-based LeSun Music's Ledesi.

The Phat Cat Players' sensual spoken-word single "Sundress"-accented by the seductive baritone of front man/founder Danny B. Harris as Coco Brown-has been propelling coast-to-coast (and now London, Berlin, and Australia) interest in Parlane's 1999 project, "Make It Phat, Baby!," created from a series of mid-'90s revues staged by the Players at Tallahassee venues. The Cats' debut album, initially available via the Web (www.phatcatplayers.com), was boosted by airplay on ABC Radio Networks' national format the Touch, as well as on Tom Joyner's syndicated morning show (son Oscar is the album's executive producer). Since then, these mixers of R&B/hip-hop/funk-meets-Gil Scott-Heron have secured a distribution pact with Baker & Taylor, with two more album tracks being prepped for videos at the end of July: "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Those Days."

"We thought this would happen," says Harris, "but we didn't know how it would happen or when. But if you knew the VH1 story that we've already written . . . What we've been able to accomplish so far still hasn't sunk in; I'm flattered but still taken aback by the response at showcases and radio stops."

Harris, who wrote most of the lyrics on the album, calls his Coco Brown persona "a vibe, a coolness that's a part of who I am and a part of what a lot of men can be when it comes to how they treat and respect women."

Parlane Entertainment is also home to several additional acts. Besides developing three new artists, future Parlane plans include projects with featured "Those Days" vocalist Slater Thorpe and "funky violinist" Mark Russell, who's featured on Bill Withers' classic "Ain't No Sunshine." Also on tap: a Coco Brown project and another Phat Cat Players set.

With a remix of "Sundress" under their belts, plus a 15-city tour in August/September and some international dates in the offing, the Phat Cats are seemingly just that. "Many of the comments we hear thank us for keeping the music real," says Harris. "And that's Parlane's goal: to keep soul music alive."

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL: Poised to put a new musical spin on the traditional Cinderella story is the Bay Area-based female duo Ledisi (vocalist) and Sundra "Sun" Manning (keyboards), whose "Soulsinger" album (billed under Ledisi's name) is a titillatingly sassy blend of R&B, hip-hop, jazz, blues, gospel, rock, and country. The set's broad appeal has sparked inquiries from as far away as Ireland.

The intrepid pair, who wrote the majority of the 17-track set, recorded, produced, and mixed the album two years ago for release on their own indie label LeSun Music (415-281-0571) with play-by-play support from such friends as Wayne and Nelson Braxton (the Braxton Brothers). "We bought chicken and asked all our friends to come to Tony Mills' Spark Studio to play our songs," recalls Ledisi, which means "to come forth" in Nigerian. "Prior to that, we were begging everyone to borrow equipment."

"We did everything, from the artwork to production/editing," adds Sun. "We knew nothing other than what we read in manuals, and we learned from our mistakes. We've also been doing our own distribution."

As a result, the duo has been building word-of-mouth intrigue through Web site sales (ledisi.com; amazon.com) and its own poster and postcard campaign, which has netted placement with local retailers in San Francisco, New York, and New Orleans, where Ledisi was born.

Raised in Oakland, Calif., and a one-time member of a jazz band, Ledisi started her own group (Anibade). She and Oakland native Sun-who's played with Hammer, Tony Toni Ton , and the Monkees' Peter Tork-hooked up five years ago and began writing together. "We wanted to write songs with depth that took into account our jazz, gospel, blues, and R&B backgrounds plus other influences. It was perfect," recalls Ledisi. "We were finishing off each other's sentences. No egos were involved. We were having fun, staying up till sunrise and writing."

That fun filters throughout "Soulsinger," whose last track catches Ledisi snoring after pulling a late one at the studio. Described in live performances as Red Hot Chili Peppers mixed with Tina Turner and Ella Fitzgerald, the pair's skill at weaving messages in the music sparkles on such tracks as the rock-inflected "Get Outta My Kitchen," "Stop Livin' In Ya Head," "Good Lovin'," and even on the sensitive topic of abuse in "Papa Loved To Love Me." Notes Ledisi, "We try to end our songs on a good note; you have to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

With the Braxtons plus musical director/drummer Tommie Bradford, drummer Brian Collier, and background vocalist LeGerald Normand, Ledisi has opened for Eric Ben t, D'Angelo, and Carl Thomas and plays four to five nights a week at Bay Area nightspots. "Our songs take on another dimension when played live," says Sun. "We do soul music from the heart that we hope will inspire listeners to do something positive in their lives."

Reggae artist's Buju Banton's seventh CD, "Unchained Spirit." The July 25 Anti Inc./Epitaph release features the single "Sudan." Banton, born Mark Myrie, begins a U.S. tour Aug. 3 (Burlington, Vt.) that wraps Oct. 1 in New Rochelle, N.Y. . . . Also coming July 25: soul jazz keyboardist's Roger Smith with his third album, "Consider This," on Miramar Recordings.

Columbia/Epic's Legacy division bows five remastered jazz fusion classics on Aug. 1: three from the legendary Miles Davis ("On The Corner," "Get Up With It," "Big Fun") and one each by the Mahavishnu Orchestra ("Birds Of Fire") and Jaco Pastorius ("Jaco Pastorius") . . . Roger Troutman II's freshman set, "The Second Coming." The August release is via Los Angeles-based Worldwide Wild Style Entertainment, headed by co-CEOs Eric Brown and Terrance Williams. Son of the late R&B pioneer, Troutman describes the 12-track album as "hip-hop, old-school funk" . . . R. Kelly's fifth Jive set, "TP-2.Com," arrives Oct. 24; first single "I Wish" goes to radio Aug. 14.

SMOKIN' RADIO: Joining the ranks of music stars-turned-radio stars (i.e., WRKS New York's Isaac Hayes), Motown legend Smokey Robinson dons his own on-air persona beginning July 24 when he surfaces on KCMG (Mega 92.3) Los Angeles as host of the Monday-through-Thursday show "Intimate With Smokey Robinson." Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg is now manning the 10 p.m.-2 a.m. slot on Fridays with "Big Snoop Dogg Radio" via KKBT (the Beat 100.3) L.A. The station is also gearing up for its seventh annual Summer Jam concert (Aug. 13). Thus far, the lineup includes Carl Thomas, Da Brat, Lucy Pearl, Next, Mos Def, Ideal, Joe, Ghostface Killah, Lil' Kim, and Common.

MORE COMING ATTRACTIONS: The Digital Club Network (digitalclubnetwork.com) presents its sixth annual Digital Club Festival, July 22-25. Some 30 venues in more than 25 cities are participating, with various artist performances available online. Among the hip-hop acts slated: De La Soul (July 22 from Washington, D.C.), the "Lyricist Lounge" with Mos Def and Slick Rick (July 23 from Connecticut), Wu Tang Clan (July 24 from Pennsylvania), and dead prez (July 25 from Minneapolis).

THE NEXT PHASE: Gwendolyn Quinn, formerly senior director of publicity at Arista Records, has resurfaced at Capitol Records as VP of R&B publicity. She can be reached at 212-253-3051; gwendolyn.quinn@capitolrecords.com.

CONDOLENCES: To the family and friends of Lew Bedell, 81, who created Dore Records and worked with such acts as Gene Page and the Whispers. He died July 6 in Los Angeles of cancer. He's survived by his wife, three children, and one grandchild.