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Shedding their choir robes for street clothes, the Louisville-based trio known as Playa have stepped up to the plate with an R&B set that combines the power of gospel music with the more worldly melodies of contemporary R&B.

Smokey, Static and Black insist their defection from religious to secular music is by no means a sellout. "We got no static from nobody in our families or at church," says Smokey. "At our core, we're still just as spiritual as we were before we started singing R&B. We consider what we're doing a profession and a job."

The performer's comments understate the group's fiery commitment to their artistic craft, as their resume bears out. Cheers 2 U, Playa's debut album, is by no means their entry into the realm of pop music; as songwriters, they wrote "Pony," the 1996 No. 1 R&B hit by Ginuwine. They also lent their background vocals to Timbaland & Magoo's hot 1997 track "Up Jump The Boogie." Playa, who've been together as a trio for nearly a decade, also previously worked with rap sensation Missy Elliott, female R&B vocalist Aaliyah and gospel veteran Al Green.

What goes around comes around, so it's no coincidence that Cheers 2 U features guest appearances by Aaliyah and Timbaland " Magoo, as well as raptress Foxy Brown. "We took a nice amount of time with this album," reveals Static. "We been together for so long, that we knew what each other wanted for this album and worked hard to make that happen. And it was nice to have some of our friends helping to make the record possible."

Playa pushed their way into the big leagues by convincing a security guard who was familiar with their talent to let them backstage following a Jodeci concert in Louisville. There, they staged an impromptu audition for artist/ producer Devante Swing, who liked what he heard and told them to keep in touch.

And boy, did they keep in touch. "At first we were calling him all the time; we were really pestering him," remembers Black. "But as we kept sending him music, it got to the point where he was calling us as much as we were calling him."

Swing remained involved with his discovery, by including them on a collaborative effort called Da Bassment. Finally one day, when he felt the act was ready, Swing arranged for meeting between Playa and executives at hip-hop's cornerstone label, Def Jam, which ultimately signed the group to a deal on its imprint label, Def Soul.

The group is confident their music, which they describe as "Kentucky soul," will be accepted by fans across the country. "After all, we consider ourselves playas," Smokey boasts. "And for us, a playa is any person who is at the top of their game, whether it's on the basketball court, in business, or a recording career."