R&B singer Bradd Young

Bradd Young has been bubbling under St. Louis’ R&B scene for a while now, but he’s approaching the boiling point.

That’s thanks to a new Prince-inspired slow jam with his name on it called “Grown Man,” taking off on radio locally and beyond, and for good reason. It has all the makings of a bona-fide hit.

The song has already changed the St. Louis singer’s life. “I was at Wal-Mart and this girl broke her neck to talk to me. I didn’t know her, but she knew who I was. I was just trying to grab some toothpaste,” he says.

New fans aren’t the only ones sniffing around Young. Record labels are too.

“I’ve got some things in the works with different labels,” says Young, who dabbled with the major labels in the past when he was signed to Sony. “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’m going to leave the party with the girl who wants to leave with me.”

Young, who wrote and arranged “Grown Man,” says it’s based on true circumstances.

“I was with a lady at the time I wrote it. I was spending a lot of time in the studio and she was complaining about us not doing the things we used to do. So I said I was going to take a day out and give her my ‘grown man-ness.’ I wrote the song, recorded it, and gave it to her.”

The Prince influence in “Grown Man” was no accident. Young is an old soul, and a big Prince fan.

“I’m still current and aware of what’s going on today, but I also love yesterday. I wanted to make this song that was yesterday and today,” he says. “I wanted it to sound like Prince produced it, Michael Jackson sang it, and that Babyface wrote it.”

“Grown Man” is the first shot from Young’s upcoming “The Bradd Boxx” CD. He’s been recording non-stop, but he’s unsure what’ll make the final cut.

For him, “The Bradd Boxx” is “a place I made up when I was younger to escape my adversity, the personal stuff I was dealing with at home. This world kept me from what was going on at home,” he says.

Young grew up listening to acts like Jodeci, Lauryn Hill, and Musiq Soulchild, and also got doses of Al Green, Donny Hathaway, Earth, Wind and Fire, and various jazz and blues, from his parents and grandparents.

“I try to incorporate everything that’s instilled in me. That’s my whole thing, blending the old with the new,” he says.

What’s not his thing is answering to the label of neo-soul. Back in 2001, Young was one of the artists alongside Erykah Badu, Macy Gray, Jill Scott, and Anthony Hamilton on a neo-soul compilation titled “Red Star Sounds, Vol. 1: Soul Searching.” Young’s contribution was the song “So Sweet.”

At the time, Young had a deal with Sony and was marketed as a neo-soul singer, a tag with which he was never comfortable.

“I don’t accept that tag because it is a tag. I love all music, and I love neo-soul. But I’m not a neo-soul artist. I’m an R&B artist. So let’s just say that. I love pop and soul and jazz and acid jazz and rock and hip-hop. I want to express all that without being tagged neo-soul,” he says.

R&B Explosion: The Best of the Best with Nikko Smith, Coco Soul, Brad Young, De’Andre Perryman, Aloha Mi’sho, Seviin Lee, J’Var, 7:45 p.m. Sunday, the Ambassador, free tickets at the event web site, VIP tickets 12.50 at MetroTix, 314-869-9090, showme1.com or myspace.com/braddyoung1.