Austin Brown 85

Austin Brown is following in some pretty big footsteps: The young artist is the nephew of Michael and Janet Jackson. Then there's his mom, Rebbie, who charted two top 10 R&B hits of her own in the '80s, "Centipede" and "Plaything."

But Brown contends he's unfazed by the inevitable comparisons. "A lot of people say I sound like the male version of my mother," he says during an interview at Rodney Jerkins' Darkchild studio in Los Angeles. "That sound is part of who I am. You know, I can't help where I come from, but I do love where I come from."

Now the singer/songwriter/musician is ready to see how much listeners will love his self-described "energetic groove and soul" sound. Preview track "Target Practice" is already up on AOL and Brown's website,AustinBrown.com. Coming in the next few weeks will be a video mash-up of three tracks from his debut album, "85." Directed by producer Tom DeSanto ("X-Men," "Transformers"), the video will be chock-full of video effects and, Brown adds, "a lot of throwback dancing."

CLICK BELOW TO WATCH AUSTIN BROWN'S 85 TRAILER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBlvemoAbkU