Neema of Unexpected Arrival

Neema Khorrami will never forget the day he found himself in the company of hip-hop heavyweights Eminem, Nelly and Cam'Ron. And he was on top.

That was Aug. 21, when the 20-year-old local emcee — who calls himself Unexpected Arrival — reached the No. 1 spot on KUBE-FM's nightly countdown with his first single, "Take Control," a remix of a song from his self-titled debut. He stayed there for three days.

And that was when everything started to happen very, very fast.

"We recorded the song, and literally four days later, it was on the radio," Khorrami recalled. "Two weeks later, it was in stores as a maxi-single. As soon as it was on the radio, I started getting five or 10 calls a day from record labels."

He hasn't signed anything yet. But spurred by the success of what began as a high-school hobby, Khorrami has recorded a second album, "If We Try ... ," in between taking classes at the University of Washington. "If We Try ... " hits stores Tuesday, and a record-release party, which is open to the public, is set for tomorrow night at the all-ages club Vera Project, 1916 Fourth Ave., Seattle.

Producer Isaac Meek of the Seattle-based Undercaste Studios/Entertainment met Khorrami almost three years ago when the fledgling emcee walked into his studio.

"When he first came in here, he was such a beginner. I thought twice about working with him, to tell you the truth," said Meek, 23, who has collaborated with Khorrami on both albums. "After I saw this guy's dedication to his music, that's what got me. ... This guy has improved 300 million percent since he walked in the door."

Former KUBE-FM deejay Julie Pilat, who's now at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, remembers the first time she heard "Take Control."

"I thought it sounded like the most commercially friendly song I had heard come out of the Northwest," she said. "Out of all the things that were popular at the time, like Nelly and Ja Rule, it sounded like it could fit back-to-back with those records on KUBE. At the same time, it was unique in its own right."

Khorrami, who counts the Fugees and rapper Jay-Z among his influences, calls his music a fusion of R&B, hip-hop, jazz and Latin music. He's performed at a number of venues around town, including the Showbox, I-Spy, Polly Esther's and Seahawks Stadium, and shared a stage with national acts including DJ Quik, Mystikal and Jurassic 5.

Local music promoter David Tran noticed Khorrami while promoting shows for his company, Old Skool Entertainment. He later booked Unexpected Arrival for a show at Polly Esther's.

"He took our attention. He was always out everywhere promoting his record," said Tran, who calls Khorrami's live performance "absolutely stellar."

"Everyone always sounds good on a record, but live is a different story. He really has an energetic, very strong show. The whole crowd really gets him."

The new album's first single, titled "If We Try," features fellow Undercaste artist J-Finness.

Pilat, who describes Khorrami as "smart, hard-working and motivated," expects three or four singles from his sophomore effort.

"I think his fans will be blown away by the new album," she said. "I definitely think it wasn't a one-time, lucky deal."