POP MUSIC : The Silk of R&B;, the Kick of Rap : Montell Jordan pulled himself out of South-Central and into Pepperdine. Now he’s an honor student at Def Jam with a smooth hit single and album.

Hot R&B; singers come out of South-Central Los Angeles all the time, but only Montell Jordan has taken the route through Pepperdine University in Malibu.

“It’s not the school of choice for brothers from the ‘hood,” says a chuckling Jordan, who graduated from Pepperdine in 1989.

In fact, Jordan, who now lives in Inglewood, seems prouder of his triumphant climb out of the ghetto than of the success of his first single, the bouncy R&B;/hip-hop anthem “This Is How We Do It,” which topped the Billboard pop chart for nearly two months in the spring.

“A lot of people don’t think you can work your way out of the ‘hood, let alone go to a college,” Jordan says. “That’s the kind of thinking that keeps black people buried in the ghetto. But nobody was going to bury me.”

He says this so emphatically that people on the other side of the nearly empty West Hollywood restaurant look his way. Jordan, who gives his age only as “mid-20s,” is no shrinking violet. He’s 6 feet, 8 inches of sheer cockiness. He’s so glib and persuasive that it’s no surprise he worked as an ad salesman between graduating from college and signing a deal with Def Jam Records early last year.

Not only is Jordan’s first single a hit, but his debut album, also titled “This Is How We Do It,” is in the Top 20. And he has landed a spot on the summer’s big R&B; tour with Boyz II Men and TLC, which comes to Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre August 20.

The secret of Jordan’s success is his skillful blend of R&B; and hip-hop.

“I’ve been into rap ever since I was 11 or 12, but I never wanted to be a rapper,” says Jordan, leisurely stretching his long legs and nearly reaching the next table. “My heart has always been in traditional R&B;, so I wanted to sing. I grew up listening to my parents’ records--people like the Spinners, Isaac Hayes and Teddy Pendergrass. I wrote rap lyrics, and instead of rapping I sang the lyrics. A few artists have done that, but only Mary J. Blige had real success with it. It’s a different slant on R&B.;”

It’s just the slant Lyor Cohen, president and CEO of Def Jam Records, was looking for.

“I’ve always hated R&B; music because the subject matter is so stagnant and sappy,” said Cohen in a separate interview. “Why can’t R&B; singers sing about the subjects that rappers rap about--more varied topics--instead of singing about broken hearts? My mission was to find someone like Montell who had a more dangerous approach to R&B.;”

All through high school (at Serra High in Gardena) and college, Jordan was trying to get a record deal. Nothing worked until a business associate of director John Singleton--who belongs to the same national college fraternity as the singer--got Def Jam executives to listen to Jordan’s tape.

“If that hadn’t happened, I might be working for some ad agency,” Jordan says, frowning at the prospect.

Jordan is nothing if not versatile. “I’m a chameleon,” says Jordan. “I can be whatever I need to be to fit the situation.

“I have some skills that have given me some advantages, but deep down I know I’m still a guy from the streets. Nothing can really wipe that out.”

What’s strange is that Jordan chose a career that had little to do with his college education--in organization and communication with a minor in business.

“I was working for an ad agency after I got out of college and was doing well--but the company had some financial problems, so they let me go,” he says. “So, really, I wanted to be in a business where I was calling the shots.”

Though his education didn’t directly lead to his career, Jordan says going to college turned his life around. Getting that education wasn’t only his doing.

“My parents pushed me,” he says. “We were a lower-middle-class family--my father worked as a bookkeeper. We always had money problems, staying one step ahead of the bill collectors. So my parents wanted me to go to school and be better off than they were. But it was really hard on them having me in college. They went bankrupt trying to help me through school.”

But, he adds, they didn’t make those sacrifices for nothing.

“I want to build a musical empire,” he says. “If I can get some more hits and build a power base, I’m going to really get into the business side of the music business. That’s what I’m really good at. I’m trying to sound humble, but that’s hard to do when what you really want is power.”*

* Montell Jordan appears with Boyz II Men and TLC Aug . 20 at 7 p.m. at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. $22.50-$50. (714) 855-4515.