Coordinates | 37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N |
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Name | Raphael Saadiq |
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Background | solo_singer |
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Birth name | Charles Ray Wiggins|Born May 14, 1966 |
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Origin | Oakland, California, United States |
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Instrument | Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards |
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Genre | R&B;, soul, neo soul |
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Occupation | Singer-songwriter, producer |
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Years active | 1983–present |
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Label | Pookie Entertainment/Columbia Records, Sony |
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Associated acts | Tony! Toni! Toné!, Lucy Pearl, Eve 6, Joss Stone, Q-Tip |
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Website | }} |
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Raphael Saadiq (born Charles Ray Wiggins in Oakland, California; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B; since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend.
He and D'Angelo were occasional members of The Ummah, a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and the late Jay Dee (also known as J Dilla) of the Detroit-based group Slum Village.
Saadiq's critically acclaimed album, ''The Way I See It'', released on September 16, 2008, featuring artists Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone and Jay-Z, received three Grammy Award Nominations and was voted Best Album on iTunes of 2008. His fourth studio album, ''Stone Rollin''', was released on March 25, 2011. For the album, Saadiq worked with steel guitarist Robert Randolph; former Earth, Wind & Fire keyboardist Larry Dunn; Swedish/Japanese indie rock songstress Yukimi Nagano (of Little Dragon fame); plus hip hop newcomer Taura Stinson.
Early life
Saadiq was born in
Oakland, California, the second-youngest of 14 siblings and half-siblings. His early life was marked by tragedy; he experienced the deaths of several of his siblings as a young child. When Saadiq was seven years old, his brother was murdered. One of his brothers overdosed on
heroin and another committed suicide because he was unable to deal with his addiction to the drug. His sister died as a result of a car crash during a police chase in a residential neighborhood. Saadiq states that he does not want his music to be reflective of the tragedies he experienced, saying that "And through all of that I was makin' records, but it wasn't comin' out in the music. I did it to kinda show people you can have some real tough things happen in your life, but you don't have to wear it on your sleeve."
He has been playing the bass guitar since the age of six, and first began singing at age nine in a local gospel group. At the age of 12, he joined a group called "The Gospel Humminbirds". In 1984, shortly before his 18th birthday, Saadiq heard about tryouts in San Francisco for Sheila E.'s backing band on Prince's Parade Tour. At the audition, he chose the name "Raphael", and had difficulty remembering to respond to the name when he heard that he got the part to play bass in the band. He says of the experience, "Next thing I was in Tokyo, in a stadium, singin' Erotic City. We were in huge venues with the biggest sound systems in the world; all these roadies throwin' me basses, and a bunch of models hangin' round Prince to party. For almost two years. That was my university."
Career
Tony! Toni! Toné!
After returning to Oakland from touring with Prince, Saadiq began his professional career as the lead vocalist and bassist in the
rhythm and blues and dance trio
Tony! Toni! Toné! He used the name Raphael Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Toné!, where he was joined by his brother
Dwayne Wiggins, and his cousin Timothy Christian. In the mid-1990s, he
adopted the last name Saadiq, which means "man of his word" in
Arabic. His change of surname led many to speculate that he had converted to
Islam at that point; in reality, Saadiq is not a Muslim, but rather just liked the way "Saadiq" sounded and changed his last name simply to distinguish himself from and avoid potential confusion with his brother, Dwayne Wiggins. As he confirmed by telling noted R&B; writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning 'Blues & Soul' in May 2009, "I just wanted to have my own identity!"
Tony! Toni! Toné! would become major R&B; superstars throughout the late-1980s and 1990s. However, after the 1996 album entitled ''House of Music'', which did produce several hits, nonetheless failed to duplicate previous success, Tony! Toni! Toné! went their separate ways.
Lucy Pearl
In 1999, Saadiq's next big project became the R&B; supergroup
Lucy Pearl. He recorded the self-titled album with
Dawn Robinson (
En Vogue) and
Ali Shaheed Muhammad (
A Tribe Called Quest). The group only lasted for one album.
Solo work
"Ask of You"
In
1995, Saadiq had his biggest solo hit to date, when "Ask of You", featured on the
''Higher Learning'' Soundtrack peaked at #19 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the
R&B; chart. In 1997, Saadiq hooked up with
EPMD for the tune "Da Joint". Two years later, he teamed up with
Q-Tip for another minor hit, "Get Involved", which was featured on the animated TV series ''
The PJs'' and on its
soundtrack.
''Instant Vintage''
He released his first solo album ''
Instant Vintage'' in 2002 and earned 5 Grammy nominations.
''Ray Ray''
Released the album ''
Ray Ray'' in 2004 on his own record label Pookie Entertainment.
''All the Hits at the House of Blues''
Released a 2 disc live album ''
All The Hits AT The House of Blues'' in 2003 on his own record label Pookie Entertainment.
''The Way I See It''
Saadiq's third solo album, ''
The Way I See It'', released on Columbia Records on September 16, 2008, available in a collector's edition box set of 7" 45 rpm singles as well as on traditional CD, was critically well-received, made several critics' 2008 best albums lists, and garnered three Grammy nominations including Best R&B; Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals (for "Never Give You Up", featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton); Best Traditional R&B; Vocal Performance (for "Love That Girl") and Best R&B; Album for ''The Way I See It''.
''The Way I See It'' was released in September 2008. Touring with a nine piece band, Saadiq hit the 2009 summer music festival circuit with performances at Bonnaroo, Hollywood Bowl, Outside Lands, Pori Jazz Festival, Stockholm Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz, Essence Music Festival, Summer Spirit Festival, and Nice Jazz Festival, Bumbershoot Music Festival and Austin City Limits. Saadiq has been touring Europe extensively, and held a five-night residency at the House of Blues in Tokyo, Japan in June 2009.
Music from ''The Way I See It'' is featured in the following motion pictures: ''Madea Goes To Jail'', ''Bride Wars'', ''Cadillac Records'', ''Secret Life of Bees'', ''In Fighting (Rogue)'', and ''It's Complicated''.
''Stone Rollin'''
Saadiq's 2011 album ''Stone Rollin' ''was released to great critical acclaim. "He’s always had a boyish enthusiasm for performing, and a flexible, naturally joyous voice that suggests a young
Stevie Wonder," wrote Greg Kot of ''
The Chicago Tribune'', "but with his latest album, Saadiq finds a new gear. The album and his current tour demonstrate that there’s a big difference between retro and classic, and the artist consistently finds himself on the right side of that divide." Critic
Jim Derogatis called it "a stone cold gas of a party disc."
Music producer
In 1995, Saadiq produced and performed on
Otis & Shug's debut album, ''
We Can Do Whatever''.
His 2000 song collaboration "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" won D'Angelo a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance; it was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best R&B; Song. The song was ranked #4 on ''Rolling Stone'''s "End of Year Critics & Readers Poll" of the top singles of 2000. D'Angelo's album ''Voodoo'' won a Grammy Award for Best R&B; Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
In 2004, Saadiq produced a remix of the song "Crooked Nigga Too" by the late Tupac Shakur which is featured on the album ''Loyal To The Game''.
In 2007, Saadiq produced ''Introducing Joss Stone'', the third album of British soul singer Joss Stone.
He produced songs for LeToya Luckett's forthcoming second album ''Lady Love'', released August 2009.
In 2009, Saadiq produced "Please Stay" and "Love Never Changes" for Ledisi's August 2009 release "Turn Me Loose". Saadiq also was the executive producer for an emerging group called Tha Boogie. Tha Boogie's first EP was released on iTunes and is titled ''Love Tha Boogie, Vol. 1 (Steal This Sh*t)''.
Other artists he has collaborated with include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Teedra Moses, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, DJ Quik, Kelis, Q-Tip, Lil' Skeeter, Ludacris, The Bee Gees, Musiq Soulchild, Jaguar Wright, Chanté Moore, Lionel Richie, Marcus Miller, Noel Gourdin, Nappy Roots, Calvin Richardson, T-Boz from TLC, Floetry, Leela James, Amp Fiddler, John Legend, Joss Stone, Young Bellz, Anthony Hamilton, Babyface, Ledisi, Goapele, Ghostface Killah, Ginuwine, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bilal, Chali 2na, Larry Graham, Luniz as well as many others.
Other
In 2002, Saadiq founded his own record label,
Pookie Entertainment. Among the artists on the label are
Joi and
Truth Hurts.
In 2008, Saadiq formed a new label called Velma Records, a place where Raphael promises "people can express themselves like I did with ''The Way I See It''... where they can dream something up and just go with it".
In 2009, Saadiq announced his video game development company called IllFonic. The first video game in development by IllFonic is titled ''Ghetto Golf'', with an expected release late in 2010.
In 2009, Saadiq teamed up Bentley Kyle Evans, Jeff Franklin, Martin Lawrence, and Trenten Gumbs to create a new sitcom called ''Love That Girl!'' starring Tatyana Ali. Raphael is an executive producer and composer for ''Love That Girl!''. The show is currently in development.
In 2010, Saadiq sang as part of the chorus in the 2010 remake of "We Are the World" for Haiti.
Saadiq recorded an unreleased remake of The Spinners' song "Its A Shame".
In 2011, Saadiq was the guitarist/bandleader for the group backing Mick Jagger for Jagger's tribute performance of the Solomon Burke R&B; classic, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" at the 53rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and on CBS. The band that accompanied the performance was Saadiq's touring band called Stone Rollin.
In 2011 he and his band performed as the ESPY's house band for the night, where he performed his latest compositions.
Awards/Nominations
BET Awards
*2009, BET Centric Award (nominated)
Grammy Awards
*2009, Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group "Never Give You Up" (nominated)
*2009, Best R&B; Album ''The Way I See It'' (nominated)
*2009, Best Traditional R&B; Vocal Performance "Love That Girl" (nominated)
*2007, Best Traditional R&B; Vocal Performance "I Found My Everything" (nominated)
*2005, Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group "Show Me the Way" (nominated)
*2003, Best Urban/Alternative Performance "Be Here" (nominated)
*2003, Best R&B; Song "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" (winner)
*2003, Best R&B; Song "Be Here" (nominated)
*2003, Best R&B; Album ''Instant Vintage'' (nominated)
*2003, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture of Television Special "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" (nominated)
*2002, Best R&B; Song "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (nominated)
*1995, Best R&B; Song "Anniversary" (nominated)
Soul Train Awards
*2009, Best R&B;/Soul Male Artist (nominated)
Discography
''Instant Vintage'' (2002)
''All Hits at the House of Blues'' (2003)
''Ray Ray'' (2004)
''The Way I See It'' (2008)
''
Stone Rollin''' (2011) (UK chart peak: #84)
Singles
{|class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2" width="250"|Song
!colspan="5"|Chart positions
!rowspan="2"|Album
|-
!width="35"|
U.S. Hot 100
!width="35"|
U.S. R&B;
!width="35"|
U.S. Adult R&B;
!width="35"|
UK
!width="35"|
JP
|-
|rowspan="1"|1995
|align="left"|"
Ask of You"
|align="center"|19
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="left"|''Higher Learning OST''
|-
|rowspan="1"|1999
|align="left"|"Get Involved" (feat.
Q-Tip)
|align="center"|67
|align="center"|21
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|36
|align="center"|—
|align="left"|''The P.J.'s OST''
|-
|rowspan="2"|2002
|align="left"|"Be Here" (feat.
D'Angelo)
|align="center"|99
|align="center"|68
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="left" rowspan="2"|''
Instant Vintage''
|-
|align="left"|"Still Ray"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|79
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|rowspan="2"|2004
|align="left"|"Rifle Love" (feat.
Lucy Pearl &
Tony! Toni! Toné!)
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="left" rowspan="3"|''
Ray Ray''
|-
|align="left"|"Chic Like You" (feat. Allie Baba)
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|rowspan="1"|2005
|align="left"|"I Want You Back" (feat.
Teedra Moses)
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|rowspan="2"|2008
|align="left"|"Love That Girl"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|45
|align="center"|13
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="left" rowspan="6"|''
The Way I See It''
|-
|align="left"|"Big Easy" (feat. The Infamous Young Spodie & The Rebirth Brass Band)
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|rowspan="4"|2009
|align="left"|"100 Yard Dash"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|125
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|align="left"|"Never Give You Up" (feat.
Stevie Wonder &
CJ Hilton)
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|26
|align="center"|4
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|align="left"|"Let's Take a Walk"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|align="left"|"Staying in Love"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|74
|align="center"|19
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|rowspan="4"|2011
|align="left"|"Radio"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|115
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|rowspan="4"| ''
Stone Rollin'''
|-
|align="left"|"Good Man"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|52
|align="center"|13
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|align="left"|"Stone Rollin'"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|81
|-
|align="left"|"Movin' Down the Line"
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|84
|align="center"|21
|align="center"|—
|align="center"|—
|-
|align="center" colspan="15"| "—" denotes the single failed to chart or wasn't released.
|}
References
External links
Official website
Raphael Saadiq on SoulRnB.com (FR)
Interview of Raphael Saadiq on SoulRnB.com (June 2011) (FR)
Category:1966 births
Category:African American musicians
Category:African American male singers
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:American rhythm and blues singers
Category:American soul singers
Category:Neo soul singers
Category:Columbia Records artists
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Living people
Category:People from Oakland, California
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