His debut solo album Instant Vintage was years in the making, and when it arrived in the summer of 2002, he came ready with enough funk and soul music to pleasure the ears of any fan. He would have a hand in crafting the third album of the British soul singer Jose Stone in 2007, as they were also rumored to be dating at the time.Īs far as Raphael and his solo music career, it would be 2002 when his solo music really picked up the pace and hit strong. Blige, Whitney Houston, Ginuwine, Snoop Dogg, Jill Scott, the list goes on and on. He's worked with a huge list of artists, writing and producing for names such as the aforementioned D'Angelo, Bilal, Mary J. Most producers and songwriters aren't able to really enforce their signature sound, but Raphael has seemingly been able to do that time and time again.
I've always felt that the signature sound from Raphael was very recognizable, as the drums on a track like "Lady" by D'Angelo and the drums on Bilal's classic "Soul Sista" both have those smooth guitar riffs atop the familiar drum patterns, but each song has its own special vibe.
Raphael helped produced and assist with writing on two of my all time favorite D'Angelo songs, "Lady" and "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", both successful singles. Though Lucy Pearl was short lived, their album, and most notably their hit single "Dance Tonight" is memorable in music.Īs a producer and writer for others, Raphael was able to work with some amazing talents, most notably to me, D'Angelo. The vibe of the Lucy Pearl album was something in this model, and though they split shortly after the release of the album, their single release is a testament to the genius of both Raphael and Ali, who had the most hands on experience with the production and creation. Before the Soulquarians evolved from that, we praised the Ummah and Raphael was right there in the midst of that sound. Dilla, and Q-Tip that was responsible for so many underground hip hop classics and a majority of the Tribe sound.
The music had a similar styling and rhythm to what Raphael had did before, but what made it blend so well was that production felt very Ummah like, and if you are aware of the Ummah, it is the production crew comprised of Ali, J. The sound to the layering of the vocals all felt like the group and not the mark of a solo artist.Īfter the group went their separate ways in 1997, Raphael would start another project that was within a group capacity alongside former En Vogue lead singer Dawn Robinson and Tribe Called Quest producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad as Lucy Pearl. When you heard the song however, it sounded exactly like Tony Toni Tone, which was why I gravitated to the song and why I'm sure many others did. With this, we would see Raphael have some success with the hit song "Ask Of You", which was featured on the Higher Learning soundtrack. After the Tony Toni Tone run started, you saw Raphael needed his own space to create his own music and while he was shining as the lead vocalist of the group, it can be limiting to keep your vision subdued for the greater good of a collective. For nearly two years, Raphael would travel the world, playing music for thousands of Prince fans, providing him with an experience that would prove to be invaluable in the years to come as it prepared him for his own run musically. Raphael got this opportunity at the young age of 18 and it was off to the races shortly thereafter. He had some interesting beginnings, as his first shot in music came from being a part of Sheila E's backup band during the Prince Parade tour. While the rest of the group could sing and excelled with instruments, Raphael just had that it factor. He would be the lead vocalist, which in any group puts you as the most important part. The leading star in this group and the most interesting artist had to be Raphael Saadiq, who was essentially the front man for Tony Toni Tone. From the moment I heard the upbeat yet slightly smooth vibe of "Feels Good", "It Never Rains In Southern California", and a number of other songs from the band, I was definitely a fan. I thought they were absolutely talented and they had extremely infectious music. As a child, I was a huge fan of Tony Toni Tone.
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