Raphael Saadiq

Artist Image: Raphael Saadiq
Attribution
Image Credit: David Shankbone (Own work), CC BY 3.0

Biography

Throwback R&B singer Raphael Saadiq was born in Oakland, CA, in 1966, and started playing music six years later. He played bass at church and school and enjoyed his place on-stage at various local hometown events. After high school, Saadiq won a chance to join Prince and Sheila E. on the Parade tour. Such an experience inspired Saadiq to make music his life, and before the '80s came to an end, he formed Tony! Toni! Tone!. Saadiq went under his birth name of Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Tone!, and was joined by his brother, Dwayne Wiggins, and cousin Timothy Christian. Tony! Toni! Tone! made their debut with "Little Walter" in 1988. Two years later, they were mega-stars thanks to the success of their second album, The Revival. The ballad "It Never Rains (In Southern California)" and the club-friendly "Feels Good" were major hits and the band eventually sold six million albums. However, Saadiq left the group at the height of its fame. A solo career was in the works by the time the mid-'90s rolled around. Two singles for movie soundtracks -- 1995's "Ask of You" from Higher Learning and "Me & You" from Boyz N da Hood -- were Saadiq's proper solo introduction, but not exactly satisfying. He was used to being part of a band, so a solo career made him a bit apprehensive. Saadiq bowed out for some normalcy over the next few years. Lucy Pearl was Saadiq's next project, where he joined with En Vogue's Dawn Robinson and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest for a short-lived super-group. Saadiq also had his hand in producing material for the likes of Macy Gray, TLC, the Roots, and D'Angelo. In 2000, his song "Untitled" won D'Angelo a Grammy. Inspired by his new "gospedelic" approach, he captured a new sound for himself while recording material between Oakland and Sacramento. The end result was Instant Vintage, which earned five Grammy nominations in 2003. The blaxploitation era-referencing Ray Ray and the '60s-flavored The Way I See It followed, respectively, in 2004 and 2008; the latter was nominated for three Grammys. Stone Rollin' was released in 2011, just after Saadiq and his band of the same name backed Mick Jagger for a Grammy Awards perfomance of Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." The album maintained Saadiq's streak of throwback-oriented releases.

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed
Number of Albums 18
Record Label
Website
Wikipedia Raphael Saadiq on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Genres

R & B Soul

Trivia

What music critic has called him the preeminent R&B artist of the '90s?

Robert Christgau

... to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Music critic Robert Christgau has called Saadiq the preeminent R&B artist of the '90s. Saadiq an...
What hip hop group did QTip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad belong to?

A Tribe Called Quest

...ed of members QTip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest , and J Dilla of Slum Village. Saadiq is also a cofounder of inde...
What city was Saadiq born in?

Oakland

...gedies, it earned Saadiq further acclaim. Early life Saadiq was born in Oakland , California, and was the secondyoungest of 14 siblings. Saadiq states ...
How many siblings did he have in his early life?

14

...ife Saadiq was born in Oakland, California, and was the secondyoungest of 14 siblings. Saadiq states that he does not want his music to be reflective ...
At what age has he been playing the bass guitar?

six

...r 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...
What was the name of the group he joined at the age of 12?

The Gospel Humminbirds

... 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 ....
At what age did he join a group called The Gospel Humminbirds?

12

... 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....
What color was Saadiq's T-shirt?

paleblue

...ite index From his days with the 90s R&B band Tony! Saadiq, 53, wore a paleblue Tshirt and periodically tugged at his twists of hair. He was talking a...
When was Alvie Wiggins murdered?

1973

...rst funeral was for his older brother Alvie Wiggins, who was murdered in 1973 in a dispute with a family member. Saadiqs brother Desmond Wiggins, like...
What was the name of Saadiq's brother who struggled with addiction?

Desmond Wiggins

...murdered in 1973 in a dispute with a family member. Saadiqs brother Desmond Wiggins , like Jimmy Lee Baker, struggled with addiction, and killed himsel...
What was the name of Raphael Saadiq's first solo album?

Instant Vintage

...ugh with Tony! He didn't get around to making his first solo album, Instant Vintage (2002), until after hits with D'Angelo (Lady, Untitled), Lucy Pear...
What is the name for the song "Lady, Untitled"?

D'Angelo

...ng his first solo album, Instant Vintage (2002), until after hits with D'Angelo (Lady, Untitled), Lucy Pearl (Dance Tonight), and Bilal (Soul Sista). ...
Who was the lead singer of "Soul Sista"??

Bilal

...ter hits with D'Angelo (Lady, Untitled), Lucy Pearl (Dance Tonight), and Bilal (Soul Sista). Raphael Saadiq grew up in a musical family and neighborho...
What was Raphael Saadiq's birth name?

Charles Ray Wiggins

...up in a musical family and neighborhood. The Oakland native, born Charles Ray Wiggins , was engrossed in music as a child. Before long, he was playing ...
What band was Wiggins a member of?

Tony! Toné!,

...n Sheila E. 's selftitled album, he debuted with a group of his own, Tony! Toné!, flanked by brother D'Wayne Wiggins and cousin Timothy Christian Rile...
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter, multiinstrumentalist, and what else?

record producer

... 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multiinstrumentalist, and record producer . He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Musi...
What group did Raphaele Saadeq rise to fame as a member of?

Tony!

... record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Music critic Robert Christgau has called Saadiq the preeminent R&B arti...
How many solo albums has Saaditeq released?

five

...has called Saadiq the preeminent R&B artist of the '90s. He has released five solo albums, including the critically acclaimed retrostyled The Way I Se...
What video game developer did Saadeq co-found?

IllFonic

...' (2011). He is also cofounder of the independent video game developer IllFonic , which developed Friday the 13th: The Game. As a songwriter Saadiq has...
How many Golden Globe Award nominations has he received as a songwriter?

two

...y the 13th: The Game. As a songwriter Saadiq has received a Grammy Award, two Golden Globe Award nominations and an Academy Award nomination. 3.3 With...
What instrument has he been playing since the age of six?

bass guitar

...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...
Whose next project was the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl?

Saadiqs

...e of Raphael Saadiq in the mid1990s. He produced a few solo tracks, but Saadiqs next big project became the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl. He recorded the...
What R&B group did Saadiq form?

Lucy Pearl

...w solo tracks, but Saadiqs next big project became the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl . He recorded the selftitled album with Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and A...
How many Grammy nominations did his solo album Instant Vintage earn?

5

...r one album. His solo album Instant Vintage, released in 2002, also earned 5 Grammy nominations. Saadiq acknowledges the albums old school soul sound,...
In what year was Instant Vintage released?

2002

...p only lasted for one album. His solo album Instant Vintage, released in 2002 , also earned 5 Grammy nominations. Saadiq acknowledges the albums old sc...
Who are some of the R&B heavyweights that Raphaels Saadidiq produced tracks for?

Mary J Blige and John Legend

...as produced tracks for a number of R&B heavyweights, such as Mary J Blige and John Legend , as well as releasing a number of criticallyacclaimed record...
What drug did another brother overdose on?

heroin

...as seven, one of his brothers was murdered, whilst another overdosed on heroin . In addition to this, another brother committed suicide and a sister di...
When did Raphael Saadiq start singing with his local gospel group?

nine years old

... has played bass guitar since the age of six and started singing at nine years old , with his local gospel group. When he was just 12, he joined a gosp...
What year did he join Sheila E's backing band on Prince's Parade tour?

1984

...When he was just 12, he joined a gospel group The Gospel Humminbirds. In 1984 , he heard about auditions for Sheila E's backing band on Prince's 'Parad...
Who did some speculate had converted to?

Islam

... dance trio Tony! At the time, he used the name Raphael Wiggins and later changed to Saadiq, leading some to speculate that he had converted to Islam ....
What is Raphael Saadiq's music called?

gospeldelic

...cts, refuses to use the label to describe his own music. It's called ' gospeldelic ', Saadiq said in a recent interview, Gospeldelic is the sound of my ...