Raphael Saadiq

About

Also known as: Charlie Ray Wiggins, R. Saadik, Rafael Saadiq, Rap Heal Saadiq, Raphael Saddiq, Raphael Wiggins, Ray Wiggins

Few R&B figures have stayed as consistently relevant as Raphael Saadiq, the Oakland singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and producer who critic Robert Christgau once called the "preeminent R&B artist of the '90s". He first made his name as the lead vocalist and bassist of Tony! Toni! Toné!, the group he co founded with his brother and cousin in 1986, and went on to rack up four albums with them across a decade of serious R&B output. His production fingerprints are all over the genre too, with writing and production credits for Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone and a long list of others. As a solo artist, Saadiq has ranged from the slick contemporary sound of Instant Vintage to the deep retro warmth of The Way I See It and Stone Rollin'. His 2019 album Jimmy Lee pushed into more personal and stripped back territory and earned him some of the strongest reviews of his career. Along the way he also co founded the supergroup Lucy Pearl with Dawn Robinson and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, whose single "Dance Tonight" cracked the Billboard Hot 100 top 40. Three Grammy wins from 22 nominations, plus nods from the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, give a rough sense of just how much ground he has covered.