Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the 1980s television show ''

Kids Incorporated ''Kids Incorporated'' (also known as ''Kids Inc.'') is an American children's television program that began production in the mid-1980s and continued airing into the mid-1990s. It was largely a youth-oriented program with musical performances as ...

.''

Career

1984: ''Kids Incorporated''

After appearing in a school talent show in 1984, Patterson auditioned for the television show ''Kids Incorporated''. He was cast as "The Kid", and remained on the show for the next few years, appearing alongside such future stars as Fergie,

Renee Sands Renee Ilene Sandstrom, known professionally as Renee Sands is an American singer and actress. She is known for playing Renee on ''Kids Incorporated'' and providing vocals for the American girl group Wild Orchid. Early life Sands was born in Wor ...

Martika Marta Marrero (born May 18, 1969), better known by her stage name Martika ( ), is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence as an actress, playing the role of Gloria in the television programme ''Kids Incorporated'' between 1984 ...

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''S ...

and

Shanice Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (née Wilson; born May 14, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and dancer. She had the ''Billboard'' hit singles "I Love Your Smile" and "Silent Prayer" in 1991 and "Saving Forever for ...

Music career

After ''Kids Incorporated'', Patterson gained experience as a backup vocalist for several artists (including ''Kids'' co-star

). Following his vocal contributions on

Colour Club Colour Club is an American smooth jazz group that was founded in the 1990s by Skipper Wise and Les Pierce. Wise and Pierce formed Colour Club in the early 1990s as a combination of smooth jazz and hip hop. For their second and third albums they h ...

's self-titled album, as well as writing for other artists (his credits include

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

's platinum Top 5 smash "

Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

", and

Tevin Campbell Tevin Jermod Campbell (born November 12, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He performed gospel in his local church from an early age. Following an audition for jazz musician Bobbi Humphrey in 1988, Campbell was signed to War ...

's hit " Back to the World").

1997–98: ''Rahsaan Patterson''

Patterson signed with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in 1995. Collaborating with

Keith Crouch Keith Edward Crouch is an American songwriter and music producer. The nephew of gospel singers Sandra and Andrae Crouch, Crouch began his career as a songwriter at the age of fifteen and landed his first gig at seventeen. From 1993 to 1994, he p ...

and Jamey Jaz, Ira Schickman, among others, released his self-titled debut album on January 28, 1997. The album peaked at No. 48 on Billboard's

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

Chart. There were two singles released, "Stop By" and " Where You Are" peaked at No. 53 on Billboard's

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. Receiving positive reviews from critics, the album failed to find a large audience (the single "Where You Are" did receive attention on R&B radio, and it appeared on the soundtrack to the 1996 ''

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protecti ...

''). Patterson did, however, develop a loyal following both in the U.S. and abroad.

1999–2002: ''Love in Stereo, SoundTracks''

Patterson went to work on his followup, '' Love in Stereo'', with Jamey Jaz and new collaborators such as

Van Hunt Van Hunt Jr. (born March 8, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He released his debut album, '' Van Hunt'', in 2004, and a follow-up, '' On the Jungle Floor'', in 2006, both on Capitol Records. He w ...

. When ''Love in Stereo'' was released in late 1999 it received better reviews than its predecessor, although the mainstream overlooked it. The album peaked at No. 51 on ''Billboard''s

Chart and two singles, "The Moment" and " Treat You Like A Queen" which peaked at no. 61 on ''Billboard''s

. Rahsaan toured in support of ''Stereo'' playing dates throughout the U.S. and Europe. Although Patterson and MCA parted ways, he remained busy, continuing to perform live, working as a

session singer A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

, and contributing to both soundtracks (''

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

'') and compilation albums (

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', '' ...

's ''Sign of Things to Come''), while working on the next album.

2004–08 ''After Hours, Wines and Spirits''

Patterson's third album, ''After Hours'' was released internationally in April 2004, garnering positive reviews. With the forming of his own label, ''

After Hours After Hours or Afterhours may refer to: Film and television * ''After Hours'' (film), a 1985 black comedy by Martin Scorsese * ''After Hours'' (Canadian TV series), a 1953 variety series * ''After Hours'' (1958 British TV series), a comedy s ...

'' was released in the U.S. in late October. The album debuted at No. 65 on Billboard's

chart. The singles, "So Hot", "April's Kiss" and "Forever Yours" were issued but failed to chart on Billboard. Further collaborative efforts followed. Patterson's album, ''

Wines & Spirits ''Wines & Spirits'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Rahsaan Patterson. It was released in September 2007, under Artistry Music. The album was produced by Patterson, along with longtime collaborators Jamey Jaz and Keith Crouch and a ...

'' (again featuring collaborations with Crouch and Jaz) was released September 24, 2007, and debuted at No. 42 on ''Billboard''s

, his highest charted to date and No. 45 on

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

Chart. The singles released, "

Stop Breaking My Heart "Stop Breaking My Heart" is a song by United States, American Contemporary R&B, R&B/soul singer Rahsaan Patterson, released in 2007. The song is the lead single in support of his album, ''Wines & Spirits''.The song peaked at No.59 on ''Billboard's ...

" and "Feels Good" charted on Billboard's

both at no. 59 and the later no. 76. A close friend, R&B singer

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba. In 1995, Ledisi formed a band afte ...

, in which he's also featured on her album ''

Lost & Found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Freq ...

'', explains the genius of Patterson as, "Rahsaan's greatest artistic strength is his ability to be overly honest in his recordings and in his live performances. If I had to sum him up in one word, I would call him 'uninhibited'." In August 2008, Patterson released a Christmas album, ''

The Ultimate Gift ''The Ultimate Gift'' is a 2006 American drama film directed by Michael O. Sajbel from a screenplay written by Cheryl McKay, which is based on the best selling novel by Jim Stovall, who cameos in the film. It stars Drew Fuller, Bill Cobbs, L ...

'', by November Patterson won a

BET J BET Her is an American basic cable television network currently owned by the BET Networks, BET Media Group subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. The channel originally launched in 1996 as BET on Jazz, a spin-off from BET wit ...

award for Underground Artist of the year. In 2008, Patterson joined with Australian-born producer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Jarrad 'Jaz' Rogers and Copenhagen-based electro-soul singer

Ida Corr Ida Corr (born 14 March 1977 in Aarhus, Denmark) is a Danish singer, songwriter and music producer of Gambian descent. Early life Ida Corr was born on 14 March 1977 to a Danish mother and a Gambian father in Aarhus, Denmark. Her father was a ...

to form the London-based alternative soul/pop/funk trio SugaRush Beat Company, who released their self-titled album through RCA (UK) in the summer of 2008.

2009–present: ''Bleuphoria, Touring, New Album''

After the release of ''Wines and Spirits'', Rahsaan resumed touring throughout the U.S. and overseas, and working with several recording artists. On December 14, 2010, a new song was available on iTunes, "

Easier Said Than Done "Easier Said Than Done" is a popular song sung by The Essex that was a number-one song in the United States during 1963. It topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart on July 6, 1963, and remained there for two weeks. The song was wri ...

", a slow funk groove aimed as the lead single from his new album. On February 12, 2011, he performed at B.B. King's Blues Club to a sold out crowd, the show received rave reviews. In March 2011, after a concert in Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD, Patterson spoke about his album, '' Bleuphoria'' during a brief interview for thesoulcialista. In 2019, Rahsaan released the new single "Sent from Heaven" and announced his new album ''Heroes & Gods'' will release on May 17 that year.

Personal life

Patterson is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. In a 2008 discussion about being a gay artist with

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

-centric network

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

, for example, he said "For me, it's not about being 'the gay artist'; I'm an ''artist''." In an interview with BET's Daily Voice, Patterson further clarified that "I've never been in the closet or hiding anything."

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

Rahsaan Patterson Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the 1980s television show ''Kids Incorporated.'' Career 1984: ''Kids Incorporated'' After appearing in a school talent show in 1984 ...

'' (1997) * '' Love in Stereo'' (1999) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Bleuphoria'' (2011) * '' Heroes & Gods'' (2019)

References

External links

Rahsaan Patterson's official homepage

Mack Avenue Artist Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Rahsaan 1974 births 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male singers African-American LGBTQ people African-American male actors American contemporary R&B singers American funk keyboardists American funk singers American gay musicians American hip-hop singers American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters American male child actors American neo soul singers American soul keyboardists Entertainers from the Bronx Gay singers Gay songwriters LGBTQ hip-hop musicians Living people Mack Avenue Records artists Male actors from New York (state) Singers from New York (state)