Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with his brother D'Wayne and cousin Timothy Christian Riley in 1986. Originally, the band went by "Tony, Toni, Toné" as a joke, until they realized it "had a nice ring to it". Along with his groupwork and solo career, he has produced and written songs for other R&B artists, including

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

, D'Angelo, Jill Scott,

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

, Total,

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

, Joss Stone, TLC, En Vogue, Kelis, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

, Solange Knowles and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

. After touring with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, Sheila E. and

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

as a bassist in the mid-1980s, Saadiq co-founded Tony! Toni! Tone!. He went on to release four albums—'' Who!'' (1988), '' The Revival'' (1990), '' Sons of Soul'' (1993), and '' House of Music'' (1996)—with the band before their indefinite hiatus. Prior to ''House of Music'', Saadiq released his 1995 debut solo single, " Ask of You", for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the John Singleton film '' Higher Learning'', and he formed the music production unit the Ummah (with D'Angelo, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

). "Ask of You" peaked within the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to briefly sign with the now-defunct

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

as a solo act. In 1999, he formed the supergroup Lucy Pearl with singer Dawn Robinson, as well as Ummah cohort Ali Shaheed Muhammad; the group's self-titled debut album (2000) was supported by the Hot 100-top 40 single " Dance Tonight", and served as their only project before disbanding in 2001. Saadiq has since released five solo albums, including the critically acclaimed '' Instant Vintage'' (2002), '' Ray Ray'' (2004), as well as the retro-styled '' The Way I See It'' (2008) and '' Stone Rollin''' (2011). The contemporary-sounding '' Jimmy Lee'' was released in 2019, and earned Saadiq further acclaim. Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

has called Saadiq the "preeminent R&B artist of the '90s". Saadiq has won three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s for his songwriting work out of 22 nominations, as well as an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination, two

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

nominations and a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nomination. Outside of music, Saadiq also co-founded the independent video game developer IllFonic in 2007, which has developed '' Friday the 13th: The Game'' (2017), '' Predator: Hunting Grounds'' (2020) and '' Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed'' (2022), among other titles.

Early life

Saadiq was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and was the second-youngest of 14 siblings. He attended Castlemont High School. He has had four siblings die at early ages. 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

'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

1986–1999: Tony! Toni! Toné! and The Ummah

After returning to Oakland from touring with Prince, Saadiq began his professional career as the lead vocalist and bassist in the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

and dance trio Tony! Toni! Toné! He used the name Raphael Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Toné!, along with 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 Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. His change of surname led many to speculate that he had converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

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!" 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 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 ...

. In 1995, Saadiq produced and performed on Otis & Shug's debut album, '' We Can Do Whatever''. Tony! Toni! Toné! would become major R&B superstars throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. However, after the 1996 album entitled '' House of Music'' failed to duplicate the group's previous success, Tony! Toni! Toné! went their separate ways in 1997.

1999–2004: Lucy Pearl and first string of solo albums

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. Also in 1999, he collaborated with rapper Q-Tip on the single " Get Involved", from the animated television series '' The PJs''. It samples The Intruders' 1973 song " I'll Always Love My Mama" and charted at number 21 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 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 ...

. 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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

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 2002, Saadiq founded his own record label, Pookie Entertainment. Among the artists on the label are Joi and Truth Hurts. In 2002, he released his first solo album '' Instant Vintage'', which earned him three

nominations in addition to another two Grammy nominations for his writing work on “ Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)” the following year. He released a two-disc live album ''All the Hits at the House of Blues'' in 2003, and his second studio album '' Ray Ray'' in 2004, both on Pookie Entertainment.

2004–2010: Expanded output and second string of albums

In 2004, Saadiq produced a remix of the song "Crooked Nigga Too" by

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, which is featured on the album '' Loyal to the Game''. Other artists he has collaborated with include

, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Teedra Moses, The Roots,

, Jill Scott,

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...

, Angie Stone,

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

Mac Dre Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known artistically as Mac Dre, was an American rapper, record producer and songwriter from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy, a cultural movement ...

, Devin the Dude, DJ Quik, Kelis, Q-Tip, Lil' Skeeter, Ludacris,

The Bee Gees ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

Musiq Soulchild Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by his stage name Musiq Soulchild (or simply Musiq; pronounced "music") is an American singer-songwriter. His music blends Rhythm and blues, R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and Gospel music, ...

, Jaguar Wright, Chanté Moore,

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

, Marcus Miller, Noel Gourdin, Nappy Roots, Calvin Richardson, T-Boz from TLC,

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and producer whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance and electronic soul.Paoletta, Michael (February 22, 2003) "Watley Relaxes In The Setting of The ...

, Floetry, Leela James, Amp Fiddler,

, Joss Stone, Young Bellz, Anthony Hamilton, Babyface, Ledisi, Goapele,

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

, The Grouch,

, Bilal, Chali 2na, Larry Graham,

Luniz Luniz (pronounced Loonies) (formerly Luniz Toons and LuniTunes) is an American hip hop music, hip hop duo from Oakland, California, formed by West Coast rappers Yukmouth and Numskull. They were signed to Noo Trybe Records and C-Note Records, and ...

as well as many others. In 2007, Saadiq produced '' Introducing Joss Stone'', the third album of British soul singer Joss Stone. According to J. Gabriel Boylan of ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'', "he's produced artists including Macy Gray, the Roots, D'Angelo, John Legend, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, and more. With all of them he's pushed a classic aesthetic, heavy on organic sounds and light on studio magic, deeply indebted to the past and distrustful of easy formulas." 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''. Music from ''The Way I See It'' was 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''. Raphael Saadiq at Stockholm Jazz 5

Touring with a nine piece band, Saadiq hit the 2009 summer music festival circuit with performances at Bonnaroo, Hollywood Bowl,

Outside Lands Outside Lands was the name used in the 19th century for the present-day Richmond District and Sunset District on the West Side of San Francisco. With few roads and no public transportation, the area was covered by sand dunes and was conside ...

Pori Jazz Pori Jazz is a large international jazz festival, held annually during the month of July in the coastal city of Pori (a population of 82,809 in January 2010), Finland. It is one of the oldest and best known jazz festivals in Europe, having be ...

, Stockholm Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz, Essence Music Festival, Summer Spirit Festival, and Nice Jazz Festival,

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...

Music Festival and

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

. Saadiq has been touring Europe extensively, and held a five-night residency at the House of Blues in Tokyo, Japan, in June 2009. In 2008, Saadiq formed a new label called Velma Records, a place where he 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". 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)''. 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 airs on TV One and debuted on January 19, 2010. That same year, Saadiq performed The Spinners hit "It's A Shame" in a legendary Levi's commercial and sang as part of the chorus in the 2010 remake of "

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album '' We Are the World''. With sales in excess of 20 milli ...

" for Haiti.

2011–present: ''Stone Rollin, ''Jimmy Lee'' and other work

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. 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

," wrote Greg Kot of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', "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." Kot ranked the album number seven in his year-end list, in which he dubbed it Saadiq's "finest achievement" and stated, "He's always written songs steeped in soul and R&B, but now he gives them a progressive edge with roaming bass lines and haunted keyboard textures. He's no longer a retro stylist – he's writing new classics." Critic Jim Derogatis called it "a stone cold gas of a party disc." In fall 2011, he performed on the fourth results show of '' Dancing with the Stars'' season 13. In December 2011, he performed a cover compilation of several Neil Diamond songs at the Kennedy Center Honors award ceremony. In 2012 he signed a deal with

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

to do a TV commercial for the

Toyota Prius The is a Compact car, compact/small family car, small family liftback (supermini/subcompact sedan (car), sedan until 2003) produced by Toyota. The Prius has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combined with an internal combustion ...

. In 2013 Raphael partnered with Bay Area/ Atlanta Production company EL Seven Entertainment/ Republic Records and then-new R&B singer Adrian Marcel and released his first promotional mixtape ''Raphael Saadiq Presents Adrian Marcel 7 Days of Weak''. Saadiq is a featured bass guitar player on

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's 2013 album, '' The Diving Board''. In 2016 he executive produced Solange Knowles' album, '' A Seat at the Table'', which debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and the

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 in the United States. He also guest starred in '' Luke Cage'', where he performs his songs "Good Man" and "Angel" at Harlem's Paradise. In 2017 he appeared in the award-winning documentary film '' The American Epic Sessions,'' directed by Bernard MacMahon, where he recorded the Memphis Jug Band's 1928 song " Stealin' Stealin'". live on the restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. Of recording on the system he said, "it's amazing to just look at how it's built, you know just look at the machine itself. It just has this like magical sound the way that it's built. It's true. It's just the truest sound you could ever get". In 2017, Saadiq collaborated with Mary J. Blige as a songwriter for the movie '' Mudbound'' (2017), for which they both received

nominations for Best Original Song. In 2018, he produced the John Legend holiday themed album, '' A Legendary Christmas''. On August 23, 2019, Saadiq released his fifth album '' Jimmy Lee'', to critical acclaim. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he released a song on his website called "Rony! Roni! Roné!", as a nod to his group "Tony! Toni! Toné!". In 2022, Saadiq was credited as a collaborator on multiple songs from

Brent Faiyaz Christopher Brent Wood (born September 19, 1995), known professionally as Brent Faiyaz, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Faiyaz rose to prominence following his guest performance alongside Shy Glizzy on GoldLink's ...

's album ''Wasteland'', which debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Saadiq also collaborated with

on her seventh and eighth studio albums ''Renaissance'', for which he received two Grammy award nominations, and 2024's

Cowboy Carter ''Cowboy Carter'' (also referred to as ''Act II: Cowboy Carter'') is the eighth studio album by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé, released on March 29, 2024, via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. A concept album, ''Cowboy Cart ...

Equipment

Through the course of his career, Saadiq has often played Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster electric guitars.

Signature guitar

In 2024, Fender announced a collaboration with Saadiq to produce a signature guitar model he designed to be available for purchase. The limited edition Raphael Saadiq Telecaster features a Dark Red Metallic finish, black binding, black headstock, custom acrylic pickguard, and custom Raphael Saadiq single-coil pickups. The model was designed with help from fellow musician Eric Gales, and aesthetically inspired by Saadiq's debut album, '' Instant Vintage''.

Discography

Solo albums

* '' Instant Vintage'' (2002) * '' Ray Ray'' (2004) * '' The Way I See It'' (2008) * '' Stone Rollin''' (2011) * '' Jimmy Lee'' (2019)

With Tony! Toni! Toné!

* '' Who?'' (1988) * '' The Revival'' (1990) * '' Sons of Soul'' (1993) * '' House of Music'' (1996)

With Lucy Pearl

*'' Lucy Pearl'' (2000)

Singles

* " Ask of You" (1995) * "Can't Get Enough" (Duet with Willie Max, 1998) * "Get Involved" (Duet with Q-Tip, 1999) * "Be Here" (Duet with D'Angelo, 2002) * "Still Ray" (2002) * "Love That Girl" (2008) * "Never Give You Up" (With Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton, 2009) * "100 Yard Dash" (2009) * "Staying In Love" (2009) * "Something Keeps Calling" (2019)

Guest Vocals

Awards

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Mighty River (with Mary J. Blige & Taura Stinson) , Best Original Song ,

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

, - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Raphael Saadiq , BET Centric Award ,

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

, - ,

, Mighty River (with Mary J. Blige) , rowspan="2", Best Original Song , , - ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Tigress & Tweed (with Andra Day) ,

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

, - ,

, Lovecraft Country (with Laura Karpman) , rowspan="2", Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series , Grammy Awards , - , rowspan="2" ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, rowspan="2" , "

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

" , Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , - , Best R&B Song , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, " Dance Tonight" , Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal , , - , " Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (performed by D'Angelo) , Best R&B Song , , - , rowspan="5" , 2003 , rowspan="2" , "Be Here" (with D'Angelo) , Best Urban/Alternative Performance , , - , rowspan="2" , Best R&B Song , , - , rowspan="2" , " Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" (as songwriter) , , - , Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media , , - , '' Instant Vintage'' , Best R&B Album , , - ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, " Show Me the Way" (with

) , Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, "I Found My Everything" (with Mary J. Blige) , Best Traditional R&B Performance , , - , rowspan="3" ,

, "Never Give You Up" (feat.

and CJ Hilton) , Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , - , ''The Way I See It'' , Best R&B Album , , - , " Love That Girl" , Best Traditional R&B Performance , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, "Good Man" , Best Traditional R&B Performance , , - ,

, '' Donda'' (as producer) , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

'' (as producer) , Album of the Year , , - , " Cuff It" , Best R&B Song , , - , rowspan=4 ,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

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'' (as producer) , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="3" , "

Texas Hold 'Em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...

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Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, , - , Song of the Year , , - , Best Country Song , , - Soul Train Music Awards , - ,

, Raphael Saadiq , Best Male R&B/Soul Artist , , - ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, Raphael Saadiq , Centric Award , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, " Cranes In The Sky" , The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award ,

References

External links

* *
The Stone Rollin' Sessions Interview With Raphael Saadiq, co-producer Chuck Brungardt, Taura Stinson & Ron Fonksa Bacon
o
Soul Jones
(July 2011)
Interview of Raphael Saadiq
o
SoulRnB.com
(June 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saadiq, Raphael Tony! Toni! Toné! 1966 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American keyboardists 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American keyboardists African-American male guitarists African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters African-American record producers American contemporary R&B singers American hip-hop record producers American hip-hop singers American male bass guitarists American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American musicians of Nigerian descent American rhythm and blues keyboardists American rhythm and blues guitarists American soul guitarists American soul keyboardists American soul singers Columbia Records artists Grammy Award winners Lucy Pearl members Singers from Oakland, California Progressive soul musicians Record producers from California Singer-songwriters from California Castlemont High School alumni