[youtube id=”vCJY2NSSU1g”] Raphael Saadiq’s first solo album, Instant Vintage was released in 2002 after years of being an R&B trailblazer as a member of Tony!Toni!Toné!.Saadiq worked with D’Angelo in the ’90s as members of the Ummah collective. They had their first successful collaboration on D’Angelo’s Grammy-winning “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” taken from his Voodoo album. Saadiq’s “Be Here” and its accompanying album was seen as one of best records of the dwindling neo-soul era. Saadiq’s bassline and D’Angelo’s voice took their fans even deeper into their sound and visually engaged them with a video that was heavily played on BET. Instant Vintage and “Be Here” received Grammy nominations and lived up to the album’s title with fans who saw the two of them as the embodiment of a rare soul pedigree. Raphael Saadiq has five solo albums with Stone Rollin’ released in 2011 being his most recent one. In 2018, Saadiq received his first Oscar nomination for “Mighty River” that he wrote with Mary J. Blige and Taura Simpson for the Mudbound soundtrack. 

Raphael Saadiq received his first Golden Globe nomination this week for writing “Mighty River” for the Mudbound soundtrack. He was nominated alongside co-writers Mary J. Blige and frequent collaborator Taura Simpson. “Mighty River” has also been nominated for a Soul Train Award and a Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Saadiq is the composer for HBO’s Insecure and he executive-produced music for the Sundance documentary, STEP. On nomination he said,

“The nomination really caught me off guard. I guess I like surprises after all. It’s great to share this with Taura & Mary J.”

Dee Rees is the director of Mudbound which is streaming now on Netflix.

Raphael Saadiq will perform in the Band Together benefit concert for North Bay Wildfire Relief. Saadiq is an Oakland, California native and he states,

“Happy to the part of the sublime roster of hardened musical talent; united to benefit those who lost so much in the wildfires. It’s a privilege to help heal through the power of music.  I am bringing all my soul. Hope to see everyone there.”

Saadiq never rests on his legendary status and has been busy the last year. He executive-produced Solange’s A Seat At The Table and is the composer for HBO’s Insecure. This past summer he appeared with Maxwell on a few tour dates and made an appearance with A Tribe Called Quest at FYF Fest. Saadiq also produced Little Dragon’s “Peace Of Mind Feat. Faith Evans.”

 The Band Together benefit takes place November 9th at AT&T Park and tickets can be purchased here.

[youtube id=”mz-inBIw6zc”] Little Dragon and Raphael Saadiq talk about how they discovered each other and their collaboration on the song “Peace Of Mind” with Faith Evans. Little Dragon is touring Season High in Europe right now.