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Raphael Saadiq
Goes Solo
presented by eJams.com
After founding
and producing Tony! Toni! Tone! (whose five albums sold over six million records
worldwide), forming and producing Lucy Pearl (whose album was certified Gold
and was nominated for a Grammy Award, an American Music Award, two Soul Train
Awards and two NAACP Awards), followed by work with such artists as Ginuwine,
The Isley Brothers, Kenny Lattimore, Joi, Angie Stone and Macy Gray (all of
whom have projects out now), as well as TLC, Kelly Price and Jonell (whose
albums are coming out later this year), Raphael Saadiq is finally ready to
venture out on his own.
"Be Here,"
the enchanting first single from RAPHAEL SAADIQ's first-ever solo album Instant
Vintage is set for a June 19 release on Universal Records.
A video for the
song was recently shot on location in Los Angeles and at SAADIQ's own Blakeslee
Recording Company studio complex, with SAADIQ at the director's helm (his
first time behind the camera). The clip made its debut on BET Friday, March
15 as part of the "106 & Park" program, with debuts on MTV and
VH1 the week of March 18. Making an appearance in the song and the video is
fellow visionary D'Angelo, but this isn't the first time he and SAADIQ have
worked together. SAADIQ produced "Untitled" from D'Angelo's VOODOO
album, which won "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance" at the 2000
Grammy Awards. "D'Angelo and I always create magic on his records,"
says SAADIQ. "You can expect the same playeristic soul searching on this
album."
"Gospeldelic"
is the term SAADIQ uses to describe the sound of INSTANT VINTAGE. "'Gospeldelic'
is the sound of my music," he explains, "and it really means all
of those things to me. I come from a gospel background, and the psychedelic,
and the funkadelic -- it's in me. And you feel that." The 19-track album
is a rewardingly complex blend of soul, R&B, hip-hop, funk, rock, jazz,
and doo-wop, rich with inventive bass lines, intricate harmonizing, and colorful
strings. The songs were written entirely by SAADIQ, who produces, sings, and
plays numerous instruments, including a little bit of goofy tuba. Guests include
Angie Stone (singing background on "Doing What I Can," and the duet
"Excuse Me"), T-Boz of TLC ("Different Times"), producer/hip-hop
artist Hi-Tek ("Hi-Tek #1" and "Hi-Tek #2"), and SAADIQ's
older brother, Randy Wiggins, singing on "People."
The collection's
play-on-words title itself reflects this. "A friend of mine said that
people who look for vinyl treat all records like vintage pieces, even if they're
new, because vinyl is so not the thing anymore," he says. "This
record has a lot of music on it, a lot of footage [that evokes the past],
so we felt that, the minute you get this album on vinyl, it's INSTANT VINTAGE."
Meanwhile, SAADIQ
is currently planning his first-ever solo tour. Click here
for tour dates.
Fans can log
onto www.RaphaelSaadiq.com
for all the latest info.
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