Raphael Saadiq Tells The Story Of Jimmy Lee

For the second time since writing for Weekly Music Commentary I am referencing a particular post from years ago. The post was titled Influential Musician? The featured artist was singer/songwriter/producer Raphael Saadiq. Published on May 20, 2012, the post discussed if Raphael Saadiq was one of the fifty most influential musicians by Time Magazine. One of the main reason for his inclusion was that Elton John mentioned him as influential. John gave good reasons for his statement, but my article went further in analyzing why Saadiq could be called influential.

This time I get the chance to write about Raphael Saadiq, the artist and musician. I also get a chance to write about his career start as well as his early life. In fact, his most recent studio album titled Jimmy Lee, is about his late older brother of the same name. Whether you feel he is an influential musician or not is for another post. Today, my goal is to highlight the musical career of one of the most fascinating artists of our time.

Charles Ray Wiggins (Raphael Saadiq) was born in Oakland, California, the second-youngest of 14 siblings. His early life was marked by tragedy; he experienced the deaths of several of his siblings as a young child. When Saadiq was seven years old, one brother was murdered. One of his brothers overdosed on heroin and another committed suicide because he was unable to deal with his addiction to the drug. His sister died as a result of a car crash during a police chase in a residential neighborhood. 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.”

In 1984, shortly before his 18th birthday, Saadiq heard about tryouts in San Francisco for Sheila E.’s backing band on Prince’s Parade Tour. 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.”

After returning to Oakland from touring with Prince, Saadiq began his professional career as the lead vocalist and bassist in the rhythm and blues 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. His change of surname led many to speculate that he had converted to Islam 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.

Tony! Toni! Toné! was one of the most popular singing groups of the period between the late 1980s through the late 1990s. The group was definitely one of my favorites as they had several big hits on the R&B charts. After their debut album Who? in 1988 followed by The Revival in 1990, the group achieved their greatest commercial success with the double platinum certified Sons of Soul in 1993. Tony! Toni! Toné! disbanded after the release of their fourth album House of Music (1996), which critics cite as their greatest work.

In 1999, Saadiq’s next big project became the R&B super group 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. During that brief existence as a group, Lucy Pearl left some memorable music. Earlier this week someone posted a video of the song “Don’t Mess With My Man”. Twenty years later and a group that only lasted a year is remembered. Ah the wonders of YouTube.

Interestingly, during all this time time in Saadiq’s musical career, he was struggling with the family tragedies that I wrote about early in this post. Yet, he still went about the business of making music and becoming a success. Raphael Saadiq chose to go a different route in not bringing his personal experiences into his music. However, Saadiq’s album released in August of this year proved to be something different for him. Finally, Raphael Saadiq took an opportunity to process his past. Saadiq’s latest album, Jimmy Lee, is named after Saadiq’s older brother who died of a heroin overdose years ago after contracting HIV.

“When I came along, Jimmy was, well, he was pretty much an addict at that time,” Saadiq tells NPR’s David Greene in a recent interview. “But being a kid, you don’t know what an addict is. So, I saw him as being pretty normal. I might have thought maybe he was an alcoholic or something … I didn’t know anything about heroin.”

I fully understand Saadiq. As a child I realize there were a lot of circumstances that I could not fully comprehend, but upon reflection it all becomes clearer. As an adult we all have heightened awareness and sensibilities. Those abilities develop and allow us to understand more than when we were children. It makes the album intriguing.

I understand what an artist is working to accomplish with the concept album. After listening in one sitting I think most listeners will appreciate Raphael Saadiq’s musicianship and artistry. Lyrically, the album speaks loudly.

“The record is not really about just Jimmy Lee,” he says, “It’s more about everybody has a Jimmy Lee in their life, you know? It’s universal.” Addiction is a subject that is complicated, especially for a child. As the adult reflects on events of the past, it is enlightening. This is what you can hear on the album.

Jimmy Lee is one of the most interesting albums I have heard this year. Of course, I am a big fan of Raphael Saadiq, and have been for more than thirty years. While this may not be his best work, the album is definitely worth a download or stream. Make sure to listen when you get an opportunity.