Raphael Saadiq (born Charlie Ray Wiggins in Oakland, California) has made an enviable name for himself as a recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, writer and producer. It all began with the band he co-founded, Tony Toni Tone', with whom he sang lead on the chart-topping hits "Feels Good," "It Never Rains In Southern California", "Anniversary" and "Let's Get Down," among others. His resume is also filled with hits that he's mined for others, including D' Angelo ("Lady" and "Untitled"), Angie Stone ("Brotha"), Total ("Kissing You") and the Grammy-winning Erykah Badu and Common duet "Love of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop)" from the film Brown Sugar. Other artists in his astoundingly diverse cache include Earth Wind and Fire, Jill Scott, Nappy Roots, Marcus Miller, the Isley Brothers, TLC, Snoop Dogg, the Bee Gees, Kelis, Mos Def, Whitney Houston, A Tribe Called Quest and John Mellencamp.
Saadiq has also released three acclaimed albums - the 2002 studio project Instant Vintage that yielded such thought-provoking hits as "Faithful"," "Be Here" and "Still Ray" - and the subsequent 2003 all-star concert album, All Hits at the House of Blues: Live, which featured a gang of special guests, including D'Angelo, DJ Quik, a reunion of Tony Toni Tone', Goapele, Ledisi and original New Birth lead singer Leslie Wilson. This year he brings us Raphael Saadiq as "Ray Ray", including features by Teedra Moses, Babyface, Joi, and Lucy Pearl.
