Raphael Saadiq Recounts Working with Prince, J Dilla, D'Angelo and More in Rare Interview
Alright, most of us don't exactly need a history lesson in all the reasons Raphael Saadiq is one of r&b's most consistent and criminally-unsung dynamos ever. Last month he won a Grammy as one of the co-pilot and producer on Solange's A Seat at The Table for the clinical heartbreaker "Cranes In The Sky," an album and song heavily indebted to his work in The Ummah with Q-Tip and the late J Dilla as a branch of the era-defining Soulquarian conglomerate.
Decades-long threads that trace back to early beginnings on the Parade tour with Prince and Sheila E., as he reveals in a rare interview with The Quietus. Elsewhere in the extensive chat, Saadiq reflects on his Oakland upbringing and the tragedies that defined his childhood. But he was not shy about his work with legends, delving into his time with The Purple One, as well as Jay Dee (this little heart-crusher, for instance: "I have a picture of Dilla taped to my mellotron. It will stay there until I die,") D'Angelo and the whole Voodoo crew, yet another classic that bears his unmistakable mark.
And that's just a sliver of what's ahead. Grab a pen and pad and hit the link below for the full script.
