Raphael Saadiq

Raphael Saadiq (born Charlie Ray Wiggins on May 14, 1966 in Oakland, California) is an acclaimed singer, songwriter and record producer.

Saadiq has been playing music since the age of six. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, he played bass at church and school. He also enjoyed his onstage moments at various local events of his hometown.

Saadiq made a name for himself as the lead vocalist in the rhythm and blues and dance trio Tony! Toni! Toné!. He used the name Raphael Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Toné!, where he was joined by his brother Dwayne Wiggins and his cousin Timothy Christian. He adopted the name of Raphael Saadiq in the mid-1990s.

After the 1996 Tony! Toni! Toné! album, House of Music, (when he performed under his current name) Saadiq started his solo career. His biggest solo success was his single "Ask of You", which peaked at #19 in the U.S. He produced a few solo tracks, but Saadiq's next big project became the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl. He recorded the album with Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). This group only lasted for one album. His solo album Instant Vintage (2002) earned 5 Grammy nominations.

Saadiq also has helped produce songs for various other artists, notably with D'Angelo, with whom he collaborated in songwriting and production. Their 2000 collaboration "Untitled" won D'Angelo a Grammy award. Other artists he has collaborated with include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, Teedra Moses, The Roots, Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, Kelis, Q-Tip, Lil' Skeeter, Ludacris, The Bee Gees, Nappy Roots, T-Boz from TLC, Joss Stone, Young Bellz, Earth, Wind & Fire as well as many others.

In 2002, Saadiq founded his own record label, Pookie Entertainment. Among the artists on the label are Joi, ex-Lucy Pearl member Rashon Graves, and Truth Hurts.  In 2007, Saadiq produced the whole third album from UK Soul singer Joss Stone.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Raphael Saadiq.