Raphael Saadiq is a Black American musician associated with Oakland, California. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America records his participation in the Oakland Boys Club, where activities and summer-camp talent shows offered places to play and perform. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist of the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed in 1986 with his older half-brother D'Wayne Wiggins and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley, and he developed a career as a singer, songwriter and producer. His debut solo album, Instant Vintage, arrived in 2002.
His work also extends to music for television, including Insecure and Lovecraft Country. In a 2020 interview, he described the influence of performers such as Earth, Wind & Fire and Chaka Khan on his understanding of music-making.
Between the band and his solo records, Saadiq built a reputation as a producer for other artists, working with musicians including D'Angelo, and he formed the group Lucy Pearl before returning to his own name. Later solo albums included The Way I See It in 2008 and Jimmy Lee, his fifth studio album, released on Columbia Records in 2019.
That year, Saadiq executive-produced Global Citizen's STAND UP project. Artists from around the world, many recording during the pandemic, completed the album in about two months. It reinterpreted seven earlier songs, including "Come Together," "Higher Ground," "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Sorrow, Tears and Blood," and added "Humxn Race," which he co-wrote with Taura Stinson. Musicians worked with a 24-piece orchestra and a traditional New Orleans second-line band, giving the project several kinds of ensemble sound.
Global Citizen's Victoria Fortune, the organization's director of cultural engagement, also served as an executive producer. The project was intended as a call to action for people in the private and public sectors to take a stance for equality and equity, bringing together singers, instrumentalists, writers and organizers.
