Raphael Saadiq and Ari Lennox

Born one of 14 siblings and owner of a tumultuous childhood, Saadiq's earliest musical excursion came learning to play the bass from the age of six. By 12 he had joined the singing group The Gospel Humminbirds, before auditioning to play bass in Sheila E.’s backing band on Prince’s Parade Tour. Saadiq was subsequently offered the role and before long was playing to stadiums and arenas the world over. After almost two years on the road, Saadiq returned to Oakland, California and formed the R&B, soul and dance trio Tony! Toni! Toné! alongside brother Dwayne Wiggins and cousin Timothy Christian. Following a successful run that saw Tony! Toni! Toné become national R&B superstars throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, the band parted ways in 1997.

In 1999 Saadiq formed the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl alongside Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). The group produced a self-titled album in 2000 which charted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 aided by the singles “Dance Tonight”, “Don’t Mess with My Man”, and “You” (featuring Snoop Dogg & Q-Tip). After founding his own record label Pookie Records, the singer released his debut solo album “Instant Vintage” in 2002. The release earned Saadiq five Grammy-Award nominations and earned a wave of positive reviews from ciritics. “Instant Vintage” peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200 was followed by the two-disc live album “All the Hits at the House of Blues”.

Saadiq's second full-length album “Ray Ray” arrived in 2004 to positive reviews after which he focused on collaborating with other artists. From 2004 Saadiq had contributed to the music of Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Joss Stone, TLC and Ghostface Killah among many many others. In 2008 the singer released his third studio album “The Way I See It” to positive reviews and three Grammy nominations. Aided by the singles “Love That Girl”, “100 Yard Dash”, “Never Give You Up”, and “Let’s Take a Walk” the album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200, and No. 13 in the French Album Chart.

Following the release Saadiq toured the 2009 summer music festival circuit including Bonnaroo, the Hollywood Bowl, and Stockholm Jazz Festival. The full-length “Stone Rollin’”, recorded with Saadiq’s backing band of the same name, was released in 2011 to critical acclaim. Led by the Motown influenced singles “Radio”, “Good Man” and “Stone Rollin’”, the album peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200.