We Should All Love Raphael Saadiq a Little More

Those who know, been knew. I didn’t write this piece to say that there was a collective lack of love for the singer, songwriter, and producer Raphael Saadiq. Even if you’re not aware of who he is, I can guarantee, that somewhere through the years you’ve come to love his sound. This multi-instrumental musician has worked alongside many greats including Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, D’Angelo, Earth, Wind & Fire, and a plethora of other artist.

My Saturday mornings are often spent cleaning and cooking breakfast while reviewing new albums that dropped the previous week. It was a pleasant surprise to hear Saadiq’s familiar crooning on the opening track to Rick Ross’s new album “Rather You Than Me”.  His first solo album “Instant Vintage” is always in regular rotation, but it was refreshing to hear Ross include Saadiq in modern hip hop while still allowing him to flourish in his natural form.

In a time where everything retro is reborn into collective coolness, it seems odd that Raphael Saadiq seems to be missed in the collective praise of all things 90s. My childhood was highlighted by the soulfulness of Lucy Pearl. When the group inevitably went their separate ways I was distraught about all the amazing sounds we would never get from them again. One of my favorite remixes ever came from Ludacris, when he featured him  on the remake of “Splash Waterfalls”. It took the notoriously playful Ludacris track and flipped it into something that could create a vibe of lit candles and incense smoke wafting through the air. 

He has been nominated for 15 Grammys and has only won one for his work as a songwriter on Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)”. Not only has he been socially ignored but the industry has slighted him time and time again. But Saadiq doesn’t care. His talent and style are recognizably authentic.  In step with many of the R&B soul artists of the 90s, he’s living a reclusive lifestyle. I found myself wondering if he was married. Curious to know who an artist with so much depth would share their life with, I went to Google only to find there was very little information on his personal life. A quality I find admirable in this time of selling less of your work and more of your lifestyle.

For me, Raphael Saadiq and his music represent a fading time and space. Where good music was about the lyrics, chords, arrangements, and emotion of a song. R&B today is lacking. Lacking love, lacking soul, lacking heart. We have all of this and more with Saadiq, his production style can make you dance all day or leave you yearning all night.

It’s still cool to feel something, hearing him on Ross’s “Apple of my Eye” made me feel a lot of things. Mainly nostalgia, but through reflection it transformed into appreciation, for an artist we should all show a little more love for.

Why "Shinin’" Said Everything We All Needed to Hear

This past Sunday (Feb. 12, 2017) we all witnessed one of the most stunning Beyoncé performances to date, at the 2017 Grammys. Beyoncé presented a 9 minute, beautifully intricate and visual performance that seemed to be an ode to motherhood and Black women. This performance being the first time many of us has seen her since the February 1st announcement that The Carters were having twins. Beyoncé’ received 9 nominations for her 5th album titled “Lemonade”. The album doubled as a film, a visual representation of each track, taking us through the stages following heartbreak to healing.

This year was a particularly interesting year for The Recording Academy, at the heels of national protest against our President, and last year’s outcry of “#OscarssoWhite” We all wanted to see if Beyoncé’s incredible album could snag the coveted Album of the Year recognition. While Beyoncé did win for Best Record, and Best Urban Contemporary Album, she lost out on AOTY to Adele’s 25. Adele in turn gave a tear jerking acceptance speech that proclaimed Beyoncé as the one deserving of the AOTY. Rihanna’s 8 nominations for Anti went unanswered, which Justin Tinsley proclaimed as her Magnum Opus, but I’ll save that topic for a different post.

Immediately following the end of the award broadcasting, Tidal, the Jay-Z owned music streaming service, released “Shinin” a DJ Khaled joint featuring Beyoncé and Jay-Z. As the up-tempo beat comes in and we hear DJ Khaled say “I worked my whole life for this one.” It was evident that we had another Carter classic.

  “Shinin', shinin', shinin', shinin', yeah
All of this winnin', I've been losin' my mind, yeah

Oh, hold on
Don't try to
Slow me down
Hold on
Don't try to
Slow me down"
 

The chorus holds all the love of this track for me, a poignant point following the alleged Grammy snub. The lyrics go on to say that, “We smilin’ for a whole nother reason, it’s all smiles through all four seasons” followed by a classic Jay verse where he joyously raps about the upcoming birth of his twins.

While the scathing think pieces roll out criticizing the institution of The Recording Academy, who has only awarded AOTY to 2 Black artists in the last 20 years, The Carters are back to business. The loss of this award has no effect on the reasons this family is smiling and will continue to smile. They’re blessed beyond even their own imaginations, and with two new lives coming into the world what’s another Grammy in a home that already houses 43 in total.

My Formal Apology to Migos

 In 2013 I was in my kitchen cooking dinner while my boyfriend played a collection of trap/drill music. It was a mixture of Chief Keef, Young Thug, and Migos. He was playing songs just to watch me roll my eyes. “They all sound the same to me, why would anybody listen to this.” Coming up in a household as the only child living among adults who ranged in age from 48 to 17, I heard a variety of what I believed is good ass music. From Ray Charles, to Maxwell, to Slick Rick, and N.W.A, I can’t deny that I’m a tad bit of a music snob. Born in 89, I experienced growing up during the golden age of Hip Hop. Like anybody who loves the lyricism of the 90s, I’ve had low tolerance for the new age rap that relies heavily on its producers and not so much on forming poignant thoughts through rhyme schemes and punchlines.

Well herein lies the problem, the original producers were DJs and everyone knows there would be no Hip Hop without the DJs. The original Emcees, spit catchy lyrics over familiar beats and the magic seemed to be in the simplicity of the rhymes. A lesson in Hip Hop history will make you less of music snob, but that wasn’t the turning point for me with Migos, and while I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve just recently caught the wave, I should’ve been a fan.

“Bad & Boujee” is Migos latest chart topping single. I wasn’t checking for the song until I seen a video posted of them doing a show in Nigeria (see below), the crowd was gassed up when the beat dropped and the infamous “Rain Drop, Drop Top” line came in full blast. Seeing how Hip Hop is still connecting cultures and continents gave me goosebumps. After watching the video a half dozen times, then playing “Bad & Boujee” 20 more times, I went through their catalog and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It made me regret my early dismissal of their sound, because it’s some of the best music to come out in the oversaturated rap era.

Young Rich Niggas is now in regular rotation and “Rich Than Famous” is not just a motto it’s a lifestyle. Seriously, listen to YRN and see if you can make it through the whole thing without bopping.  It’s inspiring to see 3 Black men carve a way for themselves without taking on the pitfalls of signing to a label. They represent a mindset that all Black creatives should be adopting, never taking no for an answer, going into business for yourself, and never forget the ones you started with.  

I’llI spend the first few months of the year familiarizing myself with Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset. And simultaneously trying to figure out which one is the “Beyoncé” of the group. I would like my readers and Migos to know, I apologize. 

Oh yeah, shout out to Donald Glover for helping catapult "Bad & Boujee" to become the #1 song in the country. Look what happens when we stick together.