#rob bacon

Raphael Saadiq is definitely one of my favorite R&B singers. He perfectly executes a sound that a lot of other artists try to produce. His early catalog consists of music as apart of Tony! Toni! Toné! which I don’t totally love but his solo career is what I really love from him. His discography is super consistent and I highly recommend quality albums like Instant Vintage and The Way I See It. Saadiq’s last release was his 4th studio album Stone Rollin’ in 2011. That album is fucking incredible. It combines elements of blues, soul and motown. Good Man, Radio and Go To Hell are some of my favorite Raphael Saadiq songs. In the 8 years since that album came out, we haven’t heard much from Raphael besides him being featured on a couple Rick Ross albums. He’s also worked with Big K.R.I.T. and Rapsody. Raphael has always been in touch with his feelings on records but he hasn’t really gone back into his childhood until his 5th album, Jimmy Lee. The only album I would compare this album to set up expectations for this album is Royce Da 5′9″’s Book Of Ryan. That was Royce’s 7th album and he went very deep into his upbringing and told stories about his family and what he saw as a child. From what I’ve read, Raphael experienced a lot of traumatic events during his childhood. One of his brothers was murdered and another one was an addict (I believe that one is Jimmy Lee, though I don’t want to get facts twisted so feel free to correct me). However, not everything is a heavy listen that puts a damper on your day. The opening track Sinner’s Prayer 100% sets you up for an album that covers a lot of serious topics but the following track So Ready is one of the funnest songs I’ve heard this year. The groove is irresistible and it’s very hard to not sing along with the hook. He talks about how “This World Is Drunk” because of how people cope with tough situations and turn to substances. Songs like Something Keeps Calling Me and Kings Fall are full of pain and give you chills when you closely listen to the lyrics. The line, “Even when I'm clean / I'm still a dope fiend” really stuck to me. I’m Feeling Love was a good sign of relief and cleansed the palette because it goes into My Walk which is just an amazing song. This song feels like a religious experience in the way the hook and verses are set up. After each and every line, I felt compelled to sing: “on myyy walk!” The lyrics, “I thought I was in the southern marching band / I love Jimmy but Jimmy smoke crack and sold my horn / Jimmy shot heroin, he was my Mama's son” are the ones that I feel explain the feeling of this album the best. As I felt a religious edge on that song, the short interlude Belongs To God was a perfect way to follow that song. What’s wild is that I have been used to one sound from Raphael even though I know he’s very versatile. From the traditional R&B style to a free motown sound to this album is the type of range I like to see and that didn’t occur to me until I heard Glory To The Veins. That song really does stick out. It doesn’t stick out like So Ready does but the fact that this song is the most dark song and it has some modern hip hop drums caught my ears. After a song with lyrics like, “I lost a brother to AIDS / Still, he laughed every day,” The song Rikers Island totally caught me off guard but that song was the most enthralling track to me. It brings along these gospel elements and the hook is surprisingly catchy. I couldn’t stop singing “set em freeeeee.” This is probably the most socially aware song on this album, covering a topic like the prison system in America. if you missed the lyrical content on that song, the Rikers Island Redux with a poem by Daniel J. Watts will make sure you understand. A powerful lyric like “And orange ain't the new black / Black is the same, same black” is only one of many in that 3-minute long poem. Rearview was a nice opener and I was honestly not expecting Kendrick Lamar to pop out of nowhere even though he didn’t say that much. This album is very different from anything Saadiq has put out in the past but I think it is a very important album in his catalog even though it may not be the most enjoyable project of his to listen to. I do see myself returning to this album.

Raphael Saadiq - Something Keeps Calling (Official Audio) ft. Rob Bacon

New Album !!!!!!

“Jimmy Lee”

13 Songs, 39 Minutes

R&B/Soul