RAPHAEL SAADIQ “The Way I See It” -Album Review

RAPHAEL SAADIQ
Columbia Records
The Way I See It

☆  ☆ ½

Though he’s often labeled as a singer, songwriter, musician, producer and arranger, Raphael Saadiq is talented period. In the late eighties/early nineties this California native was the lead vocalist and bass player for one of the number one groups in America; Tony! Toni! Tone! While it’s obvious that most of Raphael’s charm lies in his production skills, this award winning producer has produced hits for such artists as Joss Stone, The Roots, Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Keisha Cole and many others. He was also the same person who created the “super group” Lucy Pearl, with En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson and A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Now, after four years and on his third solo album and first for Sony BMG, Raphael Saadiq said that The Way I See It” is “the culmination of a lifetime of experiences informed by the music I grew up on.” It took him four months to record the album in his LA studio. His inspiration to make this album you ask? Well, it came while he was vacationing in Costa Rica and the Bahamas; he noticed that everybody was listening to classic 60’s and 70’s soul music and when he had gotten back home “the music for this album flowed organically, naturally.”

Check out “Staying In Love,” his ode to his ex-lover: “You know I love/the way you hold my heart/I tell all the girls don’t even try.” You can also catch Joss Stone on :Just One Kiss,” And on “Let’s Take A Walk” he embraces his freaky side: “This place is crowded/Don’t know bout’ you/I need some sex/Some sex with you…” 

“The Way I See It” hits stores September 16th