Jalen Rose talks fame, Oakland music scene with Raphael Saadiq
14.09.2023 - 04:51
/ nypost.com
Grammy winner Raphael Saadiq.The prodigy bass player and vocalist has been a driving force behind the many smash records of Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder, to name a few.
He’s also revived his beloved Tony! Toni! Toné! trio with his brother D’Wayne Wiggins and Timothy Christian Riley for a tour. They’ll be at Radio City on Sept.
30.Raphael became quite sentimental on this week’s “Renaissance Man,” reflecting on his journey toward stardom, one that began when he started playing bass as a 6-year-old. Sporting an Oakland Raiders jersey, what he told me was also a vocal love letter to his hometown of Oakland, California – it’s a musical city that made this R&B super talent what he is now.“Every block had a garage with bands in it, [talented] people who play with Natalie Cole … I tell people all day, I’m lucky that I made it,” Raphael told me.
“The bar was so high.”It was those “Oakland legends” who inspired the young bassist to not only pursue all aspects of melody, but to fall in love with them as well.“I was trying to work in a record store just so I could be around music. I just wanted to be around it,” he said.
“All the singing stuff? That just happened, bro … and I was like, ‘Oh, I better rock with it.’ ” Raphael’s outstanding skill set didn’t go unnoticed for long. School teachers even began preparing him for life on the stage in what he described as a reminder that the Bay Area looks out for its own.“Some of my teachers would pull me to the side and tell me what I need to do in music, how I need to move in life, what kind of people I’m going to be around if I [am going to] become a professional,” he said.Though, Raphael made it clear that the Oakland love can dry up pretty fast if you’re not
.