Q&A: Raphael Saadiq (playing tonight in KC)
By BRIAN BARR
Raphael Saadiq just wasn’t made for these times. Then again, maybe he was. Like Erykah Badu, the former Tony! Toni! Tone! frontman, who is playing tonight at the VooDoo Lounge, is an analog guy in a digital world. But his old-school way of thinking has lead him to successful collaborations with Q-Tip, Mary J. Blige, The Roots, Bilal, and countless others who have needed a producer to give their music a little more “retro” feeling. Last year, he released The Way I See It, a set of Motown replicas. From the toe-tapping beats to his smooth-as-whipped-cream falsetto, the record harks back to a feel-good era. Just as “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination” seemed effortless, so does The Way I See It.. It just is what it is—a bunch of catchy tunes that could’ve been R&B hits back in the day.
The Pitch: You’ve called this record your “downtown” record. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
Saadiq: Well, at first everybody was saying “Motown,” but later on I started to think of it as my “downtown” record, meaning, like, the kind of music that you would hear when you go downtown back in the day. Y’know, you used to hear Motown and stuff like that when you’d go downtown and I was picturing that kind of a dress-up night, like when you’d get dressed up to go see Cab Calloway or Duke Ellington, y’know, in Harlem or wherever. So, I wanted it to be that kind of a record that made people feel like they were getting ready and going out that night and feeling good. So that’s where the “downtown” thing came from.
How, exactly, did you achieve the vintage tone on this record?
It was just being in that frame of mind, y’know, putting yourself in that place. I gave my mind and body to the music. I mean, I went out and bought old drum sets and guitars and things like that, but it was more about being in that headspace and just playing the music and not really thinking about the label’s reaction or if the TV bookers will get it or concert promoters or whoever. That wasn’t one of my concerns. It was just about being in that headspace.
