Neo-Soul Thread

Do you guys know if Who Is Jill Scott? was ever pressed to vinyl? I'd love to have it in my collection.

 

Yes. According to discogs there are original pressings from the US and Europe. And Music On Vinyl re-issued (and remastered?) it in 2011.

Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott? - Words And Sounds Vol. 1

 

Thank you so much!

 

Raphael Saadiq Is the Most Underappreciated R&B Artist of All Time. Yeah I Said It

On March 17, 2017, terrible human being-turned-terrible human being plus chicken-wing savant, Rick Ross, dropped his ninth studio album, Rather You Than Me. The first song on the album is called “Apple of My Eye.” As I listened to this song for the first time, a very familiar voice, one I’ve been listening to since I was 9 years old (I’m currently 38), came booming through the system: that of Raphael Saadiq.

The man who told me in 1990 that it never rained in Southern California (absolutely not true—it does rain, just not enough) and had me ready to “dance tonight” (every night) in 2000 is still showing up on albums in 2017 by one of the more famous rappers in the game. Still sounding crisp as ever; making music worth listening to.

It was at that moment I realized a simple fact: Raphael Saadiq might be the most underappreciated artist in music, but especially R&B. Ever.

Ever.

I hear you looking at me; I’m not crazy. Think about it. For real for real. Why do I say the most underappreciated? Simple. When was the last time you had a conversation about great artists and Raphael Saadiq’s name came up? I’ll wait. This despite the fact that he’s not only been around for what feels like my entire life, but has been making music that I’ve listened to during that entire span. Even his Wikipedia page is disrespectful; Ja Rule’s page is more in-depth.

Tony! Toni! Toné! dropped in 1988. Nobody really remembers that first album much, but in 1990, when the group came through with the second album, The Revival, we were all paying attention. “Feels Good” still jams, and if you tell me that you love the ’90s and don’t know the words to “It Never Rains (in Southern California),” I will call you a lie and a cheat, Joe Jackson, and I don’t want you.

The group brought us such classics as “Anniversary,” “Lay Your Head (on My Pillow),” “No Loot,” “Let’s Get Down,” “Thinkin’ of You” and “Just Me and You,” and you know that, especially given later successes, Raphael was at least driving 75 percent of the time on that road trip. House of Music? It’s like butter, baby, and hinted, substantially, at where he’d be going, especially with his solo works and D’Angelo. Put a pin in D’Angelo.

During this time comes the real solo hammer: 1995’s “Ask of You” from the Higher Learning soundtrack. Bruh. I ain’t saying it’s the most ’90s song of all time—or the best—but this song made its way onto almost every “You My Boo” mixtape back when those were actually cassette tapes. It is that dope a song. Not to mention, his harmonica game was on a hundred-thousand trillion.

The years 1999 and 2000 were huge for Raphael and the culture. Along with Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest and Dawn Robinson from En Vogue, Saadiq brought us Lucy Pearl, a group project that included the song “Dance Tonight” but was, on its own merits, an album chock-full of dope jams and smooth riddims. I still rock this album—front to back—today. That was ’99. In 2000 he helped D’Angelo channel his vision for the song “Untitled (How Does It Feel)“ from the Voodoo album, which led to “the video.” Don’t forget, though, Saadiq was a significant part of D’Angelo’s song “Lady” from Brown Sugar.

Thus far, we’ve got the three Tony/i/es, Lucy Pearl, D’Angelo and solo recordings, all yielding magnificent results.

But 2002 is when the rubber hit the road, fam. He released his debut album (a solid 14 years after really hitting the scene) with the ABSOLUTE, INARGUABLY classic album Instant Vintage. From “Doing What I Can” to “Skyy, Can You Feel Me,” the entire album was one big-ass ride though musical perfection. If you have never heard this album, you absolutely should head to your nearest streaming service and listen.

You’re welcome.

Let’s skip a little bit, seeing as how Saadiq’s catalog includes production for a plethora of artists from Angie Stone to Erykah Badu to Bobby Valentino. But take a gander—a goose, if you will—to 2016, when Solange Knowles drops an album that had unicorns and gangstas alike looking for cranes in the sky, the relevantly titled A Seat at the Table. Saadiq was instrumental in helping Solange see through her vision to craft an album that was heralded and lauded by critics from all corners of the musical kingdom.

Even after all of those musical contributions, Saadiq has garnered very few Grammy nods or wins (just one, I believe), and rarely is his name included in conversations about music’s most important or significant figures. Largely, I think it’s due to his vocal range, which isn’t exemplary, though I am a big fan of his voice and vocal performances on recordings.

He’s a singer whose strength as a songwriter outshines his vocal abilities, even if he has one of the most distinctive voices in R&B ever. I can’t think of any other reason why somebody who has worked with the range of artists he’s worked with, who’s created the body of work he’s created and been able to successfully create music of different stylings across decades and eras, who has songs that are vital to the listening experience of a particularly strong decade of R&B, and who is responsible for some of the most compelling music of several artists’ careers doesn’t even have an episode of Unsung and might be, textbook, the most unsung black artist ever, considering his contributions.

Saadiq deserves a seat at the table of R&B greats, and hopefully, he gets his due one day.
---

A writeup on Saadiq that I came across a few weeks back. I figured I'd post in here to see what others think.

 

I have Instant Vintage on original vinyl and love it. Been meaning to pick up that Lucy Pearl but I keep forgetting. One thing I haven't ever done is go back and listen to all the Tony! Toni! Toné! stuff. I've heard bits and pieces but I really need to give them a fair chance.

I don't know if he's under-appreciated or not but I do know he has his hand in an awful lot of my favorite music.

 

Believe it or not, I haven’t ran through his music with Tony! Toni! Toné! neither aside from their most notable songs. I’ve been meaning to do so but I keep putting it off. Hopefully one day when I get the chance, I can run through their discography in full. Saadiq’s solo records are some of my favorites to drop during their time period, as well as his project with Lucy Pearl (I’d LOVE to have that on vinyl if it’s out there).

I personally agree with the article because he definitely has contributed to a lot of great songs by other great artists and has made great music in his own right as well. I don’t think his genius and talent as a whole is discussed enough from what I’ve see.

I thought this article was an interesting write up and figured I’d share in here with you guys to get some opinions.

 

There was a vinyl release but it looks like original copies are a bit expensive.

 

How much are they running for?

 

On discogs...

• Lowest:
  $17.52
• Median:
  $31.10
• Highest:
  $69.99

Lucy Pearl - Lucy Pearl

 

That’s not too bad. I might purchase it since I love that album so much. I still need to get Jill Scott’s Words and Sounds Vol. 1 on wax very soon.

 

Just listened to the new Musiq Soulchild today. Lyrically it's all love songs but musically it's smooth, soulful and very enjoyable.

 

Saadiq did the excellent music for the second season of Insecure on HBO.

 

New Jordan Rakei and Moses Sumney albums are out for those interested.

 

Bumping this thread to keep the conversation going.

One artist whose name seems to not come up often enough in conversations about this genre is Meshell Ndegeocello. I think it can be argued that she is one of the originators of the movement and she has a fantastic catalogue of really consistent quality. A unique talent and very much worth checking out. Listening to Devil's Halo right now and it is just awesome.... I don't think she's ever made a record that wasn't exceptional.



D.D.

 

Me’shell is underrated. Comfort Woman, Plantation Lullabies, and Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape are great bodies of work imo.

 

She's the definition of "underrated"...Her later work displays an uncommon sophistication. Here's a great track from 2011's Weather :



D.D.

 

Tank and the Bangas
T-Pain
No Name
Chance
T-Pain

The list is todays Neo Soul..Check out - Tiny Desk....Like I found my neo - tribe again!



Also does anyone know a good manager into Neo-Soul..I have a band!

 

Expect blacksumersNIGHT very soon. It's going to be hard to top the last one, Maxwell.

 

Lalah Hathaway’s album is enjoyable. It’s more current R&B sounding but with her usual soulful flavour. One of my faves of this year.

This year has been trash but it’s cool to have a few albums I personally enjoy.

 

Like most people my favourite neo-soul album is Voodoo with D'Angelo's Brown Sugar and Black Messiah being up there too. Speaking of Black Messiah I just noticed that some of the most significant albums released in recent history by black artists all had black/grey album covers (e.g. Black Messiah, Kendrick's To Pimp A Butterfly and Kamasi Washington's The Epic). Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Who is Jill Scott? are some of my other favourites.

 

I have been listening to a lot of Erykah Badu lately. Mama's Gun especially.

 

Generic name, but great album, more need to hear it:


Lady: S/T

 

I just realized my prior post in this thread from weeks ago was also about Mama's Gun

How about Anderson .Paak? I think he's great and could skirt the neo-soul genre.

 

They are more Left Field than Neo, but if you sleep on Haitus Kayote, you would be missing it...

 

The group SOLO is definitely neo soul, and one of the ABSOLUTE BEST male groups!