Raphael Saadiq, the most underappreciated R&B artist of all time, is about to bring forth the sound and light with his Aug. 23 release, Jimmy Lee. It will be his first solo release in eight years, following up his 2011 release, Stone Rollin’.
This album comes fresh off the heels of his amazing performance at The Roots Picnic alongside The Soulquarians (which I attended and that man hasn’t lost a single step and also drinks from the same fountain of youth as Pharrell Williams), with the announcement that he will headline Afropunk Paris in July and begin touring in 2019, starting off at the Summer Spirit Festival in Columbia, Md. on Aug. 3. Basically, Oakland’s finest has been busy as the dickens and shows no plans on slowing down.
Because Raphael Saadiq is a bad man, has always been a bad man and will always be a bad man, Jimmy Lee is self-produced and will feature Kendrick Lamar, Brook D’Leau (of J*Davey) and longtime collaborator, Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
According to the press release:
The follow-up to 2011’s Stone Rollin’, Jimmy Lee is a deeply personal journey of discovery and a rumination on contemporary life. Raphael Saadiq takes us on a walk through his elements, from Oakland to Rikers Island, with some of the most captivating music he has ever recorded. Inspired in part by his brother’s addiction, Saadiq explores universal themes of craving that which feels good but is also destructive. Some resist, some relent. There’s pain, there’s pleasure, and of course consequences — all of which inform the songs and stories this brilliant work so richly reveals.
If you know like I know, on Aug. 23 you may as well refresh whatever streaming service you use to check out what is destined to be some fire from an artist who has literally been relevant in every decade since the 80s. Those apples? How do you like them? Just fine probably.
Check out the album’s first single, “Something Keeps Calling” and peep the track listing below! Jimmy Lee, August 23!
Jimmy Lee Track Listing
1. Sinners Prayer
2. So Ready
3. This World Is Drunk
4. Something Keeps Calling
5. Kings Fall
6. I’m Feeling Love
7. My Walk
8. Belongs To God
9. Dottie’s Interlude
10. Glory To The Veins
11. Rikers Island
12. Rikers Island Redux
13. Rearview