Raphael Saadiq :: The Way I See It :: 2008

Oh R&B, where did we go so wrong? There are very few things that touch me the way a lot of 1960's Soul music does. And there are very few things that mean less to me than "Soul" music in the 2000's (keeping up with the Kardashians and variations in different brands of ketchup are two). I don't know how we got here. The term "Soul" used to imply that singers were pouring out from the deepest part of their being. It now apparently has something to do with seeing how many notes and syllables one can fit into each word. Rhythm sections used to lock into a groove so deep, they became as memorable as any lyric or melody in the song. Today the beat and bass are programmed by some guy on a computer (could anything be more soul-less?).

Soul and R&B have gotten so far off track, i don't know where it can possibly go. It's hard to see a real "future" since it has morphed into a form of Pop that i don't think even counts as R&B anymore. I know there are many people who would disagree with me but i have a strong suspicion that--unlike Rock and Punk--R&B actually may be dead.

But there are those who are trying to keep it alive. Do you remember Tony! Toni! Tone!? You may not remember their music but i'm sure you remember their name. Well it turns out that those guys weren't even named Tony, Toni or Tone. One of them was named Raphael. He's been recording and producing with several well-known artists over the years and in 2008, released The Way I See It, a modern tribute to the Motown sound of the 60's. This is real music played by real musicians, with a real singer singing songs he wrote. The band finds those grooves and it's organic with actual guitars and actual drums. The songs are of your classic themes of love and loss and just having a good time. But this is not just a copycat album. This would never pass as some kind of lost Smokey Robinson record. Saadiq takes those classic elements and stirs them in to an energy that just sounds like today. He also brings modern life into his songs. ("The Big Easy" finds our singer searching for his love in the days after Hurricane Katrina; one of those successful marriages of a dark subject wrapped up in a strangely upbeat song.)

There are certainly others doing their part to keep R&B alive. Eryka Badu & Lauryn Hill have certainly been important in this movement (where'd you go Lauryn?) and the music on the Daptone label is as good as any Soul/Funk albums you can find before Carter walked into the White House. So maybe it's not quite dead, but it's bleeding pretty badly. Perhaps getting back to the roots is the key to moving forward for without the past, there can be no future.

Ok, that got a little heavy. What i meant to say was this album's got a great beat and it's easy to dance to. Sorry about that.
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