Witnessing his brothersвЂ™ travails informed his own decisions. Saadiq described himself as an observant kid. Saadiq said his brother Desmond also fell into addiction and shot himself in SaadiqвЂ™s fatherвЂ™s apartment, and matter-of-factly described the family cleaning up the aftermath. вЂњFor me to title my album вЂJimmy LeeвЂ™ - people in my family will wonder, Why him,вЂќ Saadiq said. Saadiq was a child when Alvie was killed he had more time with Jimmy Lee, a heroin addict who didnвЂ™t get along with their stepfather, Ed Nelson, Saadiq said, and would sometimes break into the Nelson house and steal whatever he could. Asked in a phone interview about the present state of his falsetto, he offered an impromptu demonstration, singing the first few bars of the StylisticsвЂ™ вЂњBetcha by Golly WowвЂќ into the phone in a voice that was high and powerful. Randy sang with Alvie in talent shows but never pursued music professionally, and is now retired after a long career with KilpatrickвЂ™s Bakeries in Oakland. вЂњThatвЂ™s how I learned about the Delfonics and the Stylistics.вЂќ вЂњHe sang better than all of us,вЂќ Saadiq said of Randy. (His father would tease him, вЂњYou were a good mistake, but you were a mistake.вЂќ)ДЄs a child, Saadiq often caught a ride between his familiesвЂ™ houses on the handlebars of his older brother Randy WigginsвЂ™ bike. He came along late, when many of his siblings were grown. Collectively, his parents had 14 children, but Saadiq was the only child they had together. вЂњRaphael manages to defy time by being continuously culturally and musically relevant,вЂќ said Rob Stringer, the chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment, which includes Columbia, the label releasing вЂњJimmy Lee,вЂќ adding, вЂњhe always has his finger on the pulse without ever being overexposed.вЂќД¬harlie had been married and divorced by the time he met Edith James, SaadiqвЂ™s mother. Blige to an Oscar nomination (for вЂњMighty River,вЂќ from вЂњMudboundвЂќ) or playing bass behind Mick Jagger on a Grammy salute to Solomon Burke.

As a producer, heвЂ™s pulled concise statements out of performers who often default to the diffuse, such as DвЂ™Angelo ( вЂњLadyвЂќ and вЂњUntitled вЂќ) and Solange ( вЂњCranes in the Sky.вЂќ) But as one of relatively few major figures of the hip-hop age who grew up playing in bands, heвЂ™s just as adroit at leading from behind as a sideman, steering Mary J. вЂњI just thought about delivering.вЂќДЇor two decades, heвЂ™s done it, over and over. вЂњMy compositions had to go farther than me,вЂќ he said. But from his time with the band he affectionately calls вЂњThe TonysвЂќ up through his solo career - four albums between 20, each more joyous, and consummately crafted than the last - heвЂ™s always prioritized hooks and concision over self-expression. Saadiq has had a tattoo of Alvie, Desmond and JimmyвЂ™s faces on his arm for 20 years. But over the course of a few nights in this studio in early 2019, he began to hear the ghosts speak. It wasnвЂ™t SaadiqвЂ™s plan to make a concept album, let alone one that digs into stories this personal. It is named for his brother Jimmy Lee Baker, who overdosed in the 1990s after contracting H.I.V., but uses his story to tell a broader one about lives under pressure. His new album вЂњJimmy Lee,вЂќ out this week, is his first in eight years. He was talking about family and addiction and loss, about a life marked by a string of tragedies, and about why it took him until now, more than two decades into his career, to bring these stories into his music. Saadiq, 53, wore a pale-blue T-shirt and periodically tugged at his twists of hair.

He was sitting in a control room at his studio, Blakeslee Recording, surrounded by totems of the past - a trophy from the first talent show he won at Elmhurst Junior High in Oakland, Calif., an Amy Winehouse prayer candle and enough vintage guitars to stock three pawnshops. вЂњThey called my name: вЂCharlie Ray Wiggins, limousine three!вЂ™ I never liked limousines after that.вЂќ LOS ANGELES - вЂњMy first funeral, I was 7 years old,вЂќ Raphael Saadiq said.

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