NPR

Raphael Saadiq Sets His Dark Meditation To Music With 'Jimmy Lee'

Raphael Saadiq says his latest album, Jimmy Lee, is an examination on cycles of addiction and issues plaguing black communities. The album is inspired by the deaths of his brothers.
"I feel like people are not educated at a young age to know like, 'OK, you have a choice to go behind bars and become a number and for somebody to profit off you for free labor and it's enslaving your brain," Raphael Saadiq says.

, the famed singer, musician, producer, music supervisor and former member of Tony! Toni! Toné!, has worn many hats over the span of his nearly 40-year career. One thing he hasn't done is take time to unpack his own traumas. But recently, the Grammy-winner took a step back to process his past and now, he's

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