Raphael Saadiq Finally Reveals Why He Left Tony! Toni! Tone! & Discusses Brother’s Death
ILOSM fam,’ remember whenTony! Toni! Tone! had us vibin’ to their many 90s hits like, “Just Me And You,” from John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood and “It Never Rains In Southern California?” The group members consisted of brothers, Raphael Saadiq and D’Wayne Wiggins, along with their cousin, Timothy Riley. Unfortunately, as quickly as their careers began, it all came to an end a few years later. The group has never discussed the breakup publicly, yet all of that changed when Saadiq recently sat down with his fellow Oakland, Cali. homie and radio personality, Sway Calloway.
Music As Therapy
Prior to now, Raphael Saadiq (53) had briefly discussed some of the heartbreak he endured, while growing up in Oakland. A few years ago, we reported about how four of his siblings died tragically, a subject that was ongoing during the height of Tony! Toni! Tone!’s success. Though their deaths were devastating, Saadiq chose to not put all of his pain into the music. He summed it up like this:
“Through all of that, I was makin’ records, but it wasn’t comin’ out in the music. I did it to kinda show people you can have some real tough things happen in your life, but you don’t have to wear it on your sleeve.”
Years later, he’s paying homage to his brother, Jimmy Lee, by titling his new album after him. Saadiq also sat down on Sway’s Sirius XM show, Sway in the Mornings, to open up about some very personal things. Since he lost Jimmy, to an overdose Sway brought up the topic of addiction, mentioning both, Michael Jackson, and his close friend, Prince. Saadiq kept it honest with his answer.
“I just feel like Michael was tired.” He continued. “He had been in the music industry his whole life. He did it bigger than anybody. And he couldn’t get rid of people.”
He offered similar thoughts about Prince’s reported addiction, claiming that even though he was allegedly on drugs, he was still professional. However, as music changed, he started losing faith, according to Saadiq:
“I think Prince hated where music was at and didn’t want to be around it anymore. I think he loved music that much, that he was like, ‘This is what they doin’?’ I don’t think he could take it.”
