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Jimmy Lee is the new album from Raphael Saadiq, the Grammy Award- winning musician, songwriter and go-to collaborator/producer Raphael Saadiq. This collection is Raphael’s first new album in eight years, and is the follow-up to 2011’s Stone Rollin.’ The album was announced in June, 2019 with the release of the single “Something Keeps Calling.”

Jimmy Lee is a deeply personal, musically ambitious work inspired by his brother’s struggles with addiction that explores the razor’s edge people walk as they pursue pleasure that leads to pain — a brilliantly incisive and empathetic work from a master at the peak of his art. The album takes the listener from Saadiq’s native Oakland to Rikers Island as he traces the everyday struggles of addiction and incarceration, taking in both the thrills and pitfalls he witnessed throughout his brother’s life. Comprising narcotic funk, steely gospel affirmations, and quaking protest soul, Jimmy Lee is a resonant examination of modern life, in all its exuberance, destruction and consequence.

Jimmy Lee was self-produced by Raphael Saadiq and recorded at Blakeslee Recording Co. in North Hollywood. The album features contributions from Brook D’Leau, Kendrick Lamar, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Raphael Saadiq came up in the 80s and 90s with the multi-platinum R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! before embarking on a critically acclaimed solo career. He also has been active as a producer, co-writing career-defining hits for D’Angelo (“Untitled (How Does It Feel)”) and Solange (“Cranes in the Sky”) and working with artists like John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder.