Raphael Saadiq and Toshiki Hayashi

Today I have some music for you by an absolutely incredible artist. Raphael Saadiq is one of the coolest cats I have heard from our generation of musicians. His style is one that is so incredibly jazzy and full of that R&B funk and soul, that his music seems to ooze swagger. This song, in particular, is one that falls on the slower side of jazz and really develops the R&B sound that I love.  Raphael Saadique embodies that old school R&B sound, the kind of sound we would imagine hearing in a smokey club. What is even better, though, is that the subject matter for his music takes on that old school R&B identity as well. Raphael Saadiq tends to sing about personal struggles, the kind of things we all face at some point. Now this song is used in the new Netflix original, Luke Cage. There is no better song than this one to describe that show. This should honestly be the show's anthem because this song is all about a man who is surrounded by bad things but still remains a good man. Which is essentially the entire point of Luke Cage!  Raphael Saadiq's music style is that of a sharply dressed man with finger-snapping tunes. I mean his music seems to have been plucked out of the 60's soul era and dropped in the present with a little bit of a 2016 kick to it. His music has the ability to sound like classics without bearing the title, and every song has a jazzy jam to it. There is a wonderfully vintage authenticity to Raphael Saadiq's music, a sound that we can't find anywhere else. His entire sound is effortlessly filled with that jazzy funk and soul, creating tunes that range from excitingly energetic to suave and cool. Raphael Saadiq has taken that retro R&B and soul and gives them a progressive makeover, creating songs that genuinely could be classics. Raphael Saadiq's brilliance as a singer, songwriter, musician and producer is borderline genius. He takes the right sound risks and is able to make them work in a way that other artists would not be able to. Raphael Saadiq is a highly underrated artist in music right now, but his skill and talent warrant him to be a huge name. His style and essence are so pure and raw that you can't help but fall in love with his music. Today's instrumental song is some nice and jazzy hip hop beats by the artist Toshiki Hayashi. The song starts out with a little bit of an Asian influence, which then gives way to a superbly chilled out rhythm. This song is calm and cool, offering a relaxing and dynamic jazz sound accompanied by some R&B beats. A great combination and a well done blend of the two genres. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!