Taking an interest in music from the age of 6, joining gospel groups and attending Young Musicians Program at Berklee during middle school, Saadiq got the chance phone call of a lifetime, when Sheila E. called one day looking for touring musicians to join Prince on his Parade tour. Saadiq spent two years on the road, a time he called "My University".
Saadiq made a name for himself as the lead vocalist in the rhythm and blues and dance trio Tony! Toni! Toné!. He went by his birth name during the beginning of Tony! Toni! Toné!, where he was joined by his brother Dwayne Wiggins, and his cousin Timothy Christian. He adopted the name of Raphael Saadiq in the mid-1990s.
After the 1996 Tony! Toni! Toné! album, House of Music, (when he performed under his current name) Saadiq started his solo career. He produced a few solo tracks, but Saadiq's next big project became the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl. He recorded the self-titled album with Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). This group only lasted for one album. His solo album Instant Vintage, released in 2002, also earned 5 Grammy nominations.
Saadiq released his third solo album, The Way I See It, on September 16 2008, featuring collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Joss Stone. Saadiq acknowledges the album's old school soul sound, which he says includes nods to Gladys Knight & The Pips, Al Green, The Four Tops, The Delfonics and The Stylistics.
Various artists have tapped Saadiq to produce their work through the years. Some of Saadiq's most notable work has been with D'Angelo. The 2000 collaboration "Untitled" won D'Angelo a Grammy award for Best R&B Album. In 2007, Saadiq was called on to produce the whole third album from UK Soul singer Joss Stone. Other artists he has collaborated with include The Roots, Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Kelis, Q-Tip and Young Bellz.
In 2002, Saadiq founded his own record label, Pookie Entertainment. Among the artists on the label are Joi and Truth Hurts.
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Big Easy
Raphael Saadiq Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah
Whoa
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Somebody tell me
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
Somebody please tell me
What's going wrong
They say them ladies broke
And my baby's gone
Listen
It's been a couple of days
And real dark nights
I miss my only child
I ain't seen her since that night
She left home about eight
And never to return
Our body's floatin'
Floatin' into that river
I gotta know
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
Somebody please tell me
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
I been searching all around
Day and day and night
Somebody please tell me
I need to feel somebody
So many souls crying
How could it be?
'Cause every step I take
I can't think
?
Somebody tell me
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
Somebody please tell me
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
Please somebody tell me
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
Somebody please tell me
What's going wrong
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
Please somebody tell me
Yeah-ah
Please somebody tell me
Yeah-ah
Please somebody tell me
Yeah-ah
Please somebody tell me
Please somebody tell me!
Tell me
Please somebody tell me!
Tell me
Please somebody tell me!
Tell me
Please somebody tell me!
(Somebody tell me)
Please somebody tell me!
Come on and tell me
Please somebody tell me!
Just tell me
Please somebody tell me!
I got to know
Please somebody tell me!
I know you know
(Somebody tell me)
Somebody tell me
Oh my God
Somebody Tell me
Oh my God
In Raphael Saadiq's song "Big Easy," the singer is expressing his deep concern and longing for his missing loved one. He hasn't seen his "baby" in far too long, and he is desperately searching for answers. He pleads for someone to tell him what's going wrong and why she hasn't returned since leaving home about eight. The singer is confused and frustrated, struggling to understand the situation. He describes dark nights and his only child's absence, and he is worried that her disappearance might be connected to the recent string of floating bodies found in the river. He cries out repeatedly for someone to tell him what's happening, as he can't bear the thought of going on without his beloved. The song evokes heavy emotions and portrays the aftermath of loss and separation in a haunting and evocative manner.
Line by Line Meaning
Somebody tell me
The artist is asking anyone who hears this song to explain what's causing him to not see his lover and he appears to be quite agitated.
What's going wrong
He's asking the reason why he hasn't seen his lover in a very long time and what has caused her to leave him without any explanations.
I ain't seen my baby
In far too long
The artist is emphasizing how long it has been since he last saw his lover and how important it is for him to find out why she left him without warning.
They say them ladies broke
And my baby's gone
The artist has come to believe that his lover may have left him due to financial reasons and he's been searching for her ever since to find out if that's true.
I miss my only child
I ain't seen her since that night
The artist's lover may have left him with their only child and he hasn't seen either of them since that night.
Our body's floatin'
Floatin' into that river
The artist appears to be imagining what could have happened to his lover and child and speculates that they might have drowned in a river nearby.
I been searching all around
Day and day and night
The artist has been searching tirelessly for his lover and child and hasn't given up hope of finding them.
So many souls crying
How could it be?
The artist is baffled by the sheer number of people in the world who are suffering and trying to make sense of it all.
I know you know
(Somebody tell me)
The artist is reaching out to the supernatural entity that he believes must be watching over everything and pleading with it to help him find his lover and child.
Oh my God
Somebody Tell me
The artist is expressing his frustration with the silence of the universe and how helpless he feels in his quest to find his lover and child.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RAPHAEL SAADIQ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind