But when I heard Tribe, they were sampling records and looking really different from most hip-hop groups, and they were sampling this Sly & The Family Stone record, which Sly is sort the thing I loved the most. I was a fan of all the early break-dancing, all the movies, all the, like, so many different rap groups I didn't even know who they were, just watching them. And I'm like, 'They get to do that?! Where is that at? They get to sit on the stoops?' Then I find out almost 20 years later those things were called brownstones. RAPHAEL SAADIQ: – we would totally get our ass whupped if we did that. Like he said, Ali said, I was a huge hip-hop fan from just – I've been a New York fan, totally, just from looking at brownstones on TV, watching kids play with fire hydrants and water spilling out, and – How did you guys meet? Do you remember the – So where did your love for hip-hop begin?įRANNIE: Wait. Because you were a huge fan of hip-hop, and Tribe Called Quest happened to be on the map at the time that the Tonys were recording. You know, you don't – you have to learn people, discover different things, and that's what makes it go forward to me.ĪLI: Just you saying that, that's pretty much how we met, I think. I don't know them, and that's what this whole journey's been about anyway. I get to be the fly on the wall and watch new people walk in the building who don't know me.

I just kind of look and go, 'That's cool.' And sometime I don't even know who the artists are, so sometime I get to meet new artists that I've never even heard of.įRANNIE: And they're so excited to see you. And journalism, instead of everything being so fast-paced on the Internet all the time. You see the same things that we saw coming up, people talking about their new projects, and it's good to see that it's still continuing and people are excited about talking about what they're doing. I stayed a fan my whole career, so when I see other people come through here, other artists, it's exciting to see people come to talk about their projects and what they're doing. What is that like? Like when Scarface was here, he was tripping. And so to have people come in here and you see them sometimes and then they see you. I'm excited.ĪLI: What is that like actually? Because we do – for people who don't know, my studio is in Raphael's building. RAPHAEL SAADIQ: I watch so many people walk in and out of these doors, and now I get to sit on the couch with you and Frannie and do the podcast. It's good.įRANNIE: We're going to tell the secrets. Cause anything I say can be taken from the pile of family secrets, and we don't want to do anything like that. So I'm just going to step outside, and let you and Frannie have a nice conversation. We're in Saadiq's building.ĪLI: I am going to right now excuse myself from the interview, because this is family right now. Talking to Saadiq this way, officially, for public consumption, is a little bit different for Ali, but, he wanted to give you a glimpse of the kind of conversations that happen between brothers.ĪLI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD: Saadiq is in the building!įRANNIE KELLEY: Exactly. He and Ali have a long history, and in this interview, we talk about the Tonys first link up with Tribe, the two of them writing for D'Angelo, their quiet support for each others' solo projects, and, obviously, Lucy Pearl. More real, more generous, less interested in separation along genre borders, optimistic about the future. Every once in a while he blows through the door before we're done taping and accidentally surprises one of our guests. We think being around Saadiq, and in the environment he creates, has made our show better.

LISTEN TO MICROPHONE CHECK: RAPHAEL SAADIQ ON SPOTIFY.ĭon't know if you know this, but we record Microphone Check at Raphael Saadiq's studio in Los Angeles.

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