We got a chance yesterday to spend the morning in the studio with Raphael Saadiq — one of, in our opinion, the premier soul singers in the business today. We first got to know Raphael’s music in his Tony! Toni! Toné! heyday in the mid 80s and early 90s, and then we absolutely couldn’t stop listening to the Lucy Pearl album, which sadly was the only record the group put out. Since then, Raphael’s been going the solo route, putting out some critically-adored albums that mix jazz, soul, R&B, funk and a little bit of that old-school Motown swagger. It was a thrill to hang out in Raphael’s North Hollywood recording studio and listen to him talk about what inspires his music. He also demoed some tracks for us from a new group he’s working with called Tha Boogie. Watch this space for more info about them real soon. In the meantime, check out a live performance Raphael recently gave in support of his latest album “The Way I See It.”