Raphael Saadiq's bass stolen before Oakland show, but the music played on

San Francisco Chronicle​

08-06-2025

While recreating his 1984 audition for Sheila E's band, Raphael Saadiq slipped in a quick spontaneous story about something that happened to him earlier in the day. It was a slice of dark humor about life in the Town — a place that has given the musician so much but still tests his resilience.
'The bass I brought here got stolen today — welcome home!' he yelled sarcastically, to roars of supportive laughter.
Oakland's hometown R&B hero was back with his 'No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits' solo show to the Fox Theater in Oakland on Saturday, June 7, for the first of two unique performances. It was Saadiq's first time in front of a Bay Area audience since his 2025 NBA All-Star Game performance in February, and the evening had a decidedly different vibe.
For two-and-a-half hours, Saadiq shared stories in spoken and musical form about his Oakland upbringing, key moments in music discovery, his big breaks and breakups, and a family life blessed with love but touched by tragedy.
The Fox Theater was packed with day-ones who had watched him grow from a skinny kid chowing burgers at Kwik Way to Tony! Toni! Toné! frontman to acclaimed solo artist to Grammy-winning producer. The format was similar to Netflix's 'Springsteen on Broadway ' or 'Beastie Boys Story ' on Apple TV+. As the title of the production implies, there was no band, just Saadiq seated on a stool with two guitars, a bass, a turntable and a piano. He displayed his piano proficiency, playing a majority of the evening's songs on an instrument he stopped learning as a child but picked up again during the pandemic.
'She went next door to Safeway and bought some groceries,' he said, proudly. 'Then I was born in 1966 at Highland Hospital and now I'm here.'
Good times at the talent show
Against his mother's wishes, Saadiq snuck his bass and amp to school and won his Elmhurst Middle School talent contest by playing a medley of funky jams — ' Peanut Butter,' 'Another One Bites the Dust' and 'Good Times.' On Saturday, he reenacted his motions and emotions as the songs played.
He said he convinced the principal to escort him home with the trophy to avoid a whupping from his mom. It worked.
'Lucifer Pearl'
Reminiscing about his short-lived supergroup Lucy Pearl, Saadiq referred to his post-Tonies R&B/hip-hop collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammed and singer Dawn Robinson of Oakland's En Vogue as 'Lucifer Pearl.' Metaphorical tea spilled as he recalled the day Robinson quit the tour and left the band.
'When she left, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders,' he said. 'I remembered why I started making music. I had forgotten because I was so stressed. But, beauty comes from ashes.' Then Lucy Pearl's 'You' — a song that doesn't feature Robinson — played out the speakers and the crowd got up and rocked along.
Making the cut with help from Rick Rubin
Super producer Rick Rubin played a pivotal role in keeping Saadiq on Columbia Record's roster. Tasked with getting rid of low-performing acts, Rubin met with the artist to listen to Saadiq's unconventional 2008 Motown-influenced solo album 'The Way I See It.' Rubin, in his zen-like way, questioned whether the drums were programmed and if the guitar was real. They were — Saadiq confirmed he played all the instruments live. Impressed, Saadiq didn't get dropped.
'They didn't promote it,' Saadiq countered, 'but it was a good lesson about going with your gut.'
'Tattooed in my heart'
The show's emotional highpoint was reserved for his five siblings who are no longer with him, including his brother and Tony! Toni! Toné! cofounder D'Wayne Wiggins, who at 64 died of bladder cancer in March 2025. Saadiq noted he's run out of tattoo space on his arms to commemorate any more dead siblings.
'(D'Wayne) will always be tattooed in my heart,' he said.
As he recounted the moment when D'wayne knew their time together was coming to an end, Saadiq paused to compose himself, clasping his hands in prayer. He lit a stick of incense and recalled the time he got to collaborate with Isley Brothers guitarist Ernie Isley, who D'Wayne worshipped. As the track ' Ernie's Jam ' played, the incense smouldered in the tuning pegs of his brother's guitar. Saadiq solemnly walked to the back of the stage and faced the screen, as a photo montage of his brother played.