Jimmy Lee (album)

Jimmy Lee
Silhouette-style side view of the face of a black man with his hand reaching toward his cheek and wearing a fedora and sunglasses, backgrounded by an array of squiggly black, grey, and white lines
Studio album by
Raphael Saadiq
ReleasedAugust 23, 2019 (2019-08-23)
StudioBlakeslee Recording Co. (North Hollywood)
Genre
Length39:27
LabelColumbia
Producer
Raphael Saadiq chronology
Stone Rollin'
(2011) 		Jimmy Lee
(2019)
Singles from Jimmy Lee
  1. "Something Keeps Calling"
    Released: June 7, 2019
  2. "Glory to the Veins"
    Released: July 5, 2019

Jimmy Lee is the fifth studio album by American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Raphael Saadiq. It was released on August 23, 2019 by Columbia Records. Recorded at Saadiq's personal studio in North Hollywood, it follows the critical success of his 2011 album Stone Rollin' and a period of years spent working on other musical projects, particularly those associated with African-American culture.

Departing from the upbeat retro stylings of Saadiq's previous albums, Jimmy Lee explores themes of stress, addiction, family dysfunction, financial burden, mortality, and mass incarceration, particularly in the context of African-American life. It uses murkier, more modern R&B sounds and a song cycle of personal narratives, inspired in part by the singer's older brother, who died from a heroin overdose when Saadiq was young, and after whom the album is titled. Saadiq, who played bass, guitar, and percussion, was joined in its recording by drummer Chris Dave, producer Brook D'Leau, engineer Gerry Brown, vocalist Taura Stinson, and rapper Kendrick Lamar, among others.

While performing modestly on record charts, Jimmy Lee received widespread acclaim and earned Saadiq some of the best reviews of his solo career. Critics applauded its ambitious sonic qualities and the singer's navigation through the complexities of its lyrical tragedies. Saadiq toured the US in early 2020 to further support the album, accompanied by singer-songwriter Jamila Woods as his opening act.