Rahsaan Patterson - A Profile

Rahsaan Patterson was born in The Bronx, New York City on 11 Jan 1974 and is celebrating his 49th birthday today and yet is already in his fifth decade of performing. 

He was singing in the church choir from the age of 6 and was discovered on a US talent show 'Junior Star Search' around 1984 and then won a part in Disney TV series 'Kids Incorporated'. In 1986 he won a follow up show 'Star Search' aged 12. He released his debut, self-titled, album in 1997 and to date has released seven studio albums plus a reimagined version of his last album "Heroes & Gods". 

He first came to this listener's attention circa 1999/2000 with the 'Silk's Old Skool Mix' of "Where You Are". At around the same time his original version of "I'll Go" came to light when a promo was received by Terry Jones when he interviewed him on, the now defunct, Soul 24/7 radio station. Terry started playing it at gigs up and down the country and it was then featured on the "Soul Togetherness 2001" compilation. Patterson agreed to let Jones record it rather than himself (as Jones was a hot prospect at that time) and it appeared on the soundtrack for "Love And Basketball" and as a 12" white label promo.

Whilst not garnering mainstream success, his music is highly regarded in soul circles and hopefully many of the 30 tracks selected (from just six albums as the Xmas and Reimagined albums were not selected from and only one track was chosen from Bleuphoria) may prick the ears of anyone not familiar with the quality of his music.

Rather than having to read about his background, a video interview is included below.

Album Discography

1997 - Rahsaan Patterson

1999 - Love in Stereo

2004 - After Hours

2007 - Wines & Spirits

2008 - The Ultimate Gift

2011 - Bleuphoria

2019 - Heroes & Gods

2012 - Heroes & Gods 2.0 (Reimagined) 

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Rahsaan Patterson [2021] Heroes & Gods 2.0 [Shanchie] (Full Album)

After an eight year hiatus from recording, since releasing "Bleuphoria" in 2011, Rahsaan Patterson released "Heroes & Gods" in May 2019. On Friday (5 Nov 2021)  "Heroes & Gods 2.0" is released which is the album 'reimagined' by house producer Quentin Harris.

Essentially all the tracks have been 'housed up' which will make purists cringe but may give the album new dancefloor appeal.  The jury's out on this one so I'll let you make up your own mind as to whether it adds or detracts from the original from the sneak preview below. I've also included the full original album.

Click icons below for further information or to connect with the artist.

Details

Rating:	7.8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	House
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital
Label:	Shanchie
Cat No:	None
Date:	05/11/2021
Value:	£7.99

Rahsaan Patterson [1998] - Where You Are (Silk's Old Skool Mix) [Universal #WMCST 48073]

Rahsaan Patterson was discovered on a US talent show 'Junior Star Search' around 1984 and then won a part in TV series Kids Incorporated. In 1986 he won a follow up show 'Star Search' aged 12.

He released his debut, self-titled, album in 1997. This was the second single from the album which was released with several mixes ranging from an acoustic mix to a deep house mix. The mix that was favoured on UK modern soul dancefloors was Silk's Old Skool Mix.

Details

Rating:	9.5
Genre/Style:	Neo Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	12"
Label:	Universal
Cat No:	WMCST 48073l
Year:	1998
Key:	N/A
BPM:	N/A
Value:	£5-£8

Rahsaan Patterson v Donell Jones - I'll Go

Rahsaan Patterson wrote and recorded the original version of this tune, which was also recorded by Donell Jones and featured on the soundtrack of 'Love And Basketball' in 2000. I don't think Jones officially released it as only a 12" promo exists of the recording other than on the soundtrack album.

A, now defunct, UK internet radio station Soul24/7.com received a demo from Patterson when he was interviewed by them. Terry Jones played it on his show and at his gigs around the UK. It was then picked up by Ralph Tee's Expansion label and released on 'Soul Togetherness 2001' compilation. As Donell Jones was a hot property at the time, it was decided that he should release it, rather than Patterson, and it came out on a LaFace 12" promo in 2000.

Rahsaan Patterson [2001] - I'll Go [Expansion #EXP 14]

Donell Jones [2000] - I'll Go [LaFace #LFDP-4411]

Rahsaan Patterson [2020] - Don't You Know That [Shanachie]

I thought I'd posted this a while ago when I featured his lastest album 'Heroes & Gods', but it appears that I only posted 'Sent From Heaven' (which still sounds stunning to these ears), so let's rectify  that.  A  brilliant cover of one of Luther Vandross' finest songs, 'Don't You Know That' which was released as the flip to 'Never Too Much' before being issued as the A side of the follow up.

Listen to the Full 'Heroes & Gods' Album here

This stands head and shoulders above a lot of the new releases posted recently.  It was released as a single from the album on 24 July 2020.

Rahsaan Patterson [2019] - Sent From Heaven [Shanachie]

SoulStrutter Rating: 9.5

Another mellow one! Rahsaan Patterson has been one of my favourite neo soul artists since bursting onto the scene with his self-titled debut in 1997 (with stand-out tracks like Stop By, Where You Are, Can't We Wait A Minute, Ain't No Way) and then cemented himself with the follow up Love In Stereo in 1999 (Any Other Love, It's Alright, Treat You Like A Queen etc.).

Fast forward to 2019 and his 7th studio album (one being a Christmas Album), his first for 8 years, and the wait was well worth it as Heroes & Gods is another classic album.  The track featured here is 'Sent From Heaven'. It just oozes soulfulness, set just below mid pace (what I'd describe as a ballad stepper).  I'm really surprised that an artist of his caliber hasn't crossed over into the main stream ... but then again I'm not (really) as this music, unfortunately, is simply just to sophisticated for the masses to appreciate!