Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the 1980s television show ''

Kids Incorporated ''Kids Incorporated'' (also known as ''Kids Inc.'') is an American children's television program that began production in the mid-1980s and continued airing well into the early 1990s. It was largely a youth-oriented program with musical performan ...

.''

Career

1984: ''Kids Incorporated''

After appearing in a school talent show in 1984, Patterson auditioned for the television show ''Kids Incorporated''. He was cast as "The Kid", and remained on the show for the next few years, appearing alongside such future stars as Fergie,

Renee Sands Renee Ilene Sandstrom (born February 15, 1974) is an American singer and former child actress better known by her stage name Renee Sands. She is best known for her role as Renee on ''Kids Incorporated'', and as a vocal member of the American girl ...

Martika Marta Marrero (born May 18, 1969), better known by her stage name Martika ( ), is an American pop singer and actress. She released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which sold over four million copies wor ...

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sa ...

and

Shanice Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (née Wilson; born May 14, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. Shanice had the ''Billboard'' hit singles " I Love Your Smile" and " Silent Prayer" in 1991 and " Saving Forever for You" in 19 ...

Music career

After ''Kids Incorporated'', Patterson gained experience as a backup vocalist for several artists (including ''Kids'' co-star

). Following his vocal contributions on Colour Club's self-titled album, as well as writing for other artists (his credits include

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

's platinum Top 5 smash "

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

", and

Tevin Campbell Tevin Jermod Campbell (born November 12, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter. He performed gospel in his local church from an early age. Following an audition for jazz musician Bobbi Humphrey in 1988, Campbell was signed to Warner Bros. Re ...

's hit " Back to the World").

1997–98: ''Rahsaan Patterson''

Patterson signed with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

in 1995. Collaborating with

Keith Crouch Keith Edward Crouch is an American songwriter and music producer. Crouch began his career as a songwriter at the age of fifteen and landed his first gig at seventeen. From 1993 to 1994, Crouch produced six songs for Brandy's self-titled debut al ...

and Jamey Jaz,Ira Schickman, among others, released his self-titled debut album on January 28, 1997. The album peaked at No. 48 on Billboard's

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

Chart. There were two singles released, "Stop By" and " Where You Are" peaked No. 53 on Billboard's

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. Receiving positive reviews from critics, the album failed to find a large audience (the single "Where You Are" did receive attention on R&B radio, and it appeared on the soundtrack to the 1996 ''

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protectio ...

''). Patterson did, however, develop a loyal following both in the U.S. and abroad.

1999–2002: ''Love in Stereo, SoundTracks''

Patterson went to work on his followup, '' Love in Stereo'', with Jamey Jaz and new collaborators such as

Van Hunt Van Hunt (born March 8, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He released his debut album, ''Van Hunt'', in 2004, and a follow-up, ''On the Jungle Floor'', in 2006, both on Capitol Records. He won the ...

. When ''Love in Stereo'' was released in late 1999 it received better reviews than its predecessor, although the mainstream overlooked it. The album peaked at #51 on ''Billboard''s

Chart and two singles, "The Moment" and " Treat You Like A Queen" which peaked at no. 61 on ''Billboard''s

. Rahsaan toured in support of ''Stereo'' playing dates throughout U.S. and Europe. Although Patterson and MCA parted ways, he remained busy, continuing to perform live, working as a

session singer Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

, and contributing to both soundtracks (''

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

'') and compilation albums (

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', '' Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss U ...

's ''Sign of Things to Come''), while working on the next album.

2004–08 ''After Hours, Wines and Spirits''

Patterson's third album, ''After Hours'' was released internationally in April 2004, garnering positive reviews. With the forming of his own label, '' After Hours'' was released in the U.S. in late October. The album debuted at No. 65 on Billboard's

chart. The singles, "So Hot", "April's Kiss" and "Forever Yours" were issued but failed to chart on Billboard. Further collaborative efforts followed. Patterson's album, '' Wines & Spirits'' (again featuring collaborations with Crouch and Jaz) was released September 24, 2007, and debuted at #42 on ''Billboard''s

, his highest charted to date and No. 45 on

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

Chart. The singles released, " Stop Breaking My Heart" and "Feels Good" charted on Billboard's

both at no. 59 and the later no. 76. A close friend, R&B singer

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American R&B and jazz recording artist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.Ledisi AllMusi ...

, in which he's also featured on her album '' Lost & Found'', explains the genius of Patterson as, "Rahsaan's greatest artistic strength is his ability to be overly honest in his recordings and in his live performances. If I had to sum him up in one word, I would call him 'uninhibited'." In August 2008, Patterson released a Christmas album, ''

The Ultimate Gift ''The Ultimate Gift'' is a 2006 American drama film directed by Michael O. Sajbel from a screenplay written by Cheryl McKay, which is based on the best selling novel by Jim Stovall, who cameos in the film. It stars Drew Fuller, Ali Hillis, Bill C ...

'', by November Patterson won a BET J award for Underground Artist of the year. In 2008, Patterson joined with Australian-born producer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Jarrad 'Jaz' Rogers and Copenhagen-based electro-soul songstress

Ida Corr Ida Corr (born 14 March 1977 in Aarhus, Denmark) is a Gambian-Danish singer, songwriter and music producer. Early life Ida Corr was born on the 14th of March 1977 to a Danish mother and a Gambian father in Aarhus, Denmark. Her father was a ...

to form the London-based alternative soul/pop/funk trio SugaRush Beat Company, who released their self-titled album through RCA (UK) in the summer of 2008.

2009–present: ''Bleuphoria, Touring, New Album''

After the release of ''Wines and Spirits'', Rahsaan resumed touring throughout the U.S. and overseas, and working with several recording artists. On December 14, 2010 a new song was available on iTunes, " Easier Said Than Done", a slow funk groove aimed as the lead single from his new album. On February 12, 2011, he performed at B.B. King's Blues Club to a sold out crowd, the show received rave reviews. Patterson continues to tour across the U.S. and also completing recording for his new soon to be released sixth studio album, scheduled for release this year. March 2011, after a concert in Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD, Patterson spoke about his album, '' Bleuphoria'' during a brief interview for thesoulcialista. In 2019, Rahsaan released the new single "Sent from Heaven" and announced his new album ''Heroes & Gods'' will release on May 17 that year.

Personal life

Patterson is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. In a 2008 discussion about being a gay artist with

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-centric network

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

, for example, he said that "For me, it's not about being 'the gay artist'; I'm an ''artist''." In an interview with BET's Daily Voice, Patterson further clarified that "I've never been in the closet or hiding anything."

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

Rahsaan Patterson Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the 1980s television show '' Kids Incorporated.'' Career 1984: ''Kids Incorporated'' After appearing in a school talent show in 19 ...

'' (1997) * '' Love in Stereo'' (1999) * '' After Hours'' (2004) * '' Wines & Spirits'' (2007) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Bleuphoria'' (2011) * '' Heroes & Gods'' (2019)

References

External links

Rahsaan Patterson's official homepageMack Avenue Artist Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Rahsaan American male child actors African-American male actors American neo soul singers LGBT African Americans American contemporary R&B singers Singers from New York (state) People from the Bronx Male actors from New York (state) Living people LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters American gay musicians 1974 births LGBT hip hop musicians American funk singers American hip hop singers American funk keyboardists American soul keyboardists 21st-century American keyboardists Mack Avenue Records artists 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers