Biography

Shafiq Husayn is a talented musician, producer, songwriter, and recording artist who has worked with some of the top artists in R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and beyond.  Perhaps best known as one third of innovative Los Angeles musical collective Sa Ra Creative Partners, Husayn has produced for the likes of Erykah Badu, Andre 3000, John Legend, Kanye West, Jurassic 5, and many more.  Shafiq's musical roots date back to when he attended parties thrown by both the Zulu Nation and Uncle Jamm's Army, carrying crates for pioneering DJ Afrika Islam and DJing with Crenshaw High School classmates Bobcat and Battlecat.  By the early 90s he was working under the alias SLJ, producing tracks for hip-hop luminaries like Ice T, Lord Finesse, and King Tee.  In recent years, Shafiq has helped launch the careers of some of the most influential new artists to emerge from L.A., serving as a mentor to Anderson .Paak and working with Ty Dolla $ign before his rise to fame.  His solo debut “Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka” drew widespread critical acclaim, and he earned a Grammy for his work on Robert Glasper's breakthrough album “Black Radio”. Shafiq’s latest project is “The Loop”, which features Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak, Hiatus Kaiyote, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, Bilal, Flying Lotus, and more. Blending lush live instrumentation with futuristic synths and otherworldly vocals, the album is a genre-defying opus incorporating spaced-out funk, raw neo-soul, free jazz, hip-hop beats, and electronic elements.